Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy, A Matter of State and Family) joins Suits Season 8 as a regular actor, playing opposite Gabriel Macht. The show has previously announced that neither the future princess Meghan Markle nor the little boy Patrick J. Adams will return. Heigl will play Samantha Wheeler, a new partner at the law firm Pearson Specter Litt. She is talented and will challenge the status quo, either becoming the firm's biggest ally or its most powerful enemy. The tone of the plot will also change, having previously focused on the male relationship between Macht's Harvey Specter and Adams' Mike Ross, which will now be replaced by other elements. Original cast members Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman and others will return, and Dulé Hill, who joined as a regular in the latest season, will also return. Season 8 will begin filming in Toronto in April and is expected to air at the end of the year.