The ninth and final season of “Suits” will debut on Netflix on July 1 in the United States, ending the agony felt by fans who enjoyed seasons 1-8 on the streamer as the show experienced viral success. Season 9 was previously only available for streaming on NBCUniversal’s Peacock, but as licensing in the industry picks back up, the season is heading to the industry-leading streaming service.
The news came as former cast members Patrick J. Adams, Sarah Rafferty, Dulé Hill, Amanda Schull and Abigail Spencer joined former USA Network president Jeff Wachtel at a reunion panel at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas. “Suits” originally ran from 2011-2019. The show enjoyed a wildly successful second wind after it debuted on Netflix in 2023 and became the most streamed show of the year, spawning the demand for this “Suits” reunion.
The series is centered on Mike Ross (Adams), the college-dropout-turned-legal-protege of Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), who gave him a legal associate job — despite the fact that he didn’t have the education to back it up. Following the show’s newfound fandom, a spin-off series — “Suits: L.A.” — is in the works starring “Arrow” alum Stephen Amell. It could air next year.
The original show also starred Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, who departed at the end of Season 7 after she and Prince Harry got engaged (and her contract expired). Both Markle and Adams’ characters, who ended their run on the series by getting married and moving to Seattle, were written off of the show.
The series’ creator Aaron Korsh later told the BBC’s Radio 4 that he wrote off Markle’s character before he knew she would definitely leave. “I knew from a year ago that this relationship was burgeoning,” he said of her relationship with the prince. “I had a decision to make because I didn’t want to intrude and ask her, ‘Hey, what’s going on and what are you going to do?’”
“So collectively with the writers, we decided to take a gamble that these two people were in love and it was going to work out,” Korsh added. Of course, they also faced the fact that, as with most standard TV series contracts, Markle’s was up after seven seasons — and it would likely have taken a substantial pay increase to bring her back, even without her joining the royal family.
All nine seasons of “Suits” are currently available on Netflix outside of the U.S.
