Stephen Amell Blames Himself for ‘Suits L.A.’ Cancellation

Following nine successful seasons of the USA Network’s hit legal drama Suits, NBC recently greenlit a second spin-off series, Suits L.A., with former Arrow star Stephen Amell in the lead. A spin-off that’s since been canceled…and Amell thinks he knows why. Centered on Amell’s Ted Black, a former New York City federal prosecutor who restarts his career in Los Angeles as an entertainment lawyer, the show highlights his experience with powerful, wealthy L.A. clients as he works through his own personal challenges. Along with an appearance by Suits star Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter, the show also featured a handful of real-world celebrities playing fictionalized versions of themselves, including Brian Baumgartner (The Office), Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille), and Yvette Nicole Brown (Community).

Unfortunately, NBC swiftly decided to cancel Suits L.A. after one season in May 2025. With only minimal connections to the original show, the new spin-off garnered brutal reviews from critics, and it was not able to connect with fans the way Suits did in the 2010s. Now, in the aftermath of that cancellation, its leading star is shouldering much of the blame for what happened.

Stephen Amell as Ted Black in the Suits LA episode “Tearin’ Up My Heart”

NBC

Speaking on the Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum podcast, Stephen Amell admitted that Suits L.A. “wasn’t good enough” and noted that “anything that ends not on your terms is a failure.” More specifically, he put the blame on himself for the series not living up to expectations:

“The blame rests with me. Whatever problem you have with the show — because I think that there were issues — it’s my job to solve those, to smooth them over and to gloss them up with some type of performance or something that, tangible or otherwise, covers up those mistakes. Because you do something that is magnetic, that is charismatic, that fixes those problems. And I didn’t do that.”

Along with the original Suits‘ nine-year run on USA, the series has attempted a couple of spin-offs to try to keep the narrative running for this hit legal drama. This started in 2019 with Gina Torres’ Pearson, which followed Torres’ Jessica Pearson after her time in the original Suits as she dove into the gritty world of Chicago politics. This continued again when Suits L.A. made its debut in February 2025 with a 13-episode season, though Amell and company could not keep viewers interested long enough for the show to continue.

Suits L.A. simply had a difficult time living up to the standard its predecessor set, as fans thought the spin-off tried too hard to imitate Suits instead of going down its own path. Even though viewers began warming up to what this show offered by the end of the season, as the back half was reviewed much more favorably than the early half, it was not enough to convince NBC to renew it for Season 2.

Looking forward, the big question now is if and when Suits will continue in a new form. These days, revival series and delayed renewals are not uncommon, as a new season of Scrubs is days away and new episodes of shows like Malcolm in the Middle and Baywatch are confirmed to be in the works. Whether Suits gets this treatment eventually is still unknown, but considering the popularity it garnered, it would certainly be a candidate to continue into Season 10, given the right circumstances. The first and only season of Suits L.A. is now streaming on Peacock.