There’s a new Suits series in the works at NBCUniversal, following the unexpected streaming reign of the original show, which ended in 2019, over the summer.
The drama, which starred Meghan Markle, 42, as ambitious young lawyer Rachel Zane, will now get a companion show, according to Deadline.
Series creator Aaron Korsh is reportedly in the early stages of developing the new show, which will be set in the same legal drama world but will not be a reboot or sequel.
The series will feature new characters and setting, which sources say is Los Angeles. The original series, whose cast also included Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams and Rick Hoffman, is set in New York.
It comes after Suits surprisingly spent 12 consecutive weeks as the most-streamed title in the United States, according to Nielsen data, which compares the total number of minutes watched across all streaming platforms.
New legal drama: There’s a new Suits series in the works at NBCUniversal; Meghan Markle and Patrick J. Adams in a photo taken from season 5
Apart from Netflix, Suits is also available on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock. Between Netflix and Peacock, viewership for Suits reached the 2.359 billion minute mark.
The new series would be the third Suits show, following the one-season spin-off Pearson, which starred Gina Torres and was set in Chicago.
The original Suits was added to Netflix in June and quickly attracted viewers with its binge-friendly catalog of 134 episodes spanning nine seasons.
Meghan starred as Zane in Suits from 2010 until her final episode in the seventh season aired in April 2018, a month before her wedding to Prince Harry at Windsor Castle.
In September, Markle’s Suits co-star Patrick J Adams sent fans into a frenzy after sharing a number of shots from the show – prompting his followers to speculate whether the series ‘could come back’.
The legal drama tells the story of Mike Ross (played by Patrick) as a cocky law school dropout who works his way into a prestigious firm and falls in love with beautiful attorney Rachel (Meghan).
Patrick shared a number of images of the cast on his Instagram with the caption: ‘Let’s get serious. Serious. I miss my friends. Every one of them.’
Among the images was a previously unseen black and white portrait of Meghan, apparently on the set of the show, while another showed the Duchess on the floor posing with her co-star Sarah Rafferty.
Fans were delighted to see the photos, with many taking the post as an apparent hint that the series might be coming back.
New show: The drama, which starred Markle, 42, as ambitious young lawyer Rachel Zane, will now get a companion show, according to Deadline; Markle and Sarah Rafferty spotted in a hush
Early stages: Series creator Aaron Korsh is reportedly in the early stages of developing the new show, which will be set in the same legal drama world but will not be a reboot or sequel
Set in LA: The series will feature new characters and setting, which sources say is Los Angeles
Top spot: This comes after Suits surprisingly spent 12 consecutive weeks as the most-streamed title in the United States, according to Nielsen data, which counts the total number of minutes watched across all streaming platforms.
One said: ‘Law is a precise effort, Patrick. Be clear. The reboot is coming, right?
Taking the post as an apparent hint, a second said: ‘Something’s coming… isn’t it?’
Another wrote: ‘I miss you all! Please do another season!!! Bring Rachel back too!’
A third added: ‘This show needs a reboot!!! I miss the show!’
A fourth said: ‘Don’t give us hope(s). Is Suits Coming Back? After The Office (was) announced, it feels like a legitimate possibility.’
Season one debuted with an average of 4.6 million viewers in 2011.
However, the ratings have consistently dropped since the start, even with Meghan on the show.
Meghan and Patrick both left the show at the end of season seven. In their last episode, Rachel and Mike finally tied the knot before leaving for Seattle.
Her show: Meghan starred in Suits from 2010 until her final episode in the seventh season aired in 2018, a month before her wedding to Prince Harry; they are seen on Tuesday
According to FOX News, the return of season 8, (which excluded Meghan and Patrick), averaged 1.2 million viewers, 100,000 less than the seventh season.
It was axed in January 2019 after the ninth installment of 10 episodes.
However, the show has seen an increase in viewers on viewing platforms in recent months.
After launching on Netflix earlier this year, the series set a viewing time record for a purchased series in the week of June 26 to July 2, with 3.14 billion minutes watched.