When debuted on USA Network in 2011, the legal drama had an immediate fan base that only grew over its subsequent nine seasons. The series has enjoyed a recent rise in viewership, too, setting streaming records four years after the finale.
The show stars Gabriel Macht as the impeccably dressed lawyer Harvey Specter, as well as Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross), Meghan Markle (Rachel Zane), Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen), Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt), Gina Torres (Jessica Pearson) and Abigail Spencer (Dana Scott), all of whom built real friendships while the series aired — and kept those friendships going strong even after its finale episode. (And some of the relationships date back decades before Suits was ever on air!).
In fact, much of the Suits cast was invited to Markle’s 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, whom she began dating while filming the show. Though Markle later exited the show as her relationship progressed, she remained close to the cast, many of whom praised and defended her publicly.
Here’s a look inside the real-life friendships between the Suits cast.
Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty were friends for decades before Suits aired
As many fans of Suits now know, Macht and Rafferty were friends for years before they were cast on the show together. The pair met back in 1993 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and have been close friends ever since.
In 2016, Rafferty told the New Zealand Herald that Macht was the person who gave her the script for Suits. She said, “I had done a pilot and I was waiting for news on whether it was going to get picked up, and it wasn’t. The same day I got that news, I saw Gabriel and told him. He said, ‘Great, you need to read this script tomorrow …’ “
She also told the outlet that their friendship was the backbone of the relationship between their characters, Harvey Specter and Donna Paulsen. Rafferty explained, “We had a comfort level with each other. You were able to sense that Donna and Harvey had a history together because we did. Sometimes it’s a little bit awkward, when you’re just meeting someone on the first day, to have that kind of camaraderie.”
This echoed words that Macht had said years earlier in a 2012 interview with Blast Magazine. He told the outlet, “We are really, really, really close friends,” and called acting with her “a lot of fun.”
“We constantly say to each other, ‘Don’t make me laugh, don’t make me laugh, stop, stop, don’t, stop.’ It’s very hard. I mean it’s kind of silly that I’m her boss and I get to tell her what to do and what not to do, all this stuff,” he added.
Gabriel Macht and Patrick J. Adams developed a deep friendship
Macht also grew close to Adams, who played his mentee Mike Ross on the series. Adams spoke about their relationship in a 2016 “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit, where he shared, “Gabriel is an amazing guy and a lot of fun to work with. He’s [endlessly] patient and shoulders the weight of being number one a call sheet with a lot more grace than some people in this business. He really welcomes you into the process and we like to push each others buttons until the scene feels right.”
“Everyone has a different way of working but they are all total pros and are constantly looking to make the day easy and get the best version of the scene possible,” Adams continued. “And that only happens when you have fun and take any and all ego out of it.”
In 2015, Macht and Adams joked to New Corp Australia that they are fully aware of fanfiction some fans have produced online that puts their characters in a romantic relationship. In fact, Macht would sometimes show Adams drawings that some fans had made — right before the pair were due to begin filming a scene.
Macht explained, “Right before we go on screen (to film) I’ve shown some of the superimposed images of Harvey and Mike to Patrick. ‘Hey Patrick, have you seen this? Let’s go! Action!’ “
Adams immediately replied, “My question is, ‘Why does Gabriel spend so much time looking for it?’ There’s one in particular that he enjoys where he’s dominating me in the photo. I guess it’s great that people are so into the show and … whatever floats your boat.”
Meghan Markle invited her former castmates to her wedding in 2018
When Markle and Prince Harry got married in May 2018, the actress invited her castmates from Suits to the royal affair.
Much of the core cast was at the wedding, including Adams and his wife Troian Bellisario, Rafferty, Macht, Torres, Hoffman and Spencer.
The group traveled to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and even sang The Dixie Cups’ “Chapel of Love” as they rode in the shuttle.
Rafferty later spoke to about the big day. She said, “We were with each other longer than we went to college or high school with our friends, so we became family in a way. We’re still family, so this is a wonderful family affair.”
Ross, who played Markle’s love interest on the show, also joked about the wedding day on Instagram, where he posted a photo of an article about Markle and captioned it, “I’m beginning to think she might not actually be out getting milk.”
Patrick J. Adams has defended Meghan Markle online
Adams has also come out in recent years to defend his former costar against bullying allegations, which the Duchess of Sussex has denied.
“Meghan Markle and I spent the better part of a decade working together on Suits,” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet in 2021. “From day one she was an enthusiastic, kind, cooperative, giving, joyful and supportive member of our television family. She remained that person and colleague as fame, prestige and power accrued.”
He went on to call Markle “a powerful woman with a deep sense of morality” and a “fierce work ethic.”
Abigail Spencer considers Meghan Markle an “on-call friend”
Adams isn’t the only member of the cast who jumped to Markle’s defense in the wake of the onslaught of negative media attention. In March 2021, Spencer posted a photo on Instagram from 2015 of herself and Markle embracing while filming Suits.
In the caption, she explained that she “had known and worked with Meg for years” and called her costar “an on-call friend.”
“She’s what I’d call ‘an on-call friend.’ At the ready. She’s modeled nothing but generous professionalism on sets and an even more generous friendship in private,” Spencer wrote.
“I’ve learned so much from Meg. The power of a handwritten note. The loveliness of surprise flowers,” the actress continued. “She’s been there for me — and physically held me — in my darkest hours. … She’s always been a safe harbor for me, someone I can fall apart in front of… and with. And I have.”
Sarah Rafferty called Rick Hoffman her “brother” after the series wrapped
Rafferty also grew close with Hoffman, who played Louis Litt on Suits. When the show concluded in 2019, she posted a teary-eyed photo on Instagram of the pair together and captioned it simply, “And that’s a series wrap on my brother @rickehoffman. No words for this one.”
While their characters might have been at odds more often than not on the show, it’s clear that in real life, their love for one another is genuine.
