Why did Patrick J. Adams leave Suits? (Mike’s departure explained)

When you think of the best legal drama series to ever come out, Suits should definitely be on your list. After nine incredible seasons, the show ended its run in 2019. This is an amazing feat because it’s not often that shows get this many seasons, especially nowadays. But with a show running for that long, the cast was bound to go through some shakeups. We saw the departure of many fan favorites, but no one was expecting or prepared for the show’s leading actor to leave the series before it wrapped up. So why did Patrick J. Adams leave Suits? Read on to find out!

Suits opens with Mike Ross, a highly intelligent yet unmotivated college dropout who uses his photographic memory and knowledge of the law to impress hotshot corporate lawyer Harvey Specter and score an associate job at a top law firm in Manhattan, New York. But the kicker is that Mike doesn’t even have the legal credentials to be a lawyer. Throughout the seasons, Mike and Harvey take on some of the biggest and most challenging cases, all while trying to keep Mike’s secret hidden from everyone else.

Patrick J. Adams played the protagonist Mike Ross while Gabriel Macht portrayed the role of Harvey Specter. Rick Hoffman, Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty, Gina Torres, Amanda Schull,
Dulé Hill, Katherine Heigl, and others were also in the cast.

So how does Mike leave the legal drama series, and in what episode? We answered these burning questions and shared why Patrick J. Adams decided to exit the show below.

Spoilers ahead from Suits season 7.

What episode of Suits season 7 does Mike leave?

07/27/23 UPDATE: Mike Ross returns briefly in the final season for three episodes, but Rachel does not. 

Mike Ross leaves the legal drama in Suits season 7 episode 16. This is the season 7 finale titled “Good-Bye.” This is the last time we see Rachel Zane (Meghan Markle) too.

How did Mike leave in Suits season 7?

Mike and Rachel get married in the season 7 finale and leave New York after accepting an offer to run their own law firm in Seattle that specializes in standing up for the little guy and taking down Fortune 500 companies.

Why did Patrick J. Adams leave Suits?

Patrick J. Adams left Suits because he felt he had spent so much time away from his wife Pretty Little Liars star Troian Bellisario and his family while shooting the legal drama series. He also felt like it was the right time for him to exit the show because he felt his character’s journey had come to an end.

Patrick spoke with The Hollywood Reporter back in January 2018 and said this about his departure:

"“After seven seasons — really, eight years of being away from home and away from my now-wife [Adams married Pretty Little Liars alum Troian Bellisario in December 2016] and there was that pressure. I started thinking about leaving at the end of the first half of season six, after Mike was released from prison. From a story point of view, I was a little unsure of what was left for him to do. Mike had made the pledge during his trial that if he were allowed to continue to practice the law, he would dedicate his time and energy to underrepresented people and not big, corporate interests. I wasn’t sure how we were going to work that version of the character into the fabric of the show. Aaron Korsh and I talked about it and he pitched this idea of Harvey (Gabriel Macht) offering a one-for-one deal that would keep Mike working at the firm so he could gather the resources to go and do more pro-bono cases. That brought up an interesting season seven. And I’m proud of how this season turned out.”"

Suits seasons 1-8 are streaming on Netflix.