Why Suits Didn't Include Meghan Markle In The Show's Finale
2023 has been the year of "Suits." Since it started streaming on Netflix back in June, "Suits" has found renewed success, with users sinking more than 3 billion watch-minutes into the series over the summer. Formerly on the USA Network, the legal drama's new-found popularity has at least in part been propelled by clips from the show going viral on TikTok.
Of course, you should never underestimate the Netflix effect either, whereby long-forgotten or overlooked films and shows suddenly gain popularity purely as a result of arriving on the platform. Just look at when the 2008 thriller "Street Kings" debuted on Netflix and suddenly everyone decided it was worth a watch 15 years after it was first released. But "Suits" is no flash in the pan, hit show of the week. Its resurgence has perhaps been the biggest, most surprising of all Netflix revivals. The show was canceled after its ninth season in 2019, only to dominate streaming charts four years later.
For show creator Aaron Korsh, that sudden resurgence was about more than just TikTok popularity and Netflix algorithms. As he told The Hollywood Reporter in August 2023, "the characters and the underlying base optimism are why people are connecting to the show." Oh, and also the fact that "Suits" featured a pre-royal Duchess of Sussex. Meghan Markle, who played the ambitious paralegal Rachel Zane, is undoubtedly a big part of why modern audiences are streaming the show. Sadly, fans watching for that reason are destined to be disappointed — Markle left the show after its seventh season and never returned, not even for the series finale.
Markle wasn't even given the chance to come back
At the end of the seventh season of "Suits," Meghan Markle left the show alongside other series mainstays Gina Torres and Patrick J. Adams. But you might say Markle has done all right for herself since departing, residing as she does in a Montecito home with her husband, the Duke of Sussex, after having reached a level of notoriety to which her acting career could never have propelled her. But even while she was busy being catapulted to stratospheric heights of fame, fans were no doubt hoping for her to return to "Suits," and the series finale in 2019 seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Unfortunately, not only did Markle not return, she was never even asked. Series creator Aaron Korsh explained to Deadline in 2019 why he made this decision:
"I thought about asking, and I thought about even using audio footage that we have to come up with something, and in the end I didn't ask, and I just thought, I'm going to respect her new life and not put her in the position of having to ask. We decided not to put her in that position so I never asked."
Of course, there could have been more to it. Whether Markle was limited by her royal duties, or perhaps even advised by the royal family not to return to "Suits" remains unclear. But according to Korsh, she wasn't even given the chance to turn down an offer. Which, considering the Duchess' previous comments probably didn't upset her too much.
'I've ticked this box'
After leaving "Suits" in 2018, Meghan Markle confirmed that she wouldn't be returning to acting following her engagement and marriage to Prince Harry, saying in an interview (via People):
"I don't see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change. It's a new chapter, right? And also, keep in mind, I've been working on ['Suits'] for seven years. We were very, very fortunate to have that sort of longevity on a series. I've ticked this box, and I feel very proud of the work I've done there, and now it's time to work with [Harry] as a team."
That feels like a pretty definitive rejection of the idea of returning to acting, let alone her former show. And when you consider Markle also said that she hadn't even watched an episode of "Suits" since leaving, it seems Aaron Korsh made the right decision to not even reach out when it came time for the series finale.