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

Suits spinoff Suits: LA with Stephen Amell given a series order.

by Thinus Ferreira

America's NBC network has given a series order to a Suits spinoff entitled Suits: LA starring Stephen Amell which means it's extremely likely that the series will be seen on M-Net (DStv 101) as well.

Suits: LA is created by the Suits creator Aaron Korsh and was developed after Netflix added Suits, which was set in New York, as a library title to its streaming service where it became highly watched.

In Suits: LA, Stephen Amell from Arrow portrays Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor from New York who now lives in Los Angeles and is the head of a law firm there.

NBC issued a summary of Suits: LA: "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."

"All of this is going on while events from years ago slowly unravel that led Ted to leave behind everything and everyone he loved."

The Suits: LA cast includes Josh McDermitt, Lex Scott Davis and Bryan Greenberg. 

Josh McDermitt is Stuart Lane who joined Ted Black to start a new Los Angeles law firm. Lex Scott Davis portrays Erica Rollins, a "savvy and strong-willed rising star at the firm", while Bryan Greenberg is Rick Dodsen, Ted's protege in the firm's entertainment division.

The executive producers are Aaron Korsh, Doug, David Bartis, Doug Liman and Gene Klein who were all also executive producers of Suits.

New Suits spin-off drama series, Pearson, broadcast on M-Net from 8 August right behind the 9th and final season of Suits exactly as in America.

M-Net (DStv 101) has added the Suits spin-off, Pearson, with Gina Torres, to start and show right after episodes of the new 9th and final season of Suits, exactly as both shows are broadcast on the USA Network in the United States with both series starting on M-Net from Thursday 8 August with Suits at 20:10 and Pearson at 21:10.

Both the final season of Suits and Pearson started on the USA Network on 17 July 2019 and will have seasons of 10 episodes each.

Jessica Pearson now works in Chicago for mayor Bobby Golec (Morgan Spector) as his "fixer", with viewers of Scandal/The Fixer and The Good Fight on M-Net who will enjoy Pearson.

The first episode takes a while to get going but once the must-do exposition and new-show set-up has been done, the story starts going as she fixes several of his political issues involving people he owes favours too, trade union issues and deals with office politics where initially nobody likes her.

The former attorney has her work cut out for her in this lion's den, where juggling her boss' blatant disregard for the law, an ongoing rivalry with a colleague (who happens to be the person responsible for taking away her law licence), and maintaining her already-strained personal relationships are going to prove quite the challenge.

The rest of the Pearson cast includes Simon Kassianides as Nick, Bethany Joy Lenz as Keri Allen, Chantel Riley as Angela, Isabel Arraiza as Yoli and Eli Goree as Derrick.

The creator of Suits, Aaron Korsh, is also behind Pearson and is an executive producer along with Gina Torres.

Legal drama Suits getting a spinoff series that will revolve around Gina Torres' character of Jessica Pearson adjusting to life in the cut-throat world of Chicago politics.

The popular legal drama Suits is getting a spinoff with a new show that has been picked up that will focus on Gina Torres' character, the lawyer Jessica Pearson who left for Chicago midway during the 6th season.

An episode order number and a possible starting date for the as-yet-untitled spinoff from Universal Cable Productions isn't known yet, but the NBCUniversal owned show says the new show will revolve around lawyer Jessica Pearson as she tries to adjust to the world of Chicago politics.

"When she is forced to enter the dirty world of Chicago politics, Pearson must rely on her legal wits and valiant relationships from Pearson Specter Litt to navigate this unknown territory," says the producers about the new series.

"Gina's portrayal of Jessica Pearson as one of television's strongest, most successful businesswomen has made a huge impact with fans," says Chris McCumber, president of entertainment networks at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.

"We can't wait to explore this next chapter in the Suits legacy - and a brand-new world for Jessica."

Suits creator Aaron Korsh will executive produce the spinoff with Gina Torres that will also get an executive producer title.

"It was an extraordinary pleasure working with Gina on Suits for six years," says Aaron Korsh.

"Beyond her undeniable talent, she is an incredible partner and collaborator, and I always hoped we would work together again. I am sincerely grateful to USA Network for giving me the opportunity to continue Jessica Pearson's journey in this new series that will encapsulate all that our fans love about her and Suits - but with its own distinct story that will be unique to the franchise."

Gina Torres says "The audience that is watching Suits holds us to a golden standard that we hope to meet and, in our wildest dreams, maybe push the envelope up."

"Fans of Suits have come to know Jessica as this confident, kick-ass attorney who is always five steps ahead of everyone, but that’s only 5-10% of the entirety of this woman. What is wonderful is that the audience will be treated to not just the great television expected of Suits but also peek into Jessica’s world."

"We want to talk today's topics and really go in and do some commentary and entertain at the same time."

In January Suits was renewed for an 8th season, and announced that Patrick J. Adams and Meghan Markle are leaving the show. In November 2017 Meghan Markle became engaged to Britain’s Prince Harry with the two who plan to get married in May.

Suits will return in its 8th season with Gabriel Macht, Rick Hoffman, Sarah Rafferty and Dulé Hill, as well as newcomer Katherine Heigl.

Programming note: No Suits on Saturday on M-Net; legal lawyer drama back Saturday 12 July - but watch the start of The Leftovers.

There won't be a new episode of Suits on M-Net this Saturday since the pay-TV broadcaster now brings subscribers episodes virtually instantaneous with the United States and the legal lawyer drama is taking a one week break - but Suits will be back on M-Net next Saturday 12 July.

And meanwhile there is The Leftovers starting on Saturday at 21:00 on M-Net - the moody, eerie, somber mystery drama of what happens to those left behind when 2% of the world's population suddenly disappears.

After a short production break was added to Suits' production schedule there's no new episode for M-Net to show which brings viewers episodes instantly after they're broadcast in America. But Suits will return next Saturday, 12 July.

"M-Net is bringing some of the very best international series as close as possible to their United States debuts - for the benefit of viewers who want to consume these high-profile series while they're hot and happening around the world," says Lani Lombard, M-Net's head of publicity.

"It's incredible to think that we can now screen these series while they are still in production, but it also means that we have to slot into the sometimes unpredictable international schedule".

"If there's an added production break,or if an episode has not been broadcast yet, we have to change our production schedule as well".

"The added production break is in fact bringing us even closer to the United States screenings," says Lani Lombard.

M-Net's schedule for Saturday 5 July now looks like this:
16:00 Beatles: The Night That Changed America - A Grammy Salute
18:00 Pitch Perfect
20:00 Crisis
21:00 The Leftovers (pilot) (season 1 starts)

SUIT UP. M-Net to show Suits' new 4th season from 21 June, will roll out episodes just 3 days after America in phenomenal roll-out shift.

You're reading it here first. 

Can you feel it? That's literally television's tectonic plates moving below your feet as South African television is undergoing a major systemic shift in premium television: M-Net will now debut the brand-new 4th season of the American legal drama series Suits on 21 June.

The South African premium pay-TV broadcaster is moving the next 9th season of Criminal Minds out and replacing the timeslot with the new 4th season's 16 episodes of Suits.

The result is that South African viewers will get to see the new season of Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams' fantastic New York lawyer series with episodes which will be seen locally just three days after America.

M-Net is doing a swift scheduling upgrade with the 4th season of Suits which is starting tomorrow in America. Suits will now start with a double episode on 21 June at 19:30 in South Africa, and then one episode per week from 28 June.

South African viewers therefore will get to see episodes of Suits less than 72 hours after it's shown in the United States.

Suits ended on multiple cliffhangers, and with the incredibly close broadcasting dates to America, it means that less of the dramatic story developments will be spoilt or leak out before viewers in South Africa get to see it.

The dramatic (and there really isn't any other word to describe it) way in which M-Net has ramped up and closed the broadcasting window of several premium American TV series is breathtaking.

The process started in 2012, quickened in 2013 and has led to a record 2014 television year so far for South African viewers and M-Net subscribers.

Like Suits' latest upcoming season, there is now a record number of American TV programmes shown by M-Net on its analogue service and various DStv supplied TV channels in South Africa extremely close to the American broadcasting dates.

South Africa for years lagged in terms of the roll-out gap of premium TV series as a developing TV economy behind more developed TV markets - but which have comparable TV broadcasting services -  like the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

Now, South Africa - through M-Net - is on the verge of actually edging out New Zealand and Australia for showing more TV series, faster.

With dauntless determination - difficult and sensitive foreign acquisition wrangling with often temperamental distributors, coupled with streamlined and improved digital, technological advances - M-Net has managed to somehow take a giant leap forward with TV programming and scheduling.

This ongoing strategy which is yielding major dividends for both M-Net, DStv and South African viewers alike on a programming side, not only benefits the pay-TV companies but South Africa's entire TV market.

M-Net, and by implication South African television with M-Net in the vanguard, is moving with giant strides, now solidifying and proving that South Africa too, can watch and consume premium TV content at the same time and pace as the rest of the world.