Suits LA Rotten Tomatoes rating gets worse as the series is halfway through Season 1

When Suits LA premiered in February 2025, expectations were high. As a spin-off of the acclaimed Suits, a series that marked its time with a mix of legal drama, sharp characters, and witty dialogue, it had a legacy to live up to.

Set under the bright sun of Los Angeles, it promised to explore the legal underworld of the entertainment industry, introducing new conflicts and personalities. However, as the episodes progressed, the initial excitement gave way to harsh criticism and a noticeable disconnection with the audience. What explains this sharp decline? Let’s dig into the details, even listening to the fans, to understand where the series stumbled.

Critical reception and viewership: When the numbers tell a bitter story

From the very first weeks, Suits LA faced headwinds. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series scored just 39% approval based on 33 professional reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The critics’ consensus was blunt:

“Despite its familiar aesthetics, Suits LA lacks the wit and energy that made the original shine. The dark storylines, instead of being complex, simply feel tiring.”

Viewers weren’t much kinder. The audience score landed at 47%, with frustrated comments such as:

“Feels like a faded copy of the original,” wrote a fan on a discussion board.

Others described it as “soulless déjà vu,” pointing to the show’s failure to craft its own identity.

Cast and characters: Where’s the chemistry?

Stephen Amell, known for Arrow, plays Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor who leaves New York for Los Angeles to defend celebrities and powerful industry players. Despite the actor’s charm, the character feels generic—the typical tough guy with a troubled past archetype, already worn thin in other shows.

Lex Scott Davis (as Erica Rollins) and Bryan Greenberg (as Rick Dodson) round out the leading trio, but their interactions feel forced as if the actors were reading lines in separate rooms.

The show’s gamble on bringing Gabriel Macht back as Harvey Specter in occasional appearances generated initial buzz but ultimately backfired. Every moment Harvey appeared only highlighted the lack of spark among the new leads. A Hollywood Reporter critic summed it up:

“Harvey returns as a painful reminder of what this new team can’t replicate.”

Comparison to the Original: The weight of nostalgia and the trap of expectations

Suits (2011–2019) built a loyal fan base with clever plotlines, electric rivalries (Harvey vs. Louis Litt!), and a perfect balance of humor and drama. With a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the original series was a cliffhanger machine, while Suits LA seems content to follow a bureaucratic formula.

Long-time fans expected complex moral conflicts and intense power plays, after all, this is Los Angeles, a perfect setting to explore corruption in the entertainment world. Instead, the plot gets lost in predictable episodic cases, like an episode where Ted defends a Hollywood star accused of plagiarizing a song. The lack of narrative boldness is striking. Even the characters’ outfits look less sharp than the ones in New York, joked one user on Twitter.

Diagnosing the downfall: Where did the show go wrong?

While Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) in Suits captivated audiences with his vulnerable brilliance, LA’s protagonists are defined by clichés. Erica Rollins, for example, is the idealistic lawyer challenging the system, but her motivations never go beyond generic justice speeches.

Dialogues that don't resonate

One of the original’s strengths was its fast-paced, stylish banter. In Suits LA, the lines feel artificial, like in episode 4 when Ted tells a client:

“In LA, the truth is just another script waiting to be rewritten.”

Lines that should feel punchy come off as forced attempts at sounding profound.

The burden of comparisons

By bringing back Harvey Specter and Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman) in cameos, the production tried to please long-time fans, but the effect was the opposite. Each scene with the veterans highlighted how flat the new characters are. It’s like comparing champagne to flat soda.

A sluggish pace

While Suits balanced legal cases with personal drama, LA struggles with slow-moving episodes. Even courtroom scenes, once filled with twists, now feel like school play reenactments.

Is there hope for the future?

Despite the disappointing outlook, the show can still reinvent itself. Fans suggest investing in bolder character arcs (for example, exploring Ted’s dark past with more nuance) and bringing in writers from the original series to polish the dialogue. If there is a second season, it will need to listen to the audience and embrace LA’s unique identity rather than trying to mimic New York’s spirit.

In the meantime, Suits LA serves as a lesson: spin-offs can’t survive on nostalgia alone. Without a soul of its own, even the most expensive suits start to look like costumes.