Why Suits L.A. Only Just Started Filming Now (Didn’t It Happen Months Ago?!)

The anticipation for Suits: L.A. has been simmering for over a year, but the cast and crew seemingly only just started filming the episodes in November 2024. Aaron Korsh’s upcoming legal drama series serves as a spinoff to Suits, a widely successful USA Network show that ran for nine seasons. Four years following the Suits series finale, Netflix added the show to its streaming library, where it experienced a resurgence that many could not have predicted. Numerous subscribers discovered Suits for the first time, and thanks to its unexpected increase in popularity, Universal Television and NBCUniversal ordered a spinoff.

Despite ending in 2019,
Suits
impressively became the most streamed TV show in the United States in 2023 after experiencing a surge of popularity when added to Netflix’s streaming library. According to

Variety

,
Suits
was watched for a total of 57.7 billion minutes in 2023.

Korsh returns as the showrunner/creator of the Suits spinoff, which was confirmed in October 2023. As time went on, more information concerning the series was unveiled. It’s called Suits: L.A., is set in Los Angeles (of course), and Stephen Amell leads the cast as Ted Black. More cast members, including Josh McDermitt and Lex Scott Davis, were revealed, and now, it’s finally time for production to officially begin. However, one can’t help but wonder why it took more than a year for the cast and crew to start filming Suits: L.A. after it was announced in October 2023.

Suits LA Has Just Started Filming In California

Stephen Amell Confirmed Filming Has Begun

According to Stephen Amell’s Instagram account, day one of shooting Suits: L.A. commenced on Monday, November 18, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. The actor made a couple of posts on his social media announcing the exciting news. In one post, Amell shared a picture of a film slate for Suits: L.A. with the caption, “Ok… we’re doing the thing.” Amell also posted a video of himself (presumably in his trailer) eating and saying, “Yo. We’re here. We made it. Suits: L.A. Day one, baby, let’s go!” The caption appropriately reads, “DAY 1 —.”

It is important to note that the film slate in the above picture reads, “Episode 102.” While it’s not confirmed, it’s safe to assume that “Day 1” of filming the Suits spinoff was for season 1, episode 2, directed by Anton Cropper. Some might be confused as to why the cast and crew of Suits: L.A. is starting with episode 2. However, it actually makes sense given updates about the spinoff from months back. It’s also quite normal in the grand scheme of network TV.

What Suits LA Has Been Doing In The Last Few Months?

The Cast & Crew Filmed The Pilot In Vancouver Before Moving Production To LA

The cast and story for Suits: L.A. was likely finalized months ago. However, that doesn’t mean there has been no progress on the legal drama between then and the official start of filming in November 2024. In fact, it’s the opposite. When NBC announced the Suits spinoff, the network also ordered a pilot for the series. So, the cast and crew got to work on developing the first episode of Suits: L.A., which was shot in the spring of 2024.

After they finished the pilot, they handed it over to NBC. The network then ordered Suits: L.A. to series — in other words, the cast and crew got the green light to produce a full season. So, that is why November 18, 2024, was the first official day of filming. Suits: L.A. wasn’t an actual TV show until NBC made the call for more episodes.

When Suits LA Will Release

Fans Should Expect Episodes Soon

Despite the production of Suits: L.A. only just commencing in November 2024, fans of the original series will not have to wait long for the new one. According to TVLine, the spinoff of the legal drama will premiere on Sunday, February 23, 2025, at 9 pm ET on NBC. Even though it has seemed like forever since NBC announced Suits: L.A., the wait will be over soon.

Given that Suits: L.A. will have a spring premiere in 2025, its first season will likely have around 10 to 13 episodes. NBC hasn’t confirmed the legal drama’s official episode count. However, the spinoff (which will admittedly be quite different from Suits) airing at midseason suggests it has a reduced number of episodes. The good news is that the premiere of Suits: L.A. is just around the corner, and the year-long wait will end in February 2025.

Sources: Variety, Instagram, TVLine