NBC Exec on Suits LA Cancellation: 'Hard Decisions Were Necessary'

"Suits" is a fan-favorite series that has captivated audiences since its debut on USA in 2011. The show enjoyed a resurgence in popularity after becoming available on Netflix, sparking numerous binge-watching sessions. However, the recent spin-off, "Suits LA," was unable to ride this wave of enthusiasm and has been canceled by NBC after just one season, as announced with the release of their fall schedule. The decision to cancel the series was explained by Jeff Bader, NBC's president of program planning strategy.

“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 stated in an interview with 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 decision-making process, 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.”

He also mentioned that NBCUniversal considered the potential for transferring canceled shows to Peacock, but "Suits LA" did not receive approval for this transition. In discussing the criteria for retaining shows, Bader noted, “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. 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.”

"Suits" originally aired for nine seasons from 2011 to 2019. The revival series, "Suits LA," premiered in February and featured a cast including Stephen Amell, Lex Scott Davis, Josh McDermitt, and Bryan Greenberg. Additionally, original "Suits" stars such as Rick Hoffman, David Costabile, and Gabriel Macht made guest appearances. Aaron Korsh, the creator of "Suits," also served as the creator and executive producer of the spin-off, which concluded its run with the final episode airing on May 11, 2025.