When Stephen Amell first began his role as Oliver Queen in The CW series Arrow, the show that paved the way for the largest “Arrowverse,” one of the common complaints about the show was its over-reliance on flashbacks. Now, Stephen stars in a new version of the popular series Suits titled Suits L.A., and while the present day material in the first three episodes is good, we could also gladly welcome a time when the show lays off with the flashbacks.
Suits L.A. premieres tonight (February 23) on NBC, and in it, Stephen stars as Ted Black in this new incarnation of the Aaron Korsh-created series which has many of the same creative talents involved as the original Suits had. As such, dialogue is sharp, costuming is [in most cases] sharper, people are pretty, there’s a lot of light coming into the windows, the legal stuff sometimes is absurd but we go with it, and the theme song remains the same. The team behind Suits L.A. did a fantastic job with casting, with a likeable ensemble from top to bottom. As much as I personally enjoyed Arrow, this is Stephen’s best work — he seems very well suited (pun intended) for the role of Ted, and part of the interest of the show is peeling back his many layers as a character. You’re often left assuming much more is going on than meets the eye for Ted, just like there seem to be extra layers for Erica, Stuart, Rick, Amanda, Samantha, Kevin, Roslyn, and the other characters in the ensemble. A favorite for me is the enthusiastic Leah as played by My Adventures with Superman’s Alice Lee; her enthusiastic attitude offsets some of the more cunning approaches by others.
Without spoiling the premise that gets the ball rolling, what you need to know is that Ted Black was a former prosecutor from New York who came West to start a firm with his best friend, Stuart Lane, as played by Josh McDermitt. The firm is poised to make a big change regardless, but circumstances within force Ted to reinvent himself and the firm, all while still keeping the “entertainment law” side of things that both Rick (Bryan Greenberg) and Erica (Lex Scott Davis) want to take over for him.
The first three episodes also show off some of the clients, such as Alias’ Kevin Weisman as a producer involved in a murder storyline. The pilot includes John Amos playing himself as a client looking for more acting roles; sadly, he passed away in real life soon after the first episode filmed. We meet Ted’s brother Eddie (Carson A. Egan) who has remained an integral part of his life and is the source of major friction between Ted and his father who is played by The Flash’s Matt Letscher. Yes, this man named his children Ted and Eddie, apparently. Victoria Justice shows up as a high-profile client, and the show’s third episode features a guest that fans of The Office will particularly love. It’s really easy as a viewer to get involved and interested in this show, much like it was with the original Suits. Speaking of which, Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter is expected to show up, though aside from a photo and a reference in the show’s second episode, we may be waiting a little while to see him.
As mentioned before, the main characters and their interactions are all top-notch, with some particular pairings (Ted and Stuart, Erica and Rick) being especially interesting to check out. In dealing with the rest of the characters, I’m loving the Erica/Leah interactions and Maggie Grace’s Amanda character has a very intriguing interaction in Episode 2. Ted and Kevin also have an interesting past leading to an interesting present day, and I still haven’t totally figured out how Samantha fits into this whole thing, for reasons you will see. Finally, the moments between Ted and his brother Eddie show that he does have compassion and isn’t just a jerk who wears suits. Those moments also bring out some particularly good acting with Amell, just like his present-day interaction with his father brings.
Which is not to say the show is perfect. The flashbacks mentioned above do need to be addressed. While it is important to see Ted’s past in order to fully understand his present, I almost wish some of it had been delivered in dialogue rather than spending our time with it, or, perhaps, doing a flashback episode later in the first season. I can give it a pass for Episode 1, but with threads continuing through to the third of three episodes provided to press, it’s already getting old. I acknowledge that it does show off Ted’s layers as a character, and his history with folks like his father, Samantha, Kevin, Eddie, and Stuart Lane, but I’m already kind of over it, and at times especially in the pilot I was confused when the show would shift from era to era. It might be possible that the number of recurring characters gets confusing, but I don’t think that’s too much of a concern. I am wondering, though, when certain people who faces are seen in the opening titles would just get their names up there in the front too. (Have I mentioned lately how I love opening titles?)
If people check out the show, it has the potential to be NBC’s next big hit. It’s certainly worth giving a try. Despite my issues with the flashbacks, I still give the pilot a 9/10. Check it out at 9PM ET/PT tonight on NBC and soon thereafter on Peacock. More photos from the first episode “Seven Days a Week and Twice on Sunday” can be found below.
