Why was Suits LA canceled? NBC exec weighs in on the surprising decision

By Dan Girolamo Published May 12, 2025

No expert could’ve predicted Suits would become 2023’s most-streamed TV show in the U.S. NBC commissioning a spinoff series, Suits LA, seemed like a slam dunk. Unfortunately for fans of the legal drama, it will be one-and-done for the spinoff as NBC canceled Suits LA.

The decision to end Suits LA after one season comes ahead of the season finale on May 18. NBC hoped to capitalize on Suits’ newfound popularity. However, the spinoff was negatively reviewed and failed to sustain impactful TV ratings.

Jeff Bader, NBC’s president of programming strategy, spoke about the surprising decision to cancel Suits LA over the weekend.

“It’s so hard to talk about shows and which ones you bring back,” Bader said on a conference call (via Deadline). “Suits [LA]  has had a very short run, but it really just has not resonated the way we thought it would. There can be many, many reasons — people are speculating why it hasn’t resonated, but it’s just not really showing the potential to grow for us in the future, unfortunately.”

Suits LA was not the only NBC casualty. The network canceled Lopez vs. Lopez, Found, Night Court, and The Irrational. Bader said his team looks at the performance of the shows on “linear and on digital” and sees which ones are “growing.”

“We had to make some hard decisions,” Bader said.

Developed by Suits creator Aaron Korsh, Suits LA starred Stephen Amell, a former New York prosecutor who moves to Los Angeles to start a firm specializing in entertainment law. The ensemble featured Lex Scott Davis as Erica Rollins, Josh McDermitt as Stuart Lane, and Bryan Greenberg as Rick Dodsen.

Several notable characters from the flagship show appeared on the spinoff, including Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter and Rick Hoffman as Louis Litt.

Suits aired for nine seasons on USA Network from 2011 to 2019. Per Nielsen, Suits registered 57.7 billion total minutes watched in 2023, the highest annual viewing time ever.

Suits LA will air its series finale on NBC at 9 p.m. ET/PT on May 18. Stream all available episodes on Peacock.