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.
Engagement Interview: 'A New Chapter'
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.
Variety: 'I'm Done'
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."
In the interview, Meghan said that she wanted to focus her attention on non-scripted content production, hinting that she would like to bring about a renaissance for the "rom-com."
"Don't we miss them?" she said. "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."
So far, Harry and Meghan have one confirmed media project in the pipeline, the Heart of Invictus Netflix docuseries that is due to air this summer. The show will follow ex-servicemen and women who competed in Harry's Invictus Games event in 2023.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
