Suits is getting a spinoff show five years after the legal drama concluded its nine-season run, and Netflix’s latest viewership report makes it clear why. Suits premiered on USA Network on June 23, 2011, and aired for nine seasons until September 25, 2019. Although Suits was successful during its original run – it lasted almost nine years after – the show has found an even more impressive life on streaming. Suits arrived on Peacock and Netflix in 2023 and is currently available on both streaming services.

The “Suits resurgence” that began after the show was added on Peacock and Netflix had immediate effects. While calls for a Suits revival had been happening since the original show ended, the possibility of a new Suits show became much more concrete in the second half of 2023. On February 1, 2024, NBC officially ordered a pilot for a new Suits spinoff, Suits: L.A. The upcoming Suits spinoff, whose cast includes names like Stephen Amell and Josh McDermitt, will take place in Los Angeles and will follow all-new characters in a different law firm.

Suits’ Massive Netflix Success Explains Why Suits: L.A. Is Happening

Suits was a huge hit on Netflix in 2023

The TV landscape is now very different from when Suits first aired, with more big-budget “premium series” available on all streaming services. Still, Suits was the winner of 2023’s streaming battle, having been the most streamed show of the year across all platforms. Per Nielsen, Suits was watched 57.7 billion minutes, breaking The Office’s 2020 record when it comes to total hours watched in a year. Netflix’s latest What We Watched Report also confirms Suits’ huge streaming success – the legal drama received 144 million views in the second half of 2023 alone.

As a comparison, The Witcher, one of Netflix’s most popular original series, had 76 million views considering all three seasons in the second half of 2023. Other Netflix originals like Virgin River (69M) and The Crown (50M) help put in perspective how well Suits did on the platform from July to December 2023. Not only did Suits perform better than other licensed shows on Netflix, but it also beat the streamer’s biggest original shows when considering numbers from all nine seasons combined. The fact that Suits ended in 2019 makes this even more impressive.

Will Suits: L.A. Be As Big As Suits?

Suits: L.A. has a tough job ahead of it

Suits: L.A. has yet to be officially picked up for a full series, and it is difficult to say whether it will be as successful as the original show. However, the upcoming spinoff will have to deal with a certain level of expectations created by Suits. Even if none of the Suits actors appear in Suits: L.A., the new series will be compared to the original one. Suits: L.A. will have to please long-time Suits fans while also bringing in new audiences. Suits has become a global phenomenon, and it is now up to Suits: L.A. to continue its predecessor’s legacy.

Suits: L.A. won’t be Suits’ first spinoff, as Jessica Pearson received her own series in Pearson, which was canceled after one season. Introducing an all-new set of characters instead of revisiting names like Harvey Specter and Mike Ross is the right approach for Suits: L.A., which must stand on its own instead of relying on the previous show. What made Suits so good was its compelling characters and strong dialogue, two aspects that Suits: L.A. must nail if it wants to be as big as Suits.

Sources: Nielsen, Netflix

Stream Suits on Peacock

Stream Suits on Netflix