Last month, roughly five years after Suits ended its nine-season run on USA Network, Gabriel Macht reprised Harvey Specter on Suits LA, which is running on NBC. This was the first of his three guest appearances lined up, with the remaining two happening these next couple Sundays on the 2025 TV schedule. Macht has now explained why he decided to revisit Harvey for this new series, but he also shared something that has me concerned about ever seeing him on LA again.
Macht was announced to be stopping by Suits LA last November, and Aaron Korsh, who created both series, explained that when NBC wanted “one original member” to appear, Harvey “made the most sense” for the story. Now obviously that wouldn’t have been possible had Macht not agreed to do it, but upon learning from Korsh it was envisioned for Harvey to have been friends with Stephen Amell’s Ted Black back in 2010, plus the LA team willing to accomodate his schedule, hen was on board. As the actor told THR:
I thought about the space in which Suits LA is presented and I thought, “You know what? I could give something back to the fans because they’re so, so hungry for more of this character. And if I can support the show in my way and bring some eyes to it, that might be a really nice thing to pass the baton.” And that’s how it all came about. It all worked out. They worked out a way to make it make sense for my family, and here we are.
Suits LA’s flashback storyline takes place one year before the original Suits began, meaning Harvey Specter hasn’t met Mike Ross yet and he’s still overflowing with cockiness. But he was also looking out for the people close to him, and that included Ted Black, with whom he played on the same baseball team. So after speaking with his contacts at the NYC DA’s office, he informed Ted that there was someone in his office working for Pellegrini, the mob boss Ted was trying to put away.
Judging by the preview for this Sunday’s episode, my wish to see Harvey in the present day on Suits LA has been granted. Beyond that, it’s unclear what’s in store for the character in his next two episodes, but going off what Gabriel Macht said later in the interview, that may be the last we see of him in the spinoff. This was his response when asked if he was open to returning to the role again:
I think it was the right way to come back, and it’s the right way to leave it right now. I think I was here, really, to pass the baton to Suits LA, but they’re up and running and these guys are solid. They’ve got some good writing; there’s some good stories. There’s definitely fans who are going to stay with the show. I don’t think they need me back. But never say never! If the opportunity comes where it makes sense — again, I’ve got a lot of different interests and a lot of ventures going on.
Look, I understand that Suits LA is here to follow Ted Black and his supporting cast of characters, including Lex Scott Davis’ Erica Rollins, Josh McDermitt’s Stuart Lane and Bryan Greenberg’s Rick Dodsen. That shouldn’t change, and the original Suits cast already had nine seasons to shine. I also understand that Gabriel Macht is keeping busy these days with other endeavors, like his Bear Fight Whiskey brand and creating “little short narratives.”
But at the same time, I would hope that the door doesn’t permanently shut on Harvey Specter appearing on Suits LA again. Depending on where this three-episode arc takes us with him, my fingers are crossed that someday he could reappear on the spinoff, ideally still in the present day. That’s assuming, of course, that Suits LA lasts past one season, and it does end up running for multiple seasons, I’d even be fine with Macht returning several years down the line rather than force him into Season 2.
The good news that Gabriel Macht isn’t the only Suits alum who’s going to appear on Suits LA. Rick Hoffman is set to reprise Louis Litt, and David Costabile will return as Daniel Hardman. There are six episodes left to go in this debut season, which air Sundays at 9 pm.
