Despite the above photograph, Ted Black is not a happy man. The leadership of “Costumes la,” played by before “Arrow” and “Heels” Star Stephen Amell, is not where he wants to be in his career. He is not where he wants to be on this planet either, and he has lost almost every person he loves. One of the few remaining positive effects in his life is upwards before the pilot ends and presses the poor Ted so much further into the misery.
To be clear is Ted not Poor. He is very prosperous, if not really rich, given that he is a formidable lawyer who works from LA’s “Luxe Culver City block. At least he has enough money to feel comfortable, and that comfort should be enjoyed then and then. Tell me some jokes. Go out for a pair of beers. Catch a Lakers game. Maybe Ted is not enjoying crisis management mode. But even after the overcooked pilot finish, Ted can not care about building them.
This angry lonely wolf routine is in sharp contrast to the original “costumes”, A product from the US network’s “Blue Sky” -era, where shows like “White Collar” and “Burn Notice” kept the mood easy and the good times rolling. Problems would arise, safely, but they tended to be inconvenience more often than nightmares, and melodrama, while they were anchored in characters and their relationships, was also exactly that: Mellow.
“Suits” Fit the shape. Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) and Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) are paired in the pilot, via a platonic meeting where the former by mistake lands a job at the latter elite law firm, even though they lack a law degree. The two strangers get tied at the hip of their shared secret – Mike needs a job to support his grandmother’s medical bills, and Harvey needs Mike because he is impressed with his moxie or something. It doesn’t matter, for “Costumes“Is not meant to be realistic or serious or even so dramatic; It’s meant to be fun.
“Suits La” is not fun. It is also not realistic, but it does not prevent it from being superfluous and super duper seriously. For reasons I am forbidden to reveal at present, its central dynamics – and the only one with clear potential that is moving forward – “Suits La” turns into a bizarro version of “suits”, which is kind of exciting from the outside that looks in. (Why would NBC commission this spinoff of “costumes”?) but in practice, “Suits la” proves as strange as the original series was inviting.
In essence, I blame Ted. Yes, the dialogue is stile and almost exclusively exposure. Sure, the supporting role is as bland as a dodger dog and the scenes as prosaic as Dodger Stadium. But a solid central character can make you look past all this, and Ted is for one note, too unpleasant and too damn angry to encourage our investment.
“Suits La” tries to balance Ted’s anger by sometimes throwing him as a sad Boi – eliciting our sin by adding his adversities. After being blinded and almost lost all his clients, Ted is forced to become what must feel unthinkable for a former Federal Prosecutor: a defense lawyer. Thank you to a painful division and more spoiler-y accidents, and it makes sense why Ted may not be the sunniest guy in the city.
(The clearest sign of how Ted is arrived. Root for Lakers. And no, he doesn’t do it for business reasons. He does not sit at the court to woo clients. He claims that Kobe Bryant converted him and with all respect for Black Mamba it is the stupidest reason I have ever heard. Tell me: New Yorkers tends to change pages when their team routinely best of an Archrival elite talent? They do? Oh, good. In that case I can’t wait to see Madison Square Garden filled with Jayson Tatum sweaters.)
It is obvious that this man is bad, but he is not bad in a way that sparks curiosity. Ted is unhealthy in a way that cannot be fixed by a steady stream of flashbacks. His past is not that interesting, although it depicts the life he prefers, and even though that life eventually becomes what he disturbs to build in his new city. It would be another show, with another Ted, on another network, at another time. It may be the one you want, and it may even be the one you felt you were promised in the title, but despite LA’s constantly sunny sky, “Suits La” cannot escape Ted’s pitch-black clouds.
Rating: D+
“Suits: LA” premieres on Sunday 23 February at 21 o’clock at NBC. Section will be available the next day on peacock.
