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

*Suits* has been a beloved show among fans ever since its premiere on USA in 2011, and its popularity soared even more after becoming available on Netflix, sparking numerous binge-watching marathons. Despite this, the recent spin-off, *Suits LA*, was unable to capture the same magic. After just one season, NBC announced its cancellation as part of their fall schedule. Jeff Bader, the president of program planning strategy at NBC, shed light on the decision to pull the plug on the series.

“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 released. He added, “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.”

Suits LA was canceled after just one season. Photo by: Nicole Weingart/NBC via Getty Images.

The executive further elaborated on the decision-making process: “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 noted that NBCUniversal considers transferring canceled shows to Peacock, but *Suits LA* did not receive approval for this move.

As for the shows that managed to stay on the schedule, Bader explained the criteria that made them appealing to the network, particularly with the need to accommodate sports programming like the NBA on 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 shared. “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 ran for nine seasons from 2011 to 2019. The revival series, *Suits LA*, premiered in February and featured stars such as Stephen Amell, Lex Scott Davis, Josh McDermitt, and Bryan Greenberg. Additionally, original *Suits* cast members like Rick Hoffman, David Costabile, and Gabriel Macht made appearances on the new show. Aaron Korsh, the creator of *Suits*, also served as the creator and executive producer for the spinoff, which aired its final episode on May 11, 2025.