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How Meghan Markle was influenced by royal family in her lines on Suits, show boss reveals

As the show achieves new streaming heights on Netflix, creator Aaron Korsh talks all things royals


Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane, Patrick J. Adams as Michael Ross on Suits
Ahad Sanwari
Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
On 29 August 2023
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Suits is in the midst of its very own renaissance, breaking all kinds of streaming records on Netflix and inspiring talk of a reboot or revamp of sorts.

The legal drama's creator and head writer, Aaron Korsh, got real in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter about the show, and didn't shy away from acknowledging the Meghan Markle effect of it all.

Having previously stated that he was excited by the amount of interest it brought to the show, he added that the royal family "weighed in on some stuff. Not many things, by the way, but a few things that we wanted to do and couldn't do, and it was a little irritating."

VIDEO: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry run down a mountain in secret snow holiday footage from their dating days

Meghan, 42, and Prince Harry, 38, began dating in mid-2016, when the show was still in its sixth season, and the impact of her future royal lineage was already a factor in the way she, and by extension her character Rachel Zane, could be perceived.

When asked whether there were any specific instances of change, Aaron recalled: "I remember one was a particular line of dialogue and, look, I'll just say what the line was. 

"In the episode, Mike and Rachel were going to have a thing, and as a nod to my in-laws, we were going to have her say, 'My family would say poppycock.' 

Suits ended in 2019 after nine successful seasons© Getty Images
"Suits" is quickly becoming one of the biggest shows in Netflix's history

"And the royal family did not want her saying the word. They didn't want to put the word 'poppycock' in her mouth," he added, explaining that it was presumably to avoid any implications of fan edits that could come from the word, replacing it instead with "bu****it." 

SEE: Where are the cast of Suits now?

When asked whether he knew if the royal family were reading the show's scripts in advance, a confused Aaron responded: "I don’t know how they got 'em. I was aware that they were reading them because I got the feedback, but I don't remember the process by which they got them."

Sarah Rafferty, Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht, Meghan Markle and Rick Hoffman© Getty Images
The show ended in 2019 after a nine season run

He defended the choice made by her future-in-laws, however, saying: "But listen, when they explained it that way, and I'm pretty sure it got explained to me that it was about that [splicing potential], I had some sympathy because I wouldn't want somebody doing that to her either. 

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"And the thing is, I didn't think anybody really would, but also I don't know. People are crazy."

Harry and Meghan arrive in Dublin, 2018© Getty Images
Aaron Korsh revealed that the royal family influenced some of Meghan's lines on the show

Aaron previously squashed any notion of a reboot for the show amid its huge return to the public eye, but did shed some light on why he believed people were so interested in the show still, five years after it first ended.

MORE: Suits star Patrick J Adams feels 'scared' to contact Meghan Markle

"Some fans are enjoying watching it again, and I think some of the people who are rewatching are having a different experience with it the second time because they know what's going to happen," he shared. "It just relieves them of the burden of being angry when something doesn't happen that they wanted to happen."

Meghan smiling at Harry in Ireland© Getty Images
The royal family "weighed in on some stuff. Not many things, by the way, but a few things that we wanted to do and couldn't do, and it was a little irritating."

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