Michael James, aka Mike Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams, is a college dropout turned corporate lawyer in USA Network’s popular series Suits. The legal drama ran for nine seasons and wrapped up in 2019, while the actor was associated for seven of the seasons.
As the series follows the corporate lawyer who reaches the heights of the legal profession despite having never gone to law school, his absence from the penultimate season raises many questions.
While Mike Ross was the main character of the first seven seasons of the nine-season series, he appeared in a few episodes of the final season. Patrick J. Adams, the actor who played Mike in Suits, once shared the reason for stepping away from the show as he was partially motivated by a desire to spend time with his wife, Pretty Little Liars star Troian Bellisario. However, his absence was not a result of any bad blood between the makers and the lead actor but was a personal reason.
Why Did Patrick J. Adams Left Suits?
It was not a hard decision for the actor to leave the role that gave him immense fame and popularity. Patrick J. Adams left the show after he was introduced during the pilot of the USA Network series and served as a main character in the show for seven long seasons.
In the Suits season 7 finale, Mike and Meghan Markle’s Rachel Zane got married and decided to move to Seattle. The couple started their own law firm and seemingly lived happily ever after, which the actor thought was a conclusion to the story of the character.
“After seven seasons — really, eight years of being away from home and away from my now-wife and there was that pressure,” said the actor during a conversation with THR.
After playing the main lead for more than 100 episodes of legal drama Suits, Patrick left the show after he thought the story had been concluded. He began to enjoy his personal life as he got married to Pretty Little Liars star Troian Bellisario in 2016.
Along with Patrick J. Adams, it was his on-screen love interest Meghan Markle, who left acting after she became engaged to Prince Harry.
Adding more about leaving the show, the actor said that they both grew up together in the cast, so it felt good to leave at the same time. “There was this natural sense that we both knew that the time had come for both of us,” said the actor.
Did Patrick J. Adams Return as Mike Ross In Suits?
After bidding farewell to the show in season 7, the actor appeared in a guest appearance in the final season 9. Notably, he was not seen in season 8. Patrick J. Adams reprised his role as Mike during Suits’ ninth and final season as he returned to New York City because of one of the cases he was working on. One of his clients was entangled with one of Samantha Wheeler’s clients, pitting him against his former law firm.
“Ultimately, it was about coming back. It was about, ‘We’d love to get the band back together,’ basically. Do one last trip around the world. It was as simple as that. For me, it was just an excuse to come and see everybody and really be here for the final moment,” said the actor in a conversation with Entertainment Tonight.
All 9 seasons of Suits are streaming on Peacock, while seasons 1 to 8 are now available on Netflix.
What do you think about the future of the law firm and whether you think Suits should have more seasons?
Can we expect any spinoffs or a reboot of the series? Comment down your thoughts!