‘Suits’ Breaks Streaming Records and Earns Big Money for Streaming Services

The legal drama Suits has been a huge hit since it hit Netflix in 2023, along with its availability on Peacock. The show, which originally ran for nine seasons between 2011 and 2019, set a streaming record by staying at No. 1 on the Nielsen chart for 12 straight weeks.

It racked up a massive 57.7 billion minutes of viewing across all platforms that year. The success of Suits was so big that NBC launched a spinoff called Suits LA, which is currently airing its first season.

According to the data, the financial numbers behind Suits’ streaming success are impressive. Since 2020, it’s earned $356 million across Netflix, Peacock, and Prime Video. Netflix made up the largest share of that, taking in about $237 million. In its best quarter, Q4 of 2023, it brought in $53 million on Netflix alone. Meanwhile, Suits generated nearly $7 million for Peacock by the third quarter of 2023.

These numbers are huge when compared to box office earnings. The $356 million Suits has earned is on par with some of the biggest blockbuster movies.

In fact, it outperformed several popular 2024 films like Alien: Romulus ($350.8 million) and It Ends with Us ($351.4 million). It even topped A Quiet Place: Day One ($261.9 million) and The Wild Robot ($330.6 million). Only 19 movies in 2024 made more than Suits.

When compared to other big streaming hits, Suits stands out. For example, all of Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ shows combined made around $263 million from November 2021 to Q3 of 2024, which is almost $100 million less than what Suits made by itself. This is even more impressive because Suits is an older show, not a new exclusive series.

Sources report that Netflix probably paid between $200,000 and $400,000 per episode to license Suits. This means Netflix likely spent only 23% of what they earned, making it a huge return on investment.

Suits is a prime example of how older shows can still make a massive impact on streaming platforms.

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