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

TV NEWS ROUND-UP. Today's interesting TV stories to read - 28 October 2020.

Here's the latest news about TV that I read and that you should read too:

■ Cheating Expresso TV presenter Katlego Maboe: Is infidelity a form of abuse?

- Reputation rehab: Can reality TV rescue people with bad reputations?

■ Fox News (StarSat 261) American election night 2020 coverage plans in chaos over internal Covid-19 cases.

■ The South African Football Association (SAFA) defends its extremely bizarre late-night announcement in an amateurish exclusive broadcast on the SABC.

■ From 17 November the Televiza pay-TV operator in Mexico will offer Disney+ as an additional streaming service to its subscribers - similar to how MultiChoice wants to add Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and others to DStv.

"Rather than just seeing it as a competitor, well there are ways that we can all benefit, including Disney and us, from new entrants in the market."

■ For video streaming services like Netflix and Apple TV+ catalogue content size isn't everything.

■ Star Wars: The Mandalorian is once again at the top of digital original series recognition and interest.

Worldwide - including South Africa and across Africa where Disney hasn't launched Disney+ - viewers can't wait for the second season of the  Disney+ that will very likely see another massive spike in pirate viewing.

- Baby Yoda has become a marketing force.

■ Netflix working on a live-action Assassin's Creed TV series.

■ John Stewart returning to TV with a new Apple TV+ current affairs series.

■ Bela Bajaria, the head of Netflix's global TV division restructures dramatically - people fired, international team reorganised.

■ Arrow's Stephen Amell reveals he tested Covid-19 positive.

Discuss his "mental fear" of ruining his new TV series because he's the lead on the call sheet.

■ The real reason(s) Netflix cancelled its science fiction series Away.

■ Demi Lovato is going to be the host of the 2020 E! People's Choice Awards on E! (DStv 124).

■ Bots target and make thousands of votes in Nickelodeon's (DStv 305) Kids Pick the President special of the ViacomCBS TV channel.

■ South Africa's state signal distributor Sentech defends its exorbitantly high prices it charges the SABC and others. (subscription required)

■ In a decade of reality TV, have we learnt anything at all?

■ How do celebrity actors prepare for TV sex scenes?

■ TV actress stabbed in Mumbai after she turned down Indian man's marriage proposal.

■ Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) rejects and is shocked by the fines that the country's corrupt Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) imposed on TV channels like Arise TV, AIT and Channels TV for their coverage of the #EndSARS public protests.

Demands that the sanctions and fines be withdrawn and that the corrupt NBC follow correct legal procedures.

■ The trouble with Netflix.

Arrow, seen on M-Net, cancelled after a shortened 8th season of 10 episodes.

The drama series Arrow seen on M-Net (DStv 101) with Stephen Amell as the green caped vigilante has been cancelled after a shortened 8th season that will have only 10 episodes.

The series that started in 2012 followed the adventures of th superhero, whose real name is Oliver Queen, after he was shipwrecked and presumed dead, but returned to Starling City five years later and decided to become a crime-fighter.

Arrow gave rise to several other drama series set in the same DC "Arrowverse" shown across M-Net's channels ranging from VUZU to M-Net City on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service across Africa, including The Flash that started as a spinoff, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow that successfully did several cross-over episodes.

A new pilot is being filmed for Batwoman with Ruby Rose as a possible new series.

"This was a difficult decision to come to, but like every hard decision we've made for the past seven years, it was with the best interests of Arrow in mind," says executive producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Beth Schwartz in a statement.

"We're heartened by the fact that Arrow has birthed an entire universe of shows that will continue on for many years to come."

"We're excited about crafting a conclusion that honours the show, its characters and its legacy and are grateful to all the writers, producers, actors, and - more importantly - the incredible crew that has sustained us and the show for over seven years."

On Twitter Stephen Amell said "Playing Oliver Queen has been the greatest professional experience of my life… but you can't be a vigilante forever…There's so much to say… for now I just want to say thank you."

Playing Oliver Queen has been the greatest professional experience of my life... but you can’t be a vigilante forever.

Arrow will return for a final run of 10 episodes this Fall.

There’s so much to say... for now I just want to say thank you.

— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) March 6, 2019

SABC3 adds fantasy action hero drama Arrow from Tuesday 28 April at 19:30 for a first season of 23 episodes.

SABC3 has acquired the broadcasting rights of Arrow and plans to start the first season of the action hero drama series on Tuesday 28 April at 19:30.

Arrow, with Stephen Amell, currently in its 3rd season in America and on M-Net (DStv 101), follows the adventures of Oliver Queen, a billionaire playboy in Starling City who returns after a 5 year disappearance during which he was stranded on a remote island.

He becomes a masked crusader in green, trying to rid Starling City of various criminals, as Oliver tries to patch up his personal life with the friends, family and loves he left behind.

Arrow's first season has 23 episodes, and has performed very well for M-Net ratings wise.

OLLIE OMNIBUS. Arrow's second season gets a 6 episode catch-up omnibus on M-Net Series Showcase on Sunday 19 January from 13:00.

Viewers who've missed episodes from the second season of the popular Arrow with Stephen Amell on M-Net (DStv 101) over the festive season will now get the opportunity to catch up with a special 6 episode omnibus on Sunday 19 January from 13:00 on M-Net Series Showcase (DStv 113).

M-Net Series Showcase will show the first 6 episodes from the second season of Arrow back-to-back from 13:00 on 19 January to help viewers catch up with episode 7 of Arrow's second season going out on M-Net on 24 January.

"The Arrow omnibus will ensure that everyone is up to speed with the latest developments, just in time for episode 7, which will be aired on M-Net on Friday 24 January at 19:30," says Lani Lombard, M-Net's head of publicity.

"Arrow is an incredibly popular series and we're thrilled that we could find a space to screen the episodes after receiving several requests from viewers," says Lani Lombard.

EXTENDED TRAILER. The new TV drama, Arrow, with Stephen Amell as the superhero Green Arrow.

The CW network in America just released a new extended trailer for the new upcoming TV drama Arrow in which Stephen Amell as the superhero Green Arrow (made famous by Justin Hartley in Smallville) tries to protect his Starling City from crime and evildoers.

ALSO READ: The first look at the new TV drama, Arrow, with Stephen Amell as Green Arrow.
ALSO READ: First TV trailer for the new TV drama, Arrow with Stephen Amell.
ALSO READ: Arrow with Stephen Amell ordered to series, will become the latest superhero TV drama.

Interesting: The mansion is the same as that of Lex Luthor in Smallville.



Interesting: Are those abs really real??

VIDEO. First TV trailer for the brand-new superhero TV drama, Arrow, with Stephen Amell.

Here is the very first, brand-new trailer for the upcoming new TV series, Arrow, about the Green Arrow superhero with Stephen Amell taking over the TV role made famous by Justin Hartley in Smallville.

ALSO READ: Arrow, with Stephen Amell to become television's latest new superhero TV drama series.

ALSO READ: All the brand-new American TV dramas coming our way, what they're about and like what kind of familiar TV show they are.

ALSO READ: First look at Stephen Amell and Arrow, the new superhero TV drama which could become a new series.

BREAKING. Arrow with Stephen Amell to become TV's latest superhero drama series.

Arrow, a new pilot episode of which was filmed with Stephen Amell, will now definitely become a new TV series based on the superhero exploits of The Green Arrow character from DC Comics.

The CW network in America has ordered Arrow to series, meaning the show will become the latest superhero TV drama show. The character was of course made famous the past few years by Justin Hartley in Smallville.

Greg Berlanti is the writer. The drama will follow the comic book character's lore book as billionaire playboy Oliver Queen who got marooned on an island and who returns on a mysterious way a few years later with a new (mysterious) purpose - as well as new skills to fight crime as a caped crusader.

Oliver returns home to Starling City. His mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island.

While Oliver hides the truth about the man he's become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance.

By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur and bodyguard, John Diggle, while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness. However, Laurel's father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city.

FIRST LOOK. The new Green Arrow with Stephen Amell which could become a new TV drama.

The very first image was just released of the new Green Arrow as he will be seen in the new pilot episode of Arrow, which could maybe become a new TV show.

The publicity photo from the CW network shows actor Stephen Amell who will play the title role, should the show be picked up. The character was of course made famous the past few years by Justin Hartley in Smallville.

Greg Berlanti is the writer. The drama will follow the comic book character's lore book as billionaire playboy Oliver Queen who got marooned on an island and who returns on a mysterious way a few years later with a new (mysterious) purpose - as well as new skills to fight crime as a caped crusader.