Summary

Stephen Amell's Ted Black in Suits L.A. is a co-founder, not a senior partner like Harvey Specter.
Suits L.A. will focus on entertainment law, not corporate law like Suits.
As co-founder of his firm, Ted Black may be more similar to Jessica Pearson than to Harvey Specter, offering a fresh character dynamic for the spinoff.

Suits L.A. will have brand-new characters, comparisons between the spinoff and the original Suits will be unavoidable.

Even if some Suits actors return in Suits L.A. for cameos, the spinoff must stand on its own and offer something different from the nine-season show. It will not be easy for Suits L.A. to match its predecessor’s impact considering how successful Suits has been on streaming, but the spinoff does look very promising so far. There will be comparisons between Suits L.A.’s Ted Black and Suits’ Harvey Specter, but there will hopefully be enough differences between them.

Stephen Amell’s Ted Black Is The Firm's Co-Founder In Suits L.A.

Suits’ Harvey Specter was a senior partner when the show began

According to the official description of Ted Black as well as the first synopsis for the show, L.A. character will be a former New York prosecutor who moved to the West Coast 15 years ago to start his own company, Black Lane Law, alongside his friend, Stuart Lane (Josh McDermitt). The firm will be in a crisis during the events of Suits L.A., with other characters having to prove their loyalty to the company while balancing their professional and personal lives. This description confirms that there is already one key difference between Ted Black and Harvey Specter.

Whether Harvey Specter would ever have his name on the door was an important plot point in Suits, especially in the second half of season 2.

In Suits, Harvey Specter was introduced as a junior partner who was just about to become a senior partner. Jessica chooses Harvey as Pearson & Hardman’s next senior partner in the opening minutes of Suits episode 1, setting in motion a chain of events that would end with Harvey having to hire a new junior associate – Mike Ross. Harvey’s role as senior partner also caused tension between him and Louis Litt, the latter of whom believed he deserved the promotion more than Harvey. Macht’s character spent a significant portion of the show as a senior partner without his name on the door.

Suits: L.A. Characters Confirmed So Far	Actor
Ted Black	Stephen Amell
Stuart Lane	Josh McDermitt
Kevin	Troy Winbush
Erica Rollins	Lex Scott Davis
Rick Dodson	Bryan Greenberg
Leah	Alice Lee

Whether Harvey Specter would ever have his name on the door was an important plot point in Suits, especially in the second half of season 2. After helping Jessica defeat Daniel Hardman, Harvey announced that he wanted to become a name partner, which Jessica refused. This led to a complex storyline leading up to season 3 in which Harvard’s loyalty to Jessica and the firm was tested. None of these elements will be part of Amell’s Suits L.A. character, who will have his name on the door from the start and will face different challenges from Harvey.

Filming for Suits L.A.'s pilot is expected to begin at the end of March.

Suits L.A.’s Ted Black May Be More Similar To Jessica Than To Harvey

Jessica was the founding partner in Suits

Ted Black’s past as a prosecutor in New York as well as his “charismatic force of nature who puts his own needs above others” character description make it difficult not to compare the character to Harvey Specter. While Harvey was a complex character, he was also a force of nature who could sometimes put his own needs above others. Still, based on Ted Black’s role in the firm where Suits L.A. will take place, it seems like Amell’s character may be more similar to Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) than to Harvey.

Custon image of Mike and Rachel together and Harvey looking to the side in Suits

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Co-founder of Pearson & Hardman, Jessica was the one calling the shots for most of the show until Torres’ exit from the series in Suits season 6. Jessica was a force to be reckoned with, but she was also responsible for keeping troublemakers like Harvey and Mike in check while running the firm. The firm, which had a couple of different names throughout the show, went through several crises, and Jessica was always the one who had to solve them. Telling a Suits story from the perspective of the name partner can help set the spinoff apart from the original show.

As the co-founder of the firm, Suits L.A.’s Ted Black will have to worry about all the cases and problems concerning every other character and not just himself.

Ted Black's ambitions will have to be different from those of Harvey, and the former might have to deal with bigger problems than the latter did at the beginning of their respective shows. It will also be interesting to see the dynamic between Ted Black and his partner, which will surely be different from the dynamic between Harvey Specter and Mike Ross. Amell's character does have a protégé, though – Rick Dodsen, played by Bryan Greenberg, who is expected to be a rival for Erica Rollins (played by Lex Scott Davis).

Stephen Amell’s Ted Black Shouldn’t Be Another Harvey Specter

Suits L.A.’s lead character must be different enough from Harvey

Patrick J. Adams as Mike and Gabriel Macht as Harvey in Suits with Stephen Amell — Custom Image by Ana Dumaraog

Although Harvey can be considered Suits’ main character, especially after Mike, Jessica, and Rachel were written out of the show, Suits L.A. should not try to have its own version of the high-profile lawyer whose trajectory viewers followed for nine seasons. Suits L.A.’s Ted Black can be a “force of nature” and compelling protagonist while still being different from Harvey, both in of his career and personal life. Not much is known about Suits L.A. so far, but fortunately, none of the character descriptions seem to be counterparts of any of the Suits characters.

Additionally, the fact that Ted Black is the co-founder of his firm and not a senior partner who still wishes to grow in the company makes him different enough from Harvey already. Harvey was always loyal to the company, but he was often thinking about whether certain actions would benefit him or those he cared about. As the co-founder of the firm, Suits L.A.’s Ted Black will have to worry about all the cases and problems concerning every other character and not just himself. It is a promising spin on Suits’ successful formula.

Suits was a Suits’ popularity, it needs to have its own set of compelling characters that feel fresh rather than new versions of the ones from the previous series. This starts with Ted Black, who will hopefully be unlike any other characters from what is now the Suits universe.

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