With filming underway for an LA spinoff of the hit legal drama “Suits,” some fans believe Meghan Markle could soon be returning to her acting roots by reprising her role as Rachel Zane. No longer a working royal, the Duchess of Sussex, 42, would be free to re-join the show which propelled her to fame in 2011. It is also worth noting that she lives in Montecito, California, meaning that she would not have to part with her family to step back into Zane’s shoes.
According to the new show’s logline, it will center around a new character called Ted Black, a former federal prosecutor from New York, who “has reinvented himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles.” Deadline reports that Black will be played by Stephen Amell, best known for his work on the superhero series “Arrow,” with other notable cast members including Josh McDermitt of “The Walking Dead.” While Markle’s name has not been officially confirmed for the show, the possibility that she could appear was hinted at by her former co-star Patrick Adams at the 2024 Golden Globes.
He teased to Entertainment Tonight: “Sure. Mike and Rachel in Seattle. They gotta come down to LA. They gotta fix some stuff.” Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane in “Suits” season 2 (BBC/NBC Universal/Open 4 Business Productions/Christos Kalohoridis). “She’s pretty popular right now,” he joked of Meghan’s status as a member of the Royal family. “Did you hear about Meghan? I’ll tell you later.” “If we got the phone call, if I got the phone call, I’m ready to suit up again,” he added. “I love the show, I love the character. And I loved working with all these people.”
When announcing their decision to step down as working royals, Harry and Meghan expressed a desire to live a more financially independent life. According to reports, at one point, Markle was earning as much as $50,000 per episode of the hit legal show. While Meghan admitted that she had no plans to return to acting in her and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah, she did say “never say never.” “I left ‘Suits’ right after the 100th episode, in 2018,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d ever be in the entertainment industry again. But the entire culture has changed; streamers have changed things. The ability to create zeitgeist moments like we had in the ‘90s – where everyone would tune in at the same time for a show or gather for one moment? – that doesn’t happen anymore.”
She then implied that rom-com storylines could pique her interest, adding: “I miss them so much. I’ve probably watched ‘When Harry Met Sally’ a million times. And all the Julia Roberts rom-coms. We need to see those again.”
Meghan Markle may have been a no-show for the “Suits” Super Bowl commercial, but that doesn’t mean she can’t channel her inner Rachel Zane for a brand-new installment of the legal drama. In October 2023, Deadline reported that Aaron Korsh, the mind behind the original series, was colluding with NBCUniversal to breathe new life into the “Suits” universe. The outlet stressed that the new series, “Suits: LA,” would come with new faces, places, and storylines. One of the most important faces is none other than “Arrow” alum Stephen Amell, who’s bringing his talent and charm to the role of leading character Ted Black. Don’t worry, as it sounds like some of the OG actors, including Markle, could find their way back on screen.
In January 2024, “Suits” star Patrick J. Adams, who portrayed Mike Ross, Markle’s fictional husband, discussed his thoughts about “Suits” 2.0 and laid out his wish for their characters in this reimagined world. “Our fearless showrunner Aaron’s working on that, and if we got the phone call, if I got the phone call I’m ready to suit up again,” he shared with ET on the Golden Globes red carpet. And while Adams wasn’t privy to any of the new exciting storylines, he agreed that Markle should be in the mix. “Mike and Rachel in Seattle,” he said. “They gotta come down to L.A. They gotta fix some stuff.” Of course, Markle has made no public commitments to returning as of now. Still, Adams’ eagerness to reunite with her is definitely a great sign — and it’s not even the only one!
Don’t count Meghan Markle out yet! According to Express UK, the royal actor was in negotiations for a lucrative deal to return to the new “Suits: LA” show. “This is shaping up to be one of the biggest TV deals of the year,” shared a source with the outlet in January 2024. “Meghan is in a commanding position. They want to expand a successful franchise in which she has a ready-made fan base of millions worldwide.” Apparently, the powers that be are willing to pay whatever the Duchess of Sussex wants in order to benefit from her “Markle Sparkle.” To sweeten the deal, NBCUniversal execs reportedly told her that she could direct her very first episode of television. How exciting!
Unfortunately, updates about this deal have been sparse, so it may not currently hold any weight. But even if she had no plans to return to acting through television, maybe a movie with Markle’s co-stars could entice her. In June 2024, Patrick J. Adams revealed at the ATX TV Festival, that a possible “Suits” movie with the original characters was possible, even if the “Suits” TV show was Aaron Korsh’s focus. “But it’s definitely something he’s interested in doing, in trying to get the band back together,” said Adams, according to Variety. “So it depends on a million things if that can happen, but is it possible? I think it is possible.” And while Adams couldn’t speak for the other characters, he was down to return.
Meghan Markle’s 2018 wedding to Prince Harry infamously cut the thread to her acting career. Unfortunately, her last few months on “Suits” were less than ideal due to the royal family picking through any of her script dialogue that would reflect poorly on them, according to The Hollywood Reporter. And they even voiced their objections! “They didn’t want to put the word ‘poppycock’ in her mouth,” shared Aaron Korsh with the publication. “I presume because they didn’t want people cutting things together of her saying ‘c**k.’ Eventually, he changed the word to ‘bulls**t.’ Hmm. Sounds like a very regal compromise!
However, that one incident doesn’t necessarily mean Markle wouldn’t be up for returning. Not only are she and Prince Harry finally living unrestricted in California, thanks in part to their multi-million dollar Netflix deal, but Markle still retains positive memories from that era. “It was great to work on, such a great cast and crew,” Markle said of the show to Variety. “We had a really fun time. I was on it for seven seasons, so quite a bit.” She also had nothing but positive things to say about the show’s recent obsession among streaming viewers. “But it’s hard to find a show you can binge-watch that many episodes of these days, so that could have something to do with it,” added Markle. “But good shows are everlasting.”
Could we be seeing Meghan Markle return as a high-powered legal professional? The Duchess of Sussex’s rumored return to acting has been thrust into the spotlight once again — only this time, new details about the new spinoff show have been revealed. Markle’s most notable, and final, role of her career was paralegal Rachel Zane on the hit USA Network show. The duchess quit the legal drama, which also starred Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht, Rick Hoffman, and Gina Torres, in 2017 when she got engaged to Prince Harry. Her character left the show in the Season 7 finale after her character married Mike Ross (Adams) and moved to Seattle.
In his Puck newsletter, Hollywood journalist Matthew Belloni revealed new details about the spinoff, which will be developed by NBCUniversal, leading some to believe that one of the roles has been tailor-made for Markle. The character in question, named Erica, is a career-driven young woman who boasts a star-studded clientele at a top Hollywood law firm. The new character’s description has seemingly echoed that of Zane, whom Markle portrayed from 2011 to 2017. Belloni teases Erica’s bio, which reads, “30s, Black, SoCal native, and Harvard law alum. She’s jockeying to be made Head of Entertainment. She’s great at closing clients but struggles elsewhere. Smarter than everyone.”
The show now boasts a new legion of fans following its mega resurgence on Netflix in 2023, which Markle herself recently labeled “wild.” “It was great to work on, such a great cast and crew,” Markle, 42, told Variety in November. “We had a really fun time. I was on it for seven seasons, so quite a bit.” What’s more, Markle’s former co-star Adams recently said that he hopes “she comes back” into the “Suits” world. When asked whether or not he thought Markle would ever rejoin the series at the 2024 Golden Globes, Adams replied, “Sure. Mike and Rachel in Seattle. They gotta come down to LA, they gotta fix some stuff,” he said of his and Markle’s character. “She’s pretty popular right now,” he quipped. “Did you hear about Meghan? I’ll tell you later.”
While she hasn’t spoken publicly about an official return to the legal drama, the mom of two signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME) CEO Ari Emanuel and his team in April 2023 and recently teased several “exciting” projects she’s got in the works. WME represents the top talent across the industry including writers, filmmakers, actors, producers, stylists, fashion designers, and their agents. The company also handles brand licensing, speaking engagements, media production, and events, including New York Fashion Week.
Harry and Meghan now have just one project left as part of their lucrative $100 million Netflix deal, signed back in 2020. The five-year deal is up for renewal in 2025.
It may have wrapped its final season in 2019, but legal drama “Suits” has experienced a revival in public interest thanks to streamers, with Netflix joining Peacock last month in offering subscribers the chance to binge-watch the show that gave Meghan Markle her big break. For the viewing period June 19-25, “Suits” topped the recently published Nielsen streaming rankings with over 2.3 billion minutes of content streamed across Netflix and Peacock, beating out closest rival “Black Mirror” by over 700 million minutes.
Meghan first joined the show for its pilot episode back in 2011 and stayed as a main cast member playing the character of paralegal Rachel Zane until 2018, when she left after her relationship with Prince Harry progressed into marriage. After seven seasons, “Suits” creators wrote her out of the show with an impactful wedding episode which aired just weeks before her own royal wedding at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018, at which a number of her co-stars were present.
Meghan has spoken openly about her career in Hollywood, and though she effectively retired from her on-screen acting profession when she left “Suits,” since the duchess and Harry left the monarchy in 2020 there has been increasing speculation over whether she would make a return, despite her ruling this out in interviews. Here, Newsweek looks at what Meghan has said about her future as an actress after leaving “Suits” and beyond.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry first met in the summer of 2016 in London and began seriously dating soon after. At the time, Meghan was still working on “Suits” and living in Toronto, with the couple continuing their relationship while Meghan worked. In 2017, the future royal wrapped her work on the show, being written out in the Season 7 finale with a wedding episode. On November 27 of that year, the world’s press descended on Kensington Palace in London where Meghan and Prince Harry officially announced their engagement.
Though there had been much speculation over whether Meghan would carry on with her career in front of the camera, she countered this in her first official interview as a future member of the royal family. With Harry, Meghan spoke to the BBC and was asked about the changes she was experiencing. “It’s an immense change: you’re getting a new country out of it. A husband obviously, but also giving up your career,” broadcaster Mishal Husain said. “I don’t see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change,” Meghan responded. “It’s a new chapter, right? And also, keep in mind, I’ve been working on my show [Suits] for seven years. So we’re very very fortunate to be able to have that sort of longevity on a series and for me, once we hit the 100 episode marker I thought you know what I have, I have ticked this box and I feel really proud of the work I’ve done there and now it’s time to, as you [Harry] said, work as a team with you.”
Later in the interview, Meghan again highlighted that she would be leaving behind her previous career when joining the royals, saying: “I think what’s been really exciting as we talk about the transition out of my career and into my role is, the causes that are really important to me that I can focus even more energy on. Very early out of the gate, I think you realize you have access or a voice that people are willing to listen and with that comes a lot of responsibility, which I take seriously.”
After the engagement interview, the USA Network, which produced “Suits,” issued a statement confirming Meghan had left the show, saying: “From all of us at USA Network and Universal Cable Productions, we want to send our most heartfelt congratulations to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their engagement. Meghan has been a member of our family for seven years and it has been a joy to work with her. We want to thank her for her undeniable passion and dedication to Suits, and we wish her the very best.” Meghan’s final episode aired on April 25, 2018, with her character of Rachel Zane walking down the aisle just three weeks before she did herself, becoming a princess in the process.
After their marriage, Meghan and Harry began their new roles as full-time working royals and after a widely publicized difficult period with the press, the royals and their households, the couple decided to split from the monarchy in 2020. After spending time in Canada, the couple moved with their young son, Prince Archie, to California, finally settling in the exclusive A-list enclave of Montecito. At this time it was announced that the couple had founded their Archewell organization and soon after that, Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio. These sparked fresh speculation that Meghan could one day return to acting in her life as a post-working royal.
Multi-million-dollar content creation deals with streamers Netflix and Spotify followed, however, though Meghan would front podcasting projects, there was no confirmation that she would move into scripted content for the screen. After a turbulent first two years in America, which saw Meghan and Harry conduct a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, as well as experience the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, Meghan finally opened up in depth about her career goals and where she saw her future in the entertainment industry.
Speaking to Hollywood industry bible Variety in October 2022, Meghan stated her desire to work on projects behind the camera. She also revealed that she and Harry had agreed to produce a docuseries about their life story (which would become “Harry & Meghan” that debuted on Netflix in December). During the interview, the duchess was asked explicitly: “Would you ever consider going back to acting?” To this she responded: “No. I’m done. I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not.”
Speaking about her return to Hollywood, Meghan said that the industry had “shifted quite a bit since I was a part of it.” “I left ‘Suits’ right after the 100th episode, in 2018,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d ever be in the entertainment industry again. But the entire culture has changed; streamers have changed things. The ability to create zeitgeist moments like we had in the ‘90s – where everyone would tune in at the same time for a show or gather for one moment? – that doesn’t happen anymore.”
Source: The Independent, Deadline, Express UK, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Newsweek
