Fact check: Is Josh McDermitt in Suits LA? Explained

Suits LA is a spinoff of the former USA show, Suits, that turned into a Netflix hit long after it ended its ninth and final season in 2019. It's the second spinoff set in the Suits universe, following USA's Pearson, based on the Suits character Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres). In the LA spinoff, however, creator Aaron Korsh introduces an all-new lead character, Ted Black (Stephen Amell), and an ensemble cast.

Josh McDermitt is in Suits LA as one of the ensemble cast, playing Ted Black's frenemy. He plays Stuart Lane, a former corporate lawyer in New York who joined Ted in Los Angeles to become a criminal defense lawyer. If Ted's entertainment clients find themselves in a bind, like Lester Thompson, who was accused of murder, Stuart will be representing them. At least, in the beginning.

While the spinoff highlights Ted Black's story and how he brought his firm back to life after a controversy, his relationship with Stuart is one of the subplots in the series.

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Josh McDermitt plays Stuart Lane, number 1 frenemy in Suits LA

Josh McDermitt joins the ensemble cast of the Suits spinoff on NBC as Stuart Lane, a criminal defense lawyer and named partner in Black & Lane. He founded the law firm with Ted Black some time after 2010, when they moved from New York and went to Los Angeles. While Ted handles entertainment law, Stuart is a force to be reckoned with in criminal defense.

However, their partnership ends as quickly as the duo was introduced in Suits LA episode 1 after Stuart's betrayal. He harbors some ill feelings toward his friend and partner because he thinks that Ted doesn't respect what he does as a criminal defense attorney. He does a merger right under Ted's nose, packs up, and leaves Black & Lane to start the rival Railsback Lane law firm with Ted's ex, Samantha.

Stuart Lane and Ted Black have a long, complicated history that is slowly unpacked in the show. Flashback sequences in Suits LA episode 10 reveal that they studied together at Columbia Law, and they were friendly rivals. In fact, they tie and have to do a mock trial to find out who would be the top student. After law school, he became a corporate attorney before pursuing criminal law in LA.

However, like most frenemies and despite their misunderstandings, Stuart and Ted show up for each other. Stuart lends a hand during Ted's Lester Thompson trial and becomes one of the key players in how Ted wins the case. Ted, on the other hand, comes to Stuart's rescue when David Bowie threatens Stuart and his family, and again after Stuart's spiral in Suits LA episode 11.

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What has Josh McDermitt said about working in Suits LA?

Josh McDermitt, who is admittedly a Suits fan after watching the show after working in The Walking Dead, told The NZ Herald in an interview, published on April 7, 2025, that he would have loved to be part of the original series. When the opportunity to be part of the Suits universe through the spinoff came, he was in, and he "really enjoyed" the experience. He also said about playing Stuart:

"When I finally put on the suits, I felt like a million bucks... I felt like what Stuart should look and feel like."

He also said in the interview that he had many lawyer friends, who had given him advice during his preparation to play his lawyer role in the spinoff. In the series, Josh McDermitt also gets to work with some of the OG Suits characters, like Gabriel Macht's Harvey Specter, although their scenes overlap.

However, according to McDermitt in an interview with Parade, published on April 14, 2025, Macht has given him great advice. He said that Macht told him not to lose sight of the fact that he can work in the town where he lives and that he's not away from his family so much.

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Catch Josh McDermitt as Stuart Lane in Suits LA, which is now streaming on Peacock.