"They cannot curse" — When Suits' spinoff had to tone it down: Aaron Korsh on the sneak peek at network changes

Suits LA, the spinoff of the original Gabriel Macht-starring legal drama, debuted on NBC on February 23, 2025, and on Peacock the very next day. The new show has some semblance to the old one, at least in the early episodes, as seen in the lawyer duo Ted Black and Stuart Lane. It's parallel to the original' Harvey Specter and Michael Ross. That said, the spinoff is mostly different.

For one, it's a different law firm, with the spinoff set in Los Angeles compared to the OG's New York, and there's a list of new cast members. Another difference between the shows is that the spinoff series won't have as much cursing in it. On December 16, 2024, months before the series debuted, the series creator, Aaron Korsh, who also created the original Suits, teased what fans can expect in the spinoff.

He told Entertainment Weekly that fans won't be hearing much of the OG's favorite expletive, 'godd*amnit,' in the new show.

"They cannot curse, they can't say 'sh*t,' they can't say 'f*ck.' So, you will hear some 'g*ddamnits,' but you won't hear as many as you heard [on Suits]."

He explained that with the spinoff show being picked up on a broadcast network as opposed to basic cable, production had to make some changes, including limiting the use of "g*ddamnits."

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Aaron Korsh says there's a limit to how many 'g*ddamnits' they can use per episode in the Suits spinoff

Back in the original show, the use of the expletive averaged five times per episode, and at one point in season 5, episode 13, it reached 17. However, in the spinoff, Aaron Korsh told Entertainment Weekly that it would be very limited.

"We are limited to three 'g*ddamnits' per episode."

During the interview, which the Suits LA stars Stephen Amell, Josh McDermitt, Les Scott Davis, and Bryan Greenberg also attended, Amell said that all three 'g*ddamnits' are reserved for him.

The spinoff's Ted Black (Stephen Amell) also recalled how it was challenging to cut down on the expletive while filming for the series. He said that it was one of the things he liked in the original series once he noticed it, and that's why it was hard to tone it down. He recalled:

"I was actually filming a scene the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and we had a couple of takes where there was no 'g*ddamn,' and I threw in a 'g*ddamn.'"

He further quipped about the limited 'g*ddamnits' per episode compared to the OG:

"If you're not going to lean into it, what are you going to do?'

That said, the reduced expletive count isn't the only thing that makes the Suits spinoff different from the original series. The OG was a dual-lead show with Harvey (Gabriel Macht) and Michael (Patrick J. Adams), and while the spinoff introduced Ted (Amell) and Stuart (Josh McDermitt) as partners, it won't stay that way for long. Korsh told Entertainment Weekly that the spinoff will be a "single lead with an ensemble."

Moreover, Suits LA was originally written outside of the OG drama's universe, per Korsh. The script was originally called Ted, inspired by the real-life CAA agent and former ICM Partner managing director Ted Chervin's career trajectory from a prosecutor to a talent agent, per Deadline.

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The first two episodes of the Suits spinoff are now streaming on Peacock, with new episodes airing on NBC every week on Sunday evening and on Peacock the very next day.