Suits: LA has landed a $12 million filming credit thanks to a recent change in the show’s original production plan. Set to follow a new Los Angeles-based law firm helmed by Stephen Amell’s former prosecutor-turned-defense attorney Ted Black, this new Suits spinoff marks the first return to the show's universe since the original concluded in 2019. Following Suits’ record-breaking streaming streak in 2023, the pilot episode for Suits: LA was filmed in Vancouver earlier this year. NBC later placed a full series order in July, with later reports suggesting production would move from Canada to Los Angeles.

Per a new report from TheWrap, that change in filming location has netted Suits: LA a $12 million tax credit via the Soundstage Filming Tax Credit Program. Expected to create over 2600 jobs in California, and generating $50.7 million in qualified expenditures, The behind-the-scenes shift in location is being touted as a major boon by the California Film Commission’s Executive Director Colleen Bell. Check out her comments below:

Keeping jobs here in California and bringing jobs back to California have always been top priorities for our state. We’re not only helping people get back to work but also keeping major projects like ‘Suits LA’—which was planning to film elsewhere—right here in Los Angeles where it belongs. This is crucial for our economy and the well-being of our crew that call California home.

In an industry where major networks and studios are constantly looking for the most economical way to produce new content, it is not unusual for shows to be filmed in different locations from the cities in which they are set. Lured by the promise of tax incentives and reduced production overheads, countless shows have swapped the streets of some of America’s best-known cities for the likes of Vancouver and Toronto. Even the original Suits used numerous Canadian locales as stand-ins for the show’s bustling New York City streets.

The Move to Los Angeles Boosts Authenticity

After 9 seasons, Suits came to an end, and, despite a resurgence of popularity on Netflix, the franchise's future is better off in Suits L.A.'s hands.

In a move that is almost the exact opposite of what production on Suits: LA is now doing by moving to Los Angeles, the original show’s pilot episode was filmed on location in New York City but would later move to Toronto as a cost-saving measure. While this location change would largely go unnoticed for the show’s key interior sets, keen-eyed viewers would inevitably be able to spot the differences whenever the show’s action ventured beyond the offices of Pearson Specter Litt.

With the streets of Los Angeles serving as the backdrop to some of the world’s best-known movies and television shows, even audiences who have never visited the city in person have become increasingly adept at spotting attempts to use other cities as a stand-in.

Thankfully, however, the decision to move production for Suits: LA to the same city in which the show is set will help lend greater authenticity to its external shots. With the streets of Los Angeles serving as the backdrop to some of the world’s best-known movies and television shows, even audiences who have never visited the city in person have become increasingly adept at spotting attempts to use other cities as a stand-in. As such, this move will likely not only benefit work on Suits: LA financially, but it will also offer the finished product a noticeable visual boost.

Suits L.A. - The Show

Source: TheWrap

Suits L.A. is a legal drama series spun off from the original franchise and will see Aaron Korsh return as the creator. Stephen Amell will take the role of Ted Black, a lawyer who must guide his legal firm out of a period of impending collapse.