NBC Exec Explains Suits LA Cancellation: 'Tough Choices Were Necessary'

*Suits*, a beloved series that first graced our screens back in 2011 on USA Network, has remained a fan favorite for nearly 15 years. Its recent availability on Netflix sparked a major resurgence, fueling countless binge-watching marathons. However, the excitement couldn't carry over to the new spin-off, *Suits: LA*, which NBC decided to cancel upon the release of their fall schedule. Jeff Bader, the brand's president of program planning strategy, shed light on why the plug was pulled.

“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 explained to Variety after the fall schedule was made public. “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.”

The executive further elaborated, “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.”

Bader also mentioned that NBCUniversal typically considers transferring shows to Peacock upon network cancellation, but *Suits: LA* did not receive the go-ahead for this move.

Regarding the shows that survived the cuts, Bader outlined the criteria that made them appealing enough to retain on the network's schedule, especially with the need to accommodate more sports programming due to the NBA taking over Tuesday nights. “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,” Bader told the outlet. “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 stars like Stephen Amell, Lex Scott Davis, Josh McDermitt, and Bryan Greenberg. It also saw guest appearances from original *Suits* cast members such as Rick Hoffman, David Costabile, and leading man Gabriel Macht. Aaron Korsh, the creator of *Suits*, also served as the creator and executive producer of the spinoff. The final episode of *Suits: LA* aired on May 11, 2025.