M-Net grabs Suits L.A. spinoff for 2025

by Thinus Ferreira

M-Net has snagged NBC's Suits spinoff, Suits: L.A. that will start in America and on DStv for South African viewers in 2025, with Gabriel Macht who will reprise his role as Harvey Spencer in a 3-episode arc.

One person who definitely won't be in the new spinoff since she's now married to royalty is Meghan Markle, with Markle and husband Prince Harry producing various TV projects for Netflix.

M-Net (DStv 101) confirmed to me that it will have the highly anticipated Suits: L.A. in early-2025 which was picked up straight to series at NBC in the United States.

Set in Los Angeles just like L.A. Law, Suits: L.A. will star Stephen Amell as Ted Black, alongside Josh McDermitt, Lex Scott Davis, Bryan Greenberg and Troy Winbush.

The only officially released summary of Suits: L.A. so far reads: "Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor from New York, has reinvented himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles".

"His firm is at a crisis point and to survive he must embrace a role he held in contempt his entire career. Ted is surrounded by a stellar group of characters who test their loyalties to both Ted and each other while they can’t help but mix their personal and professional lives."

Suits ran for nine seasons which were all on M-Net and made stars of Patrick J. Adams, Meghan Markle as well as Gabriel Macht who visited South Africa a decade ago in 2015 to do a press tour and film a DStv TV commercial for MultiChoice and M-Net.

As a library series, Suits was picked up by Netflix globally where a lot more viewers discovered it, and is now also available for local viewing on Netflix South Africa.

Aaron Korsh created Suits and is back as creator and showrunner of the Suits: L.A. spinoff. 

Suits: L.A. is actually Korsh's second spinoff, after the single-season Pearson that was also on M-Net, and starred Gina Torres, who played Jessica Pearson, who moved from New York City to Chicago.

Suits: L.A. will debut on 23 February 2025 in the United States. 

Besides M-Net having secured it, M-Net isn't saying yet whether it will be an Express from the US title with episodes showing close to the American airdates once it starts.

ALSO READ: Suits spinoff Suits: LA with Stephen Amell given a series order

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 15 October 2015

■ Complete news round-up of the SABC's ongoing Hlaudi Motsoeneng court circus.
From Hlaudi Motsoeneng's lawyer accusing the judge of racism, to Hlaudi Motsoeneng wanting his disciplinary hearing broadcast on live television in South Africa, to the court hearing the SABC thinks Hlaudi Motsoeneng is "the best thing since sliced bread".

■ MultiChoice's DStv commercial with Suits' Gabriel Macht on M-Net is a failure.
Why did DStv bastardise Harvey Specter? As the DStv brand ambassador the DStv advert leaves viewers "unwowed and unmoved" and the DStv ad's copy is "stiff and pedestrian", awkwardly overstyled as DStv failed and took Gabriel Macht as a favourite TV star and turned him into an advertising puppet.

■ MultiChoice Africa fires DStv marketing and sales executives over theft.
In Uganda, DStv's marketing manager Brian Muwonge and sales manager Jude Kalema have been fired over misappropriation and stealing money using it for private business and sex.

■ ITV's new Jekyll and Hyde will be Downton Abbey with monsters.
The new British drama series of course grabbed quickly by ShowMax for South African viewers.

■ DStv iRock Festival in Polokwane apparently a disaster for the press
Almost none of the journalists who went wrote anything; now this shocking report weeks later about leaving late, an extremely boring pre-party like "a shebeen in Hillbrow", having to leave one hotel for a "horrible, horrible, horrible" other hotel.
Then there was the bad food problems; and those big green flies...

■ The new Victoria's Secret Fashion Show coming to e.tv.
Will be broadcast on 19 December and this year Rihanna, The Weeknd and Selena Gomez are performing.

■ Video-on-demand (VOD) service VIDI is struggling
VIDI suffering from poor South African uptake and VIDI is struggling to gain traction in the market, and now investment partner Tiso Blackstar is dumping the unsuccessful VIDI which will try to re-engineer the business.

■ South Africa's digital terrestrial television (DTT) encryption battle is about to get even nastier.
The "fight of the decade" is on in the battle over South Africa's DTT.

■ Comatosed Lamar Odom who's organs are shutting down in hospital is not being filmed.
The Keeping Up with the Kardashians cameras are not rolling for E! Entertainment (DStv 124) at Sunrise Hospital because the reality family now wants privacy. They did film the drama as they all prepared and got ready to go to hospital.

■ America's Next Top Model cancelled after 12 years.
The Tyra Banks show failed after it went from industry competition to branding pageant.