BBC buys all nine seasons of Meghan Markle legal drama Suits after hit year on Netflix

Duchess of Sussex previously said she had ‘no idea’ what was behind the show’s surge in popularity

The BBC has purchased all nine seasons of hit legal dramaSuits, in a new deal with NBCUniversal.

The news follows after the show enjoyed a highly successful year on Netflix, where it became the streaming giant’s most-watched acquired show.

In addition to Suits, the broadcaster also acquired the rights to mockumentary St Denis Medical and the series continuation of the Best Man films, The Best Man: The Final Chapters.

The Duchess of Sussex plays talented paralegal Rachel Zane, appearing in the show from its beginning in 2011. Markle left the series early after her romance with Prince Harry took off in 2017.

Suits is set in a New York City law firm and stars Old School actor Patrick J Adams as Mike Ross, who uses his photographic memory to talk his way into a job as a lawyer despite having no law degree.

He goes on to work for the highly successful Harvey Spector, played by Love & Other Drugs star Gabriel Macht, and together they win lawsuits and close cases, while at the same time hiding Mike’s secret.

Since the series landed on Netflix last summer, it has racked up over 57 billion minutes of streaming time, breaking records for the most-watched acquired title.

Markle reacted to the renewed love for the programme during a red carpet interview at Variety’s Power of Women event in November last year.

Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane in Suits (© 2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC.)

“Is that right?” Markle asked in amazement at the “wild” figure, which had reached 45 billion minutes at the time. “But who’s counting?” she quipped.

The Duchess admitted that she had “no idea” what was causing the show’s recent uptick in popularity.

“It was great to work on, such a great cast and crew. We had such a fun time. I was on it for seven seasons – so quite a bit,” she said.

The BBC has acquired the rights to the show starring the Duchess of Sussex (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via)

“It’s hard to find a show that you can binge-watch that many episodes of these days, so that could have something to do with it,” Markle suggested. “But, good shows are everlasting.”

Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, said in a statement: “This is a really exciting and enjoyable trio of star-studded series: the hotly-anticipated comedy, St Denis Medical, the sassy, romantic comedy-drama, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, and the smart and stylish legal drama, Suits. We couldn’t be more delighted to bring them all to BBC viewers.”