Meghan Markle reacts to ‘wild’ boom in Suits viewership

45 billion minutes of the hit legal drama have been watched on Netflix

The Duchess of Sussex has reacted to the renewed love for Suits, the hit legal drama in which she starred for seven seasons.

Meghan, 42, portrayed attorney Rachel Zane on the USA Network series, which ran from 2011 to 2019, airing on Dave in the UK. She exited the show in 2018 ahead of her royal wedding to Prince Harry.

Since the series landed on Netflix this summer, it has racked up 45 billion minutes of streaming time, breaking records for the most-watched acquired title.

During a red carpet interview at Variety’s Power of Women event on Thursday (16 November), Markle was asked about the show’s renaissance.

“Is that right?” Markle asked in amazement at the “wild” 45 billion figure. “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.

“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.”

Last month it was reported that a Suits spin-off was in development following its success on Netflix.

The proposed spin-off of the original show, which starred Patrick J Adams as an attorney who lands a job at a prestigious New York legal firm despite never attending law school, is reportedly considering Los Angeles for its new backdrop.

In September, Adams posted new photos on Instagram of Markle during her Suits days. He was later forced to delete the throwback photos after realising that they had broken the rules of the recently resolved actors’ strike.

“The last couple of days I foolishly and thoughtlessly let a trip down Suits memory lane distract me from the very real and ongoing fight everyone in @sagaftra continues to wage in its effort to win our membership realistic 21st century compensation and protections,” the actor apologised in a follow-up post.

“It was an embarrassing oversight for which I’m incredibly sorry,” he added. “So grateful to those who gently and swiftly course-corrected me here and I look forward to continuing the fight in the days and weeks ahead. #sagaftrastrong.”