Initial reviews for the long-awaited most anticipated shows of 2025, the end product seems to have fallen flat for most critics.

Despite banking on the reliable mix of nostalgia from original Suits fans and the novelty of a distinct spin-off, Suits LA currently sits at a dismal 36% on Rotten Tomatoes. ittedly, nearly all critics agree that the three episodes sent for review got better as they went on, with the pilot episode undoubtedly being the worst of the bunch. Unfortunately for Suits LA, the third episode isn’t necessarily regarded as good; rather, it’s seen as the best of the bad. Although Suits LA has clear issues, the pilot season still has time to make amends for its biggest problems.

10 Suits LA Has An Original Premise But Fails To Properly Execute It

A Hollywood Legal Drama Should Have Been Captivating

As the second spin-off of Suits (the first being an oft-forgotten Gina Torres drama simply called Pearson), Suits LA had an uphill battle before its premiere. Before Suits LA released its first episodes for review, there seemed to be two possible fates: the legal drama would either feel too much like Suits or not enough. According to critics, Suits LA manages to achieve both by failing to fully commit to its unique idea of entertainment law and interjecting weak echoes of the original series.

As Cristina Escobar of Suits LA coming 6 years after the end of the original series, it’s odd how critics note the spin-off seems to both impersonate and ignore Suits at once.

9 Suits LA Lacks The Wit That Made Suits Great

So Many Characters, So Little Bite

Aside from what critics view as an unclear identity, Suits LA appears to have a more fundamental issue with its writing. Considering many writers from the original Suits followed Korsh to the spin-off, the lack of punchy, acerbic wit in Suits LA is a shocking and devastating disconnect. While leading man Ted Black (Stephen Amell) is still regarded as a divine figure in the spin-off’s law firm, critics mourn the lack of charm and banter that made Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter such a captivating character in the first place.

Angie Han argues the spinoff’s writing issues extend to its attempts at comedy, with “its single most laughable choice [being] a high-key bonkers, low-key offensive twist” (via Hollywood Reporter). Part of what made Suits such a smash hit was the effortless way characters parlayed mundane conversations into smart, sexy battles of wit. To early critics, Suits LA comes across like the perpetual younger sibling, trying and failing to master the same wiles of the original series.

8 Ted Black Doesn’t Cut It As A Harvey Specter Successor

At Times, It Feels Like An Impersonation

Amell’s work as Suits LA’s central character has been harshly criticized as a lesser version of Harvey Specter, with many critics pointing out how everything from Ted Black’s wardrobe to his devoted assistant, Rosalyn (Azita Ghanizada), feels like a mere impersonation of Harvey (and, by extension, Sarah Rafferty’s Donna Paulsen). Amell’s performance itself was slammed by many critics, with his line delivery and vocal inflection bearing an uncomfortable, uncanny resemblance to Macht.

Even when Suits LA takes big swings to establish Black’s original backstory, they fall flat upon impact.

The actual characterization of Black is yet another ding to Suits LA, with Ted’s relationship with junior lawyers highlighting how the unwavering faith the ensemble cast has in Black feels utterly unearned. Suits LA ends up casting Ted Black as both the replacement for Harvey and Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), diluting him as an amalgam of the hot-shot lawyer and unassuming genius that came before him. Even when Suits LA takes big swings to establish Black’s original backstory, they fall flat upon impact.

7 Suits LA Tries (And Fails) To Imitate Suits’ Swagger

Starting With The Opening Credits

From the moment Suits LA confirmed it would use Ima Robot’s iconic B-Side “Greenback Boogie” in its opening, the spinoff doomed itself to feel, at once, like an imitation and a sacrilege. As Lyvie Scott describes, Suits LA resorts to “dropping familiar Suits-isms like breadcrumbs to follow” (via TV Guide) in its opening episodes, adding in moments that feel copied-and-pasted from the original. While that should in theory appease the original’s devotees, Suits LA’s tiny replications feel out of place and off-handed in their inclusion.

Even in the aspects that critics enjoyed most about the series, like Lex Scott Davis as Erica Rollins, Suits LA seemed to sabotage its success whenever possible. Erica’s character may be one of Suits LA’s greatest strengths, but her scenes are undercut by unnecessary pivots that turn her into the ghost of Rachel Zane (Meghan, Duchess of Sussex). As many critics gripe, Suits LA fails to capture the personality of the original series, with "the banter wilt[ing] more than it zings" (via The Guardian).

6 Suits LA Doesn’t Stand Out From Modern Dramas

Not Enough Memorable Choices Were Made

Unfortunately, trying to follow in the footsteps of “Blue Sky” classics in this day and age condemns Suits LA to a baseline of mediocrity. While Suits managed to balance its style with enough substance to retain attention, Suits LA ends up “nice to look at but not striking in any way, nothing to , nothing that stands out” (via Roger Ebert). As a spin-off, Suits LA has to work twice as hard to draw attention and keep it — which, based on the early reviews, will be a Herculean task.

Suits LA, sadly, doesn’t seem prepared to compete with its contemporaries. Rob Owens of the Pittsburgh Tribune explains that the spinoff is “nowhere near the entertaining, complex psychological machinations on display in The White Lotus,” which further displays how Suits LA fails to compete with its predecessor, but it more importantly fails to distinguish itself from titles that dominate network television and streaming services alike.

5 The Conflicts In Suits LA Feel Too Convoluted

The Spin-Off Throws Too Much At The Audience Too Early

The early storylines in Suits LA only underline its issues with keeping its audience engaged. Screen Rant’s official Suits LA review summarizes its big plot issue succinctly: “Suits LA tries to do so much in so little time,” consequently making it more difficult for the drama to achieve any of its lofty goals. From Ted Black’s dark past to the clashing tone of Suits LA’s cases, it seems as though the spinoff aimed for the stars but failed to launch.

Angie Han describes the early concepts introduced in Suits LA as “perplexing [and] overstuffed” (via Hollywood Reporter), further snowballing the spin-off’s overarching identity issue. The discombobulating, confusing mix of past tensions and present crises ends up leaving no room for the characters themselves to garner sympathy. Suits LA threatens its characters, but it does so preemptively, before the spin-off has given you the opportunity to care.

4 Suits LA Relies On Flashbacks As A Cheap Exposition Tactic

The Show Took "Show, Don't Tell" Too Literally

Another clear example of Suits LA failing to frame its story in a captivating way is its exhausting reliance on flashbacks as vehicles for exposition. While the spin-off could have had Ted Black’s secrets in Suits LA come to light subtly, utilizing implication and suggestion to build a foundation for later reveals, Suits LA instead uses jarring flashbacks to tease his troubled past. The flashbacks also allude to the broader issue of how Suits LA provides context for its complicated conflicts.

Ironically, Suits LA seems to show when it should tell and tell when it should show. As Lyvie Scott elaborates, Suits LA leaves its characters to “talk us through what could have been truly compelling moments” while “so much of the action occurs off screen” (via TV Guide). The critical response to Suits LA’s storytelling is arguably one of the most concerning critiques, as it implies Suits LA could end up squandering its potential. Suits LA could have the most original concept on air, but its ideas will be wasted if they aren’t conveyed effectively.

3 Suits LA Will Have A Difficult Time Escaping The Shadow Of Suits

The Plight Of Any Modern Spin-off

Like the hordes of spinoffs and reboots that have been released in recent years, Suits LA has to set itself apart from the original series without losing its connection to the franchise at large. Granted, it’s a difficult line to toe for any series, but Suits LA floundered in the eyes of many critics. According to Adrian Horton of The Guardian, Suits LA lingers somewhere in between, as it “neither embodies enough of [Suits’] ethos to satisfy nor sufficiently differentiates itself to stand alone.”

This sentiment hints at the most recurring critique of Suits LA: it isn’t similar enough to the original to feel like a continuation, but it isn’t original enough to feel new. The double-edged sword is that Suits LA has multiple courses of action it could take to solve its dilemma: either Suits LA leans into being a Suits replacement or it embraces modernity without looking back. Having options may seem like a positive, but each decision would come with its own drawbacks. Early critics have issued a clear warning: Suits LA can’t have its cake and eat it, too.

2 Suits LA's Cases Are More Fun (But There Isn't Much Of It)

Entertainment Law Should've Been The Show's Niche

Part of what made Suits LA’s first showing so disappointing to critics is the promise it showed during development. Its Hollywood setting coupled with Black’s focus on entertainment law seemed like a clear winner, but Suits LA refuses to lean into its camp factor. While Suits delved into the fantastically seedy world of white collar conflict, Suits LA could do away with the mergers and settlements to lean into an enthralling niche: the glamorously scandalous world of Hollywood.

Suits LA could potentially be a gold mine for satire, using its case-a-week structure to hold a mirror up to contemporary societal ills, but the spin-off seems more interested in creating high-octane drama solely for its main character. The issue with relying on Black, as discussed at length by many critics, is that there’s no reason for viewers to root for him at the beginning of the series. While Suits made Mike and Harvey instantly likable in sympathetic circumstances, Suits LA offers one core issue for Black that fails to establish any emotional connection.

1 Suits LA Is Immediately Dark & Heavy

While Ambitious, It Just Comes Across As Jarring

Where Suits took a serious concept and leaned into levity, Suits LA wastes its fun potential by adopting an unnecessarily brooding tone. Per Screen Rant's review, the beginning of Suits LA feels “reminiscent of the latter seasons of Suits, when it felt like Pearson Hardman was always on the brink of collapse.” Instead of setting the glitzy Hollywood tone to subvert it in a more intriguing way, Suits LA dives into its dark side immediately, without anything to anchor it.

The disconnect between the spin-off and the original [Suits] is confounding, especially with Korsh at the helm.

The biggest issue with Suits LA, which runs as an undercurrent for most critics, is that it seems to lack the fundamental understanding of what made Suits such a home-run in the first place. The disconnect between the spin-off and the original is confounding, especially with Korsh at the helm. What can be gleaned from the distinct problems described by critics is that Suits LA isn’t beyond repair, but without a clear destination to aim for, the best solutions will remain just out of reach.

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Sources: Hollywood Reporter, Pittsburgh Tribune, TV Guide, Roger Ebert, The Guardian, Rotten Tomatoes.