Suits LA star Josh McDermitt goes from series fan to fictional solicitor, and the fancy threads that helped him play the part

The Walking Dead actor Josh McDermitt is swapping apocalypse rags for a suit in the new series Suits LA. Photo / Todd Williamson, NBC

Whip-smart dialogue and high-stakes psychological gymnastics won’t be in short supply when the long-awaited spinoff of groundbreaking legal drama Suits returns to Kiwi screens on April 7.

Suits: LA swaps Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) and Harvey Specter’s (Gabriel Macht) New York pressure cooker for the drama-filled boardrooms of Hollywood.

Mitchell Hageman chats to star Josh McDermitt about his journey from fan to famed fictional solicitor.

Midway through our conversation, Josh McDermitt receives a call from a friend.

Ironically, that friend was a lawyer, and we had just been discussing how McDermitt had plenty of lawyer friends that he’d gotten advice from when preparing for his latest role in Suits LA - as a lawyer.

“He must have known we were talking,” he laughs.

Getting his start as a comedic actor, McDermitt is widely known for his breakout role as Eugene Porter on the hit AMC show The Walking Dead.

Now, he’s swapped his apocalypse rags for a spiffy new suit, and as a fan of the original series, he’s stoked.

“When I finally put on the suit, I felt like a million bucks,” he tells the Herald, noting his desire to fully immerse himself in the role of whip-smart lawyer Stuart Lane.

“I felt like what Stuart should look and feel like. For all the prep you can do, and all the homework you could do, there could always be a missing element and that right there was a big chunk.”

Josh McDermitt as Stuart Lane (left) and Stephen Amell as Ted Black. Photo / Justin Lubin/NBC

Suits LA follows the trials and tribulations of the fictional Black Lane law firm, headed by former New York federal attorney Ted Black and partner Stuart Lane, as they navigate the dealings of the cut-throat entertainment industry.

McDermitt says he was absolutely rapt to be able to be part of the wider Suits legacy after finally getting to watch the show in his downtime after The Walking Dead.

“I was watching it thinking this would’ve been a really fun show to do, I wish I could’ve done it,” he says.

“Next thing you know, I find out they’re doing Suits LA and here’s this opportunity to work with the producers and writers of this show I really enjoyed myself.”

Aaron Korsh, who created the original Suits as well as this new series, has a comedy background, something McDermitt said was reflected expertly in the script and was naturally received by him.

“[Korsh] kind of comes from the sitcom world, and as dramatic as his shows are, there is a lot of humour in there. Being a comedian myself, I latch on to that”.

Josh McDermitt said stepping into the suit was empowering. Photo / Jeff Lipsky, NBC

But for McDermitt, being silly just for the sake of being silly isn’t on the agenda, and he says nothing ever felt “forced” to him when playing Stuart.

“I like to ground it in some sort of, you know, truth and reality within the person. I always find behavioural comedy a lot funnier than something wacky and out of left field. I felt [Korshe’s] script really lent itself to that.”

He got to know his castmate and in-show frenemy Stephen Amell when they spent time before shooting together in Canada, a place Amell knew well.

“We were up there for a month or two before we started shooting. I think the producers wanted all of us to hang out and get to know each other.

“It is our job to kind of force chemistry and force a relationship, but it does make it a lot easier if you get to spend a couple of months hanging out with someone before you actually have to do the thing.”

The cast of Suits LA (from left) includes Brian Greenberg, Stephen Amell, Lex Scott Davis and Josh McDermitt. Photo / NBC

McDermitt says he instantly took a liking to Amell’s friends, something that helped build the natural rapport between the pair that translated to their characters.

“You can tell a lot about someone by their friends.”

Just like its predecessor, Suits LA is packed with twists and turns, and McDermitt said some of the scenarios that play out will likely shock viewers.

“We’re doing things coming up later in the season that I think people might kind of cock their head and go, ‘really?‘.

“But it’s like some of some of these things actually happen and it’s fun to explore that, to make fun of that, pull back the curtain a little bit on how these deals get made,” he says.

If people haven’t seen the original Suits, they shouldn’t fear, as McDermitt says it charts its own path while still staying true to the series’ legacy.

Quick witted, emotional, fast paced, edgy, quirky and aspirational are words he uses to describe the show.

“And it’s different than other legal shows, because it revolves around the entertainment industry.”

While it’s unsure whether Suits stalwart and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle will return, we know Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter is confirmed to make an appearance.

But the burning question on everyone’s mind is: would Stuart get along with infamous Suits suit and motormouth Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman)?

“I hope so,” McDermitt says. “We’ll see what happens, but Stuart is one of those guys who can either get along with everybody, or the nicest person in the world he could have a problem with.

“My guess is that if enough people had a problem with Louis Litt, then Stuart will probably end up loving him.”

Suits LA is available to stream on TVNZ+ now

Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.