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Abigail Spencer believes audience interest in Meghan Markle led to “Suits” reaching a new streaming record four years after the hit show ended.
“I think there’s several different things,” the “Mad Men” actress — who guest starred on the USA Network show alongside the Duchess of Sussex — said on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show,” per People.
“And also Meghan’s loveliness, you know, that everyone is aware of her and her being on the show.”
Spencer said she also thinks Markle and her husband Prince Harry’s 2022 six-part Netflix docuseries might have also influenced audience interest since “Suits” shares the same streaming platform.
The “Mad Men” star speculated the Duchess of Sussex among other factors led to the USA Network show reaching record-breaking streams last year. WireImage, “I think there’s several different things. And also Meghan’s loveliness, you know, that everyone is aware of her and her being on the show,” she said during SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show” Friday. Frank Ockenfels/USA NetworkSpencer, 42, theorizes Netflix may have taken advantage of promoting the nine-season show, which ran from 2011 to 2019, last year when the writers and actors strike was ongoing.
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Listen to our weekly “We Hear” podcast Subscribe to our daily newsletter Shop our exclusive merch“During the strike, there wasn’t anything else,” she continued.
“You know, Netflix repositioned it, so I think there is something to positioning on Netflix and when other things aren’t being made, it commands your attention, but it has to be great for people to watch it.”
The actress further speculated Markle’s 2022 Netflix docuseries with Prince Harry may have also caused a spike in viewership. Getty ImagesLast summer, it was revealed that “Suits” reached 3.14 billion streaming minutes during the week of June 26 to July 2, shortly after debuting on the streaming platform, per Nielsen.
Markle, also 42, starred as paralegal Rachel Zane in the drama up to Season 7 in 2017. She then left the show due to her engagement to Harry, 39.
In November 2023, the mom of two commented on the show’s revived popularity, admitting she had “no idea” as to why more people were tuning in.
“Suits” and the docuseries are both streaming on Netflix. Frank Ockenfels/USA Network“Isn’t that wild?” Markle previously told Variety while gushing about her time on set alongside co-stars Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht.
“It was great to work on, such a great cast and crew. We had a really fun time,” she continued.
“But it’s hard to find a show you can binge-watch that many episodes of these days, so that could have something to do with it. But good shows are everlasting.”
The mom of two starred on the show up to Season 7. She left after she got engaged to the Duke of Sussex. ©USA Networks/Courtesy Everett CollectionEarlier this month, Page Six exclusively revealed Markle rejected the invitation to reunite with the “Suits” cast at the Golden Globes on Jan. 7.
During the show, her former co-stars Adams, Macht, Sarah Rafferty and Gina Torres presented the best TV drama award to the cast of “Succession.”
“We asked the duchess, but we were told that, unfortunately, she had a previous commitment,” an insider told us.
