Was the original Suits canceled after Season 9? Reason explained as Suits LA premiers on NBC

Suits has once again generated immense curiosity among the audience, thanks to the premiere of its spin-off show, Suits LA. The original series aired on USA Network from 2011 and 2019 and followed two attorneys, Harvey Specter and Mike Ross, who dealt with fascinating legal cases.

The series was one of the most-watched shows on USA network and later broke streaming records on Netflix and Peacock. However, despite the popularity, the series ended after nine seasons.

This made the audience wonder why was Suits canceled. Well, the series was not canceled by the network. Rather, creator Aaron Korsh decided to conclude the show after Season 9. He made the decision when multiple cast members left the show in the seventh season.

---

Why did Suits end after Season 9?

Aaron Korsh envisioned Suits Season 9 as the final installment while renegotiating the contracts following Season 7. The cast had initially signed up to work in the show for seven years. That is why lead actors like Patrick J. Adams, who played Mike Ross, and Meghan Markle, who played Rachel, exited the legal drama in 2018.

While Adams wanted to explore other opportunities professionally, Markle’s reason for departure was personal as she got married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Meanwhile, Gina Torres, who played Jessica Pearson, had already said goodbye to the show as a series regular in Season 6.

Following the multiple exits, Korsh chose to make two more seasons by introducing new characters and concluding Suits on a high note with a 10-episode Season 9. He explained in an interview with Deadline, in 2019:

“Right after we finished shooting Season 6, I went to USA [network]. At that time we only had the cast under contract until the end of Season 7. We had to figure out what to do, and we weren’t 100 per cent sure what the cast wanted to do.”

He added:

“We’d lost Gina and we came up with a plan to extend the cast for two more years beyond Season 7 to Seasons 8 and 9. The goal was to have a 16-episode Season 8 and a 10-episode Season 9.”

Katherine Heigl then joined the series as one of the new leads, Samantha Wheeler. Explaining how her introduction ensured the show could go on for Seasons 8 and 9, Korsh said:

“You can never know that one of your stars is going to marry the Prince of England, and Patrick decided not to return, so we had a choice whether to keep going after Season 7. We decided that the original plan was a 16-episode Season 8 and a 10-episode Season 9, let’s see if we can do that.”

He further explained:

“And dovetailing with that, Katherine Heigl called and she wanted to be involved in the show, and we thought it was a perfect way to help extend the franchise and make it to that end of Season 9.”

Four years after the series finale, Suits began streaming on Netflix and Peacock in 2023. The show reached new heights of success and popularity as it became the most-watched show of the year on Netflix. Following the unprecedented success, the production team decided to work on a spin-off series, Suits LA.

Although the new show follows a different firm with a new set of characters, it is set in the same universe as the original show, and brings back Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter in the role of a guest star. The series premiered on NBC on February 23, 2025.

Suits is available to stream on Netflix and Peacock.