Suits‘ record-breaking streaming run has made an astounding amount of money. The USA Network legal drama, which ran for nine seasons between 2011 and 2019, debuted on Netflix in 2023 alongside its ongoing availability on Peacock. That year, it was streamed for 57.7 billion minutes across all platforms, breaking a record by spending 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Nielsen streaming chart. The show’s streaming boom was so profound that NBC launched the spinoff Suits LA, which is currently airing season 1.
Per TheWrap, the financial numbers for Suits‘ streaming run are just as impressive. Reportedly, since the beginning of 2020, it has earned $356 million for Netflix, Peacock, and Prime Video collectively. Two-thirds of that total was earned by Netflix alone, which amounts to roughly $237 million. It earned $53 million during its peak quarter on that platform alone, which was Q4 of 2023. Meanwhile, by Q3 of that year on Peacock, it was earning nearly $7 million for that streamer.
What This Means For Suits
Its $356 Million Total Rivals Box Office Blockbusters
This impressive viewership, spurred by the fact that Suits‘ nine seasons contain a total of 134 episodes, allowing a long runway for audiences inclined toward binging series. That does not make its streaming revenue any less impressive, however. Its $356 million total places it at the level of a blockbuster movie. In fact, that total outpaces the worldwide box office totals of all but 19 movies that debuted in 2024, including hits such as Alien: Romulus ($350.8 million), It Ends with Us ($351.4 million), A Quiet Place: Day One ($261.9 million), and The Wild Robot ($330.6 million).
The 2024 movies above $356 million range from Twisters ($372.3 million) at No. 19 to Inside Out 2 ($1.699 billion) at No. 1.
This total is also impressive when compared to the scale of modern streaming hits. A recent study from Parrot Analytics reported that, between November 2021 and Q3 of 2024, all of Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ shows – which during that period include Mayor of Kingstown, 1883, 1923, Special Ops: Lioness, Tulsa King, and Lawmen: Bass Reeves – collectively earned $263 million, which is almost $100 million less than what Suits reportedly made entirely on its own. These series were also new and exclusive to streaming as opposed to acquired series that had ended four years before.
Our Take On Suits’ Streaming Revenue
It Was A Huge Success
The fact that Suits is an acquired series makes this streaming revenue all the more impressive. The show likely turned a profit during its original run, at least for its first seven seasons or so, or else it would not have run for quite so long. It followed this by turning another huge profit just a few years later. Deadline reports that Netflix most likely licensed the show for between $200,000 and $400,000 per episode, which is a maximum of $53.6 million, meaning they spent about 23% of what they ultimately earned, making the series a huge return on investment.
