"Suits" LA-Set Spin-off Gets Update

The Suits universe is expanding with a brand-new spin-off series created by Aaron Korsh and NBCUniversal. 

The 2011-2019 drama Suits captivated audiences across nine successful seasons, chronicling the journeys of a group of skilled lawyers navigating the challenges of New York City. It focused on ultra-slick litigator Harvey Specter and his college dropout mentor with a photographic memory Mike Ross. 

Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams led the cast of the show. While it was successful in its day, Suits witnessed a remarkable resurgence in popularity last summer, gaining newfound acclaim through streaming platforms. Paving the way for the new spin-off series to arise.

Somehow the show defied all expectations and became the most-watched show in the platform's history, overtaking 2022’s "Wednesday" and Netflix powerhouse "Stranger Things". 

This momentum naturally led to intrigue and questions about the future of Suits and whether it would return. In October 2023, the spinoff was confirmed to be in the very early stages of development, with Korsh and NBCUniversal still in the process of negotiating deals. More details have been revealed since, including the new setting of Los Angeles.

While many things are still being kept under wraps, the most recent update sees the Suits spinoff name its first character as well as nail down a few details about the show's plot. 

It has been confirmed that the new spinoff will be separate from the original series and will follow entertainment lawyer Erica who works at a high-powered firm in Los Angeles. 

The character is described as a "30s, Black, SoCal native, and Harvard law alum. She’s jockeying to be made Head of Entertainment. She’s great at closing clients but struggles elsewhere. Smarter than everyone."

The newly announced character is already being compared to Megan Markle's Rachel Zane who appeared in the original series, but there will likely be more distinctions as the series takes shape.

The role of Erica has not been cast yet, nor has any other character or cast member been announced thus far.

The new Suits show has been billed as a new story in the world of Suits. Korsh has been clear that it’s not a reboot, nor is it the long-awaited Suits revival. Since it’s not a revival it means it’s unlikely that the core cast will be made up of returning Suits alumni. 

With the show being set in Los Angeles and following entertainment lawyers, there is likely to be little crossover with the existing Suits characters. However, since it’s also not being branded as a reboot, that means everything that happened in Suits is still canon, and Donna, Mike, and Harvey still exist in the world of the new show. 

This means they may appear or even be central cast members (which would make sense from NBCUniversal’s perspective, given that the success of Suits on Netflix is almost definitely why the new show is being optioned). 

The only known character so far is Erica, a young entertainment lawyer with big ambitions, but she hasn't been cast yet.

When the show was first announced, nothing was revealed about the plot, and it was mostly shrouded in mystery. However, it has now been revealed that the Suits spinoff will be set in the same universe as the original series but will take place at an entertainment law firm in Los Angeles. 

The character of Erica has already been announced, but it is unclear if she will be the lead or merely supporting.

Erica has been introduced as a thirty-something Black woman who works at the unnamed law firm but has big dreams of becoming the head of the firm's entertainment division. 

She may follow a similar trajectory as the characters of the original series and climb up through the ranks using her brilliant legal mind. Though all is not known about the Suits spinoff, it clearly won't be a rehash of the original.