In case you’ve been out of the country or under a rock, let this musing inform you that for the first time in a REALLY long time NBC will be premiering a series on a Sunday night that they actually believe has a fighting chance of being a winner. SUITS L.A., which virtually every tracking study shows has the highest level of anticipation and awareness of anything debuting this winter, will finally be unveiled at 9 PM ET, which based upon the degree of promotion and hype that Comcast is giving it may rival the Second Coming. And it’s definitely benefitted from the fact that the network attracted nearly 15 million people to the time slot last week with an event that was fifty years in the making.
The SUITS franchise has only been building for a fraction of that time span, but based upon volume and ubiquity it sure seems like it’s been something much closer to SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’s legacy. After all, it’s not every spin-off that gets to riff off a title that somehow became the most-viewed acquired series in streaming history, years after its original run quietly left USA after a hearty but hardly revolutionary nine seasons.
This iteration, from the retroactively genius mind of Aaron Korsh, moves the franchise cross-country and into a legal setting, a formula that has worked on network television even longer than either SUITS or SNL has been around. For nine far more productive seasons the original PERRY MASON was appointment television for CBS, and even to this day remains a popular rerun staple both on diginets like MeTV and on Paramount+. And for eight seasons LA LAW took the mantle of Steven Bochco NBC hit on “must-see Thursday” from HILL STREET BLUES to a new studio and a new level of engagement. Harry Hamlin became the sexiest man alive, Laurie Partridge became a de facto sex goddess, and my mother went to her grave somewhat happier than she otherwise would have had thanks to his bestowing her with a kiss and a T-shirt when she declared her fandom to him in the middle of the 20th Century FOX commissary.
So all the signs should be pointing to SUITS LA being received just as warmly as Mom did Harry, right? Well, not according to at least a couple of crucial critics.
The LOS ANGELES TIMES’ Robert Lloyd, who’s been around long enough to remember both LA LAW and PERRY MASON, was nuanced but muted in his review which dropped earlier this morning:
(T)he series starts out pretty ho-hum, as if contractual commitments to a delivery date left the work half-realized. But it has been the case on network television that no one knows what the show is or isn’t until it’s put on its feet, and while you may be stuck with your pilot, it’s possible subsequently to course-correct — that’s why cast members seen in a first episode might disappear forever, while new ones walk through the door in the second or third.
Meanwhile, on the coast that was jilted by Korsh, Lloyd’s NEW YORK counterpart Margaret Lyons was more reflective and dismissive:
“Suits LA” is a spinoff of “Suits” — a sequel, sort of, but it feels like a seance. Gather, viewers, as we attempt to contact the spirit of “Suits.” Can you feel it in the room with us? Its fraternal jockeying? Its fascination with sleeveless tops as office wear for women? Maybe looking at a photograph of one of its characters will help maintain the delusion. Maybe hearing the theme song. Ooooohh. “Suits” says hi. “Suits” misses you.
“Suits LA”…is an attempt to turn an unanswerable question into a little money. A question not about the nature of mortality but rather the nature of hits: Why does a show become popular? Why did a series that was a decent USA show from 2011-2019 become a Netflix sensation in the summer of 2023? The truth is, no one knows. If they did, they would make hits every time, and no show would be canceled prematurely, and we would have candy for dinner every day before the bliss orgy. But we live in the same world as the characters on “Suits LA” — the one where nothing nice can be simply enjoyed; it must be capitalized upon. Maybe plenty of “Suits” fans will be perfectly satisfied with this conjuring.
Not all of us, though, because “Suits LA” is flat and joyless. The original “Suits” distinguished itself with its quick dialogue, pert sense of humor and thrilling, wall-to-wall horniness, none of which are present here. Instead of a brilliant little scammer who stumbles into a law career under the tutelage of an alluring alpha, we have a generic mad hunk who snarls within the first five seconds of the show, “My father left when I was very young, and I never respected him.” Fun! When does Meghan Markle get here? (She does not.)
So based on those tepid endorsements I can’t say I’m as eager to drop what I’m doing (or, more accurately, set an alarm) at 9 PM ET tonight to see how this looks and evolves. But then again, despite the degree of investment of money and urgency (good God, the show was at the front of my Tik Tok feed this morning!!), I don’t believe NBC really expects any of us to.
The nature of episodic television and especially broadcast networks these days is to virtually ignore any overnight ratings data that exists–short of a live event, the bare minimum window for time-shifted viewing is three days. NBC’s competitors often emphasize live-plus-seven and live-plus-35, the latter having somehow been determined by Nielsen as more of an apples-to-apples comparison with how streaming series are viewed (not to mention it’s the largest default window for extended viewing in their current software). And for a show whose progenitor took more than a decade to be discovered, this is a franchise that redefines what a long tail is.
Besides that, even if this is somehow a breakthrough hit, all indications are it won’t resurface on Sunday nights in a renewal. NBC has far and away the most popular broadcast network content awaiting them in the fall–Sunday Night Football–and they’ve apparently committed winter Sunday nights to the NBA as of next year. So one truly wonders if this call to immediate action was money (and valuable promo time) well spent in the first place.
I will DVR it and I’m certain more progressive ones will seek it out on Peacock sooner than later. And I’m willing to bet that there will eventually be some sort of a positive story that comes from this. I do tend to agree with Lloyd’s take that procedurals often evolve after the pilot. Lord knows NBC has had more than enough time and interest in testing and analyzing it.
So don’t expect me or NBCU to weigh in one way or the other for a while. If precedence holds, check with both of us in…say…2040?
Until next time…