‘Suits’: Watch First Footage of Katherine Heigl’s Season 8 Debut

It’s out with Meghan Markle and Patrick J. Adams, and in with Katherine Heigl for Suits‘ eighth season.

The USA Network drama will return for a new season on July 18, introducing fans to Samantha Wheeler (Heigl), and we can already tell she’ll change things up at the firm.

By the end of the teaser released after Markle and Adams’ final episode, TVLine reports, Harvey (Gabriel Macht) welcomes her to the firm, and the attorney makes her intentions known: “I want to be name partner,” she says, “and I want it before the year is out.”

The upcoming season marks the first installment of the series without regulars Meghan Markle and Patrick J. Adams, who left the show at the end of season seven.

Markle married Prince Harry of Wales Saturday in fronts of friends, family and some of her Suits co-stars at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. Becoming a member of the British Royal Family prompted Markle to retire from acting.

As for Adams, he opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about his decision to leave the series.

“I started thinking about leaving at the end of the first half of season six, after Mike was released from prison,” Adams told The Hollywood Reporter. “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.

‘[Suits boss] Aaron Korsh and I talked about it and he pitched this idea of Harvey (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.”

Halfway through filming season 7, Adams approached Korsh to tell him he believed Mike’s story was over. He had grown from a “burnout pothead” into a full-fledged lawyer, engaged to the woman of his dreams, so there was no more growth for him to explore. Both Korsh and Adams decided this was the time to say goodbye.

Markle and Adams’ storylines ended with their characters marrying and moving to Seattle to work at a law firm tackling class action lawsuits.

As far as Markle, Adams says the timing of their departure was something they never discussed, but it made their last scenes together even more bittersweet.

“Meghan has this whole crazy part of her life that’s just beginning now,” Adams said. “…There was this natural sense that we both knew that the time had come for both of us. It went unspoken and we just enjoyed the hell out of the last few episodes that we got to shoot. We both knew that we wouldn’t be coming back. It made every one of our scenes that much more special. We had a great time…”

However, Adams did not rule out returning to the show for a guest appearance if the opportunity arose.

Suits will return July 18 at 9 p.m. ET on USA Network.