Why Meghan Markle’s ‘Suits’ Return Likely Wouldn’t Be Worth Millions

Meghan Markle probably isn’t coming back to “Suits,” but rumors of the multi-million dollar offer for her return seem to be false as well. That isn’t surprising to anyone who has looked at the ratings for the USA Network legal drama.

According to Harper’s Bazaar, there’s no actual deal on the table. “The show has not made a multi-million dollar charity donation offer to Meghan to return for a cameo. There are no plans for her to return to the show,” an anonymous source claimed.

That isn’t too surprising considering the Duchess of Sussex’s final episodes weren’t exactly a ratings boon. According to TV Series Finale, “Suits” ratings actually went down after Meghan Markle’s engagement to Prince Harry was announced.

The last episodes of Season 7A aired in September 2017 and pulled in over 1.6 million viewers. Meghan announced her engagement to Prince Harry (and her impending retirement from acting) during the midseason hiatus in November. “Suits” Season 7B returned in March 2018 to 1.18 million viewers, and the numbers even dropped below a million for a couple episodes.

Meghan’s final episode, which included the departure of leading man Patrick J. Adams, pulled in 1.06 million viewers. That’s a pretty low turnout for a well-publicized episode that featured her character getting married just weeks before the California native’s own high-profile wedding.

Ultimately, Season 7 averaged 1.3 million viewers. “Suits” Season 8 hasn’t lost much of that audience. With Katherine Heigl as the new lead, the legal drama averaged 1.16 million viewers during the summer. It’ll return on Jan. 23.

While Rachel Zane fans would surely love a return, the numbers just don’t add up. When she left the series, Meghan was reportedly making over $50,000 per episode. Her return probably wouldn’t actually bring in enough viewers to justify spending anywhere from $2 million to $6 million dollars (though the rumored offer would have had the money would go to charity, not the Duchess).

As previously reported, rumors circulated over the weekend that NBC Universal executives were hoping for Markle and Adams to return for a quick scene. They were supposedly offering Markle anywhere between $2 million and $6 million, which would go to the charity of her choice. Sources claimed that she would be able to film in the U.K. and the two-minute scene would take about half a day to film.

When International Business Times reached out to NBC Universal about the rumors, the company declined to comment.