Suits is coming to an end, and likely welcoming back many familiar faces…except for one.
“We’re not currently pursuing asking [Meghan Markle] to leave her position with the royal family and join us,” Suits creator and executive producer Aaron Korsh told press about the possibility of Markle reprising the role of Rachel Zane for the upcoming ninth and final season.
“I would love it, but I think it’s pretty close to zero,” he said while promoting the USA spinoff Pearson at the 2019 TCA winter press tour.
Markle left the legal drama at the end of season seven after announcing her then-engagement to Prince Harry. Her character married Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) and the two went off together to start a new life in Seattle. Korsh previously said the decision to write the characters out came before Markle’s engagement to Prince Harry was announced.
“I sort of had a decision to make because I didn’t want to intrude and ask her, ‘Hey, what’s going on? What are you going to do?’ So…collectively the writers, we decided to take a gamble that these two people are in love and it’s going to work out,” the Suits creator said.
Markle and Prince Harry are now married and expecting their first child.
As for whether we could see Adams return, Korsh said he did discuss it with the actor before he left the show. “We both decided if the time was right, and he was up for it, and he had the time, that we would do it,” Korsh said. However, the writers are just getting to work on the ninth season.
USA recently announced Suits, which is currently airing its eighth season, would return for just one more outing next year.
“Suits has played an instrumental role in our network’s DNA for nearly a decade,” Chris McCumber, President, USA Network and SYFY, said in a statement. “I and everyone at USA Network sincerely thank Aaron Korsh, our partners at UCP and the entire Suits family for their tremendous creativity, devotion and support over a truly amazing run.”
Korsh is working on the new series, Pearson, a spinoff of Suits starring Gina Torres. Get your first look at the new drama right here.
Suits airs Wednesdays, 10 p.m. on USA Network.
(E! and USA are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)