Emmy Award-winning and two-time Golden Globe-nominated actress Katherine Heigl has joined the cast of popular legal drama Suits for its Season 8 as the show’s other two stars Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross) and Meghan Markle (Rachel Zane) depart from the show.
Suitors, let’s give a warm welcome to @KatieHeigl, the newest member of Pearson Specter Litt. Read more about the exciting announcement here. https://t.co/1wTRuU3l8y
— Suits (@Suits_USA) January 31, 2018
Set to premiere later this year, Heigl will star opposite Gabriel Macht (Harvey Specter) as Samantha Wheeler, a talented, new partner at Pearson Specter Litt who challenges the status quo and will either become the firm’s greatest ally or most powerful enemy.
Heigl joins the Suits ensemble alongside Macht, Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen), Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt) and new series regular Dulé Hill (Alex Williams).
“Joining Suits was the perfect organic way to not only collaborate with an EP I admire deeply but to also become part of a show and cast that I am an immense fan of,” Heigl remarked. “I have watched Suits from the very beginning and feel incredibly lucky to be the newest member of the Pearson Specter Litt family.”
The creator and executive producer of Suits, Aaron Kosh expressed, “On behalf of the entire Suits team, I am extraordinarily excited to welcome Katherine Heigl into our family. I have always been a big fan of her work and was delighted to discover she was an avid Suits fan herself.”
“I cannot wait to have her come play with our entire cast and crew. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Harvey, Louis, Donna, and Alex as the mysterious Samantha Wheeler is a direct threat to their status quo. One thing is for sure: Samantha’s wit, charm, loyalty, strength, and vulnerability will all be put to the test as she muscles her way into the firm currently known as Pearson Specter Litt,” Kosh added.
The news of Heigl’s addition to the Suits ensemble cast comes a day after it was announced that Adams will not be returning for Season 8.
Meghan Markle, who is paired opposite Adams in the series, will also not be returning as she is all set to marry Prince Harry in May this year. The former actress has wrapped up all her acting and other projects and is ready to be a princess.
Gina Torres, who played the role of Jessica Pearson one of the partners in Pearson, Spector, Litt, also exited the show last season.
In a statement, Adams said, “It’s hard for me to imagine what words, in what order would sufficiently express my love and gratitude to all of the people who have made the last seven years possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you (to co-stars and crew of Suits). It has been an honour working with and for each and everyone one of you.”
“Mike Ross has taught me a lot about commitment, hard work and the power of believing in yourself and I feel blessed that now we both get to walk out into the lives that we never dreamed we would actually be lucky enough to live. I’m excited to now step across the screen and become solely a fan of a show that I know has much more in store in the years to come. I wish everyone involved the best and am excited to see what kind of trouble they’ll get themselves in and out of from here on out.”
The leading cast of the series took to social media to express their love and sadness for Adams departure from the show.
Aaron Korsh on the duo’s exit said, “I would like to thank Patrick and Meghan for their extraordinary contributions over the last seven years. Not only have they been outstanding in their roles as Mike and Rachel, they are also superb human beings who will always be beloved members of the Suits family, and we wish them well in their days to come.”
Sarah Rafferty, who essays the role of the super-efficient Donna, shared a picture with Adams which she captioned, “Seven years of Suits brought me this brother from another, a scene partner like no other, an ever trusted director, and the raddest fairy godfather a mom could ask for. I love you and your huge heart. Ever grateful for this journey together and excited for all the goodness that lies ahead. It will forever be a highlight of my life and career to have shared screen time with wildly talented, super hilarious, deeply honest, you. Oh, and you’re really pretty.”
A post shared by Sarah Rafferty (@iamsarahgrafferty) on Jan 30, 2018 at 4:13pm PST