“Donna Lives In My Heart”: Suits Star Addresses Spinoff Return

Suits star Sarah Rafferty addresses reprising her role as Donna Paulsen in the upcoming spinoff. Created and written by Aaron Korsh, Suits debuted in June 2011 and originally aired on the USA Network. It began by focusing on Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a college dropout who never attended law school, and Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) as they try to hide Mike’s secret. Running for nine seasons and 134 episodes, the legal drama experienced a huge resurgence over the summer and became one of Netflix’s biggest acquired hits, prompting Korsh to develop a new spinoff.

In an interview with The Wrap to promote her upcoming Netflix romantic drama show My Life With the Walter Boys, Rafferty addressed whether she’d be up for returning to her role as Donna in the Suits spinoff. The actor was unequivocal in her response. Her quote is below:

“Donna lives in my heart always. I’m always open to let her out to play.”

What’s Known About The Suits Spinoff

A spinoff was officially announced in October, following the end of the writers strike. Initial reporting mentioned that the project, hailing from NBCUniversal, was being fast-tracked following the massive streaming success of Suits. It was also noted that the project is not a revival, reboot, or strict continuation in the vein of the short-lived Pearson. It would be, however, set in the same overall universe, like CSI or NCIS. In general terms, this allows for some crossover with the original cast while allowing the new show to stand independently.

The Suits spinoff, reportedly taking place in Los Angeles, does not currently have a home. Reporting indicated that this is true for most NBCUniversal productions. This means that the new series could conceivably end up on a broadcast network, like NBC, or it could end up on streaming in another shared licensing deal between NBCU’s Peacock and Netflix.

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Suits has become incredibly popular again after landing on Netflix, and the show’s untold stories open the door for potential spinoffs.

Beyond those initial bits of information, it’s unclear what the plot of the new Suits will be. It’s also unclear at this early stage whether former cast members like Macht, Adams, Rick Hoffman, Amanda Schull, Gina Torres, or even Meghan Markle might cameo. However, in Rafferty’s recent remarks, she makes clear that she’s open to revisiting her time as Donna.