‘Suits’, featuring Meghan Markle, breaks OTT record four years after wrapping up last season

"Suits," a series that finished airing on television four years ago, is the hit show of the summer. The nine-season drama, which ran on the USA Network from 2011 to 2019, broke a record on Netflix for total viewing time for an acquired series with 3.14 billion minutes of watch time - toppling the previous record holder, "Manifest," which had 2.49 billion viewing minutes, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The first season of "Suits" ranked as the eighth-most-watched series on Netflix from July 17 to July 23 (its fourth week in the Top 10), with more than 20 million hours viewed, according to Netflix data.

"Suits" tells the story of Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), who uses his photographic memory to weasel his way into a job as a legal associate for successful attorney Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). (Ross never attended law school.) Throughout the show, Ross and Specter end up winning a number of cases as Ross continues to hide his secret.

Plenty of big names have appeared on "Suits," including Meghan Markle, now Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who played Rachel Zane, a paralegal who looked to rise up the law firm. The show began before Meghan became romantically involved with Prince Harry, and after Meghan left, Katherine Heigl joined.

Demand for "Suits" jumped 27 percent in the first month since it arrived on Netflix compared with the month prior, according to Brandon Katz, an industry strategist for Parrot Analytics.

Although it wrapped up in 2019, the series has recently followed in the footsteps of works such as "Breaking Bad," "Gilmore Girls" and "The Office" - well-known shows that have earned a second life through streaming to audiences who may have missed the original run.

He added that "Suits" viewers are seeking out shows with similar themes and formatting, such as procedurals like "Blue Bloods" and "The Blacklist." “ There's also a chance that Meghan might be a draw for fans, Katz said. She was one of the stars of the show before departing in 2018 to join the royal family.