“Suits LA” misunderstands what made the original great

Last week, when I decided to review "Suits LA," I intended to rip it apart. I tend to stay away from negative reviews because this is a hobby. I get to pick and choose what I post, and if I don't like something, I won't waste my time writing about it. With my current dive back into those old USA Network shows, I was so angry at this show that I had to say something.

Ted Black (Stephen Amell) is a partner at a law firm in LA. On the eve of a merger with another firm, this friend/partner, Stuart (Josh McDermitt), cuts him out and leaves Black with almost no staff and a damaged reputation.

I was going to be very negative about this show, but then I watched episode three. My rule is that I give every show five episodes to prove it is worth watching, and while this show has not cleared that bar just yet, it is much closer than I thought it would get.

For me, it all comes down to the characters. This show is full of bad characters. I did not expect them to be carbon copies of the original, but they must be interesting. Stuart is one of the worst. Here is a guy who was vicious enough to cut his "friend" out of the merger, but then he plays it gently when he needs to tell Ted that Ted's recently deceased father made Stuart the arbitrator of his will. Honestly, every character on this show is poorly written and tough to watch.

Calling your show "Suits LA" comes with certain expectations. I have spent the last two weeks talking about the USA Network shows. This show has none of that. The characters are boring or downright terrible, the plot is (again) boring, and all the fun of those "Blue Sky Shows" is missing. The quick, quippy dialogue is almost non-existent, and what little is there is trying too hard. The thing about those old shows was how breezy the lines were delivered, and this show's dialogue feels stilted.

Episode three did start to feel like the show was changing for the better, but it is still miles away from being in the same ballpark as the era it is trying to invoke. The real test will be when Harvey Spector (Gabriel Macht) makes a guest appearance this week. Will this be the version of Harvey from the original show, or will this be a version made to fit into this self-serious show? I will give this show two more episodes, but unless there is a drastic improvement, I am not watching all 13.

"Suits LA" airs on NBC at 9 PM on Sundays.