11 September 2023 , 14:03
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Meghan Markle's hugely popular legal drama Suits has become the first TV show to attract a whopping 3 billion minutes viewed for seven weeks straight on Netflix.
The Duchess of Sussex has become the Queen of our TV screens once more, with the show racking up 26.5 billion minutes watched in the two months since returning to our screens earlier this summer. But the record for the highest viewing total in eight weeks – 35.5 billion minutes - still belongs to last year's season four of sci-fi favourite Stranger Things.
With nine seasons to its name, Suits has stayed around 3 billion minutes for longer than any programme since Nielsen streaming records began in 2020. Set at a fictional New York City corporate law firm, the high-flying TV series originally premiered on USA Network between 2011 and 2019, and also aired on Dave in the UK.
It follows an attorney named Mike (Patrick J Adams) who lands his dream legal job despite never attending law school. Markle also plays a lawyer - Rachel Zane - who falls in love with Mike.
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The now-Duchess of Sussex portrayed Rachel in seven seasons before departing the series in 2018 ahead of her royal wedding to Prince Harry. In August, it was announced that Suits broke its very own record for the most-watched acquired title, with Nielsen data revealing the colossal 3.7 billion minutes watched from 3 July to 9 July across Netflix and NBC streaming service Peacock.
Suits creator Aaron Korsch told the LA Times that he thinks the renewed success is down, at least in part, to Markle’s high-profile role in the royal family.
Royal family asked for word to be cut
In another interview, he remembered a line that the royal family asked to be cut. “My wife’s family, when they have a topic to discuss that might be sensitive, they use the word ‘poppycock’,” he explained.
“Let’s say you wanted to do something that you knew your husband didn’t want to do, but you wanted to at least discuss it, and in just discussing it, you wouldn’t hold him to anything he said, you’d be like, ‘It’s poppycock.’”
Korsch continued: “So, in the episode, Mike and Rachel [Markle’s character] 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.’ And the royal family did not want her saying the word. They didn’t want to put the word ‘poppycock’ in her mouth.
“I presume because they didn’t want people cutting things together of her saying ‘cock.’ So, we had to change it to ‘bulls***’ instead of ‘poppycock,’ and I did not like it because I’d told my in-laws that [poppycock] was going to be in the show. There was maybe one or two more things, but I can’t remember.”
Eight seasons, comprising more than 100 total episodes of Suits, returned to Netflix on June 17.