NBC Exec Reveals Why They Canceled Suits LA: 'We Had To Make Some Hard Decisions'

"Suits" has been a fan-favorite series since its debut on USA Network back in 2011, captivating audiences for nearly 15 years. The show saw a significant resurgence in recent years after becoming available on Netflix, sparking countless binge-watching marathons. However, despite this renewed interest, the spin-off series "Suits LA" faced a different fate, being canceled after just one season upon the release of NBC's fall schedule. Jeff Bader, NBC's president of program planning strategy, shed light on the decision to pull the plug on "Suits LA."

“It’s so hard to talk about shows and which ones you bring back, and Suits had a very short run, but it really just has not resonated the way we thought it would,” Bader explained via Variety after the fall schedule was made public. He continued, “There can be many, many reasons why 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 canceled after just one season. Photo by: Nicole Weingart/NBC via Getty Images. Bader elaborated on the tough decisions behind the scenes, saying, “And it’s those decisions we had to make. We had to look at the performance of the shows, both on linear and on digital. We had to see the ones that looked like they had growth potential in the future. So we’re looking at how stable they are on their linear performance, how stable they are on digital, which ones are growing and which ones are declining. And we had to make some hard decisions.”

Bader also mentioned that NBCUniversal considers the potential for shows to be transferred to Peacock when they are canceled on the network, but "Suits LA" did not receive the green light for such a move. When it comes to the shows that were spared from cancellation, Bader explained the criteria that made them appealing to the network, especially with the need to accommodate more sports programming due to the NBA taking over Tuesday nights.

“We looked at what their performance was week-to-week, episode-to-episode, on both linear and digital, to just try and glean which ones we thought had the best ratings story,” Bader told the outlet. “And then on the creative side, the creative teams did the same thing. Which ones have the most potential, or the best potential, to capture a new audience? And these were the two shows that made their way to the top.”

The original "Suits" ran for nine seasons from 2011 to 2019. The revival series, "Suits LA," premiered in February and starred Stephen Amell, Lex Scott Davis, Josh McDermitt, and Bryan Greenberg. Additionally, original "Suits" cast members such as Rick Hoffman, David Costabile, and leading man Gabriel Macht made appearances on the new show. "Suits" creator Aaron Korsh also served as the creator and executive producer of the spinoff, which aired its final episode on May 11, 2025.