Yahoo News ‘Suits’ Universe Eyes Expansion With New Series In Works At NBCUniversal From Aaron Korsh
EXCLUSIVE: For the past four months, Suits has been the hottest series on television, breaking a slew of streaming viewership records. Now the franchise, which ended in September 2019 with the Suits series finale, is plotting a comeback.
Series creator Aaron Korsh is in development of a Suits offshoot for NBCUniversal, sources tell Deadline. Deals are still being negotiated, but I hear the project is expected to be fast-tracked with a serious commitment.
More from Deadline
Even ‘Suits’ Creator “Underestimated” Series Amid Its Newfound Streaming Success
NBCUniversal Confirms Return Of Radio City Upfront In May And Ad Tech Showcase In March
This is not a revival or reboot and, unlike the 2019 Pearson, the new legal procedural is not a spinoff either — it would be a Suits universe series in the vein of the CSI and NCIS franchises featuring new characters in a new location, sources said. I hear Los Angeles is a backdrop considered for the workplace drama.
Like is the case for most NBCUniversal development, a network or platform for the potential new series has not been determined yet. The original Suits and spinoff Pearson both aired on the company’s USA Network. They were produced by UCP, part of Universal Studio Group. I hear UCP, where Korsh was based for many years with back-to-back overall deals, is in discussions to produce the new offshoot. Korsh is expected to executive producer alongside David Bartis and Doug Liman who were EPs with him on the original series. A rep for NBCU declined comment.
Suits centers on famous litigator Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) who, impressed by university expellee Mike Ross’s (Patrick J. Adams) photographic memory and skills, brings him to the prestigious law firm he is a partner at.
The last hit from USA Network’s Blue Sky golden era, the series, which also stars Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty and Gina Torres, was popular in its day, making it to nine seasons and spawning a short-lived spinoff, Pearson, headlined by Torres. It transitioned to streaming and was available on Prime Video and Peacock for years until, in an unassuming, modestly priced ($200K-$400K an episode) second-cycle non-exclusive deal, Netflix this year took in the first eight seasons of the show, sharing them with Peacock.
What followed was nothing short of a lightning in the bottle. Possibly fueled by curiosity over Markle’s final role before becoming a British royal and helped by the series’ breezy, addictive storytelling and memorable characters as well as a launch in the summer when popcorn fare has always thrived, Suits has exploded in popularity and last week surpassed Ozark for the most No. 1 overall finishes in the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 ever.
Even Suits creator Aaron Korsh seems a little stunned by his series’ runaway success in its second life.
“I always thought we were underestimated, but it turns out, even I underestimated #Suits,” he wrote in a retweet of Deadline’s story on the latest streaming record broken by his show. “It’s good to be the King.”
Korsh is repped by UTA, Dennis Kim at Literate and attorney Mitch Smelkinson.
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
