Suits creator Aaron Korsch has revealed that the royal family requested script changes after Meghan Markle’s relationship with Prince Harry came to light.
The now-Duchess of Sussex played attorney Rachel Zane in seven seasons of the popular legal drama before exiting in 2018 ahead of her royal wedding. She became romantically involved with the prince in 2016.
During a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter about Suits’ renewed popularity on Netflix, Korsch recalled a line that the royal family asked to be cut.
“I remember one was a particular line of dialogue and, look, I’ll just say what the line was,” Korsch said.
“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.
Meghan Markle and Patrick J Adams in ‘Suits’— (USA Network)
“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.”
Korsch added that he wasn’t sure how or through what channels the royal family was receiving the scripts for his show. “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,” he said.
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Earlier this month, it was revealed that Suits broke its own record for the most-watched acquired title, with 3.7 billion minutes watched from 3 July to 9 July across Netflix and Peacock, according to Nielsen data.
In a separate interview with the LA Times, Korsch credited the show’s renewed success in part to Markle’s role in the royal family.
The series originally premiered on USA Network between 2011 and 2019, and aired on Dave in the UK.
It follows an attorney named Mike (played by Patrick J Adams) who lands a job at a prestigious New York legal firm despite never attending law school. Markle’s character Rachel is his love interest.
Suits returned to Netflix on 17 June – the day of King Charles III’s birthday parade.
