When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed their $100million (£80m) deal with Netflix, they promised to make TV that ‘informs but also gives hope’ through a ‘relatable lens’.
But after their latest project Polo – a five-part docu-series on arguably the most privileged sport on the planet – the streaming giant is said be unimpressed, and so are many reviewers and viewers.
For approaching a year there have been rumours that Meghan is making her own show celebrating ‘the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship’.
But there is no sign of any release date for the series, which was also set to complement American Riviera Orchard, which also appears to have failed to get off the ground.
A Netflix insider told MailOnline today that Meghan’s cookery show may not see the light of day. Others suggest it might if it boosts Meghan’s lifestyle brand, but it will be ‘make or break’ for the couple who had hopes of building a TV dynasty.
And after their Polo show flopped, the source said: ‘There won’t be another deal. There may be one offs but that’s it’.
Meghan reportedly wasn’t at Oprah’s surprise party for their mutual friend Gail King’s 70th over the weekend.
‘A-listers are now actively keeping away from them and events they are apparently going to attend’, MailOnline’s insider said.
‘One told me “it’s not a good look to be around them”.’
MailOnline has asked Netflix to comment.
Meghan presents a polo trophy to Harry earlier this year. The couple’s polo series is not considered to be a hit and has received poor reviews
Meghan Markle announced her new business venture, American Riviera Orchard, with a clip which showed the Duchess cooking in a stunning kitchen, with copper pans hanging over her head as she whisked. A Tv cookery show with Netflix, which will also have lifestyle features, is also in the pipeline but with no release date
Her American Riviera Orchard jam (pictured) is linked to a cooking show that Netflix appears to be in no hurry to show
Some of the responses to Prince Harry and Meghan’s newly released Netflix five-part series, Polo, have been brutal.
‘Unintentionally hilarious,’ said one, who half-wondered whether it was a spoof. ‘Tedious,’ was a further verdict – while, bruisingly, another just deemed it ‘tacky’.
The Guardian, whose staff have praised the couple for Megxit in the past, were scathing.
‘It’s a show about privileged people showing us exactly how privileged they are, which means there isn’t a lot of drama to be found’, their review exclaimed.
TV critic Stuart Heritage gave it two stars and said: ‘They made one reality show about how hard they had it, and then they stuttered. The Harry & Meghan show was followed by two forgettable documentaries, one about the Invictus Games and one about some nebulous concept of leadership. At some point in the future there will be a Meghan cookery show that Netflix seems reluctant to show’.
The company invested in no poster campaigns for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s latest project and its sole promotional attempt consisted of a two-line statement from Harry on the streamer’s website.
Executive produced by both Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43 – they also make a brief appearance onscreen in the documentary – the series reflects the prince’s enthusiasm for this elite sport.
And, indeed, behind the scenes, both he and Meghan were very hands-on when it came to the filming and editing of the show.
The pair spent many, many hours poring over footage, offering advice on what should make the cut.
Fascinatingly, the show’s other executive producer Milos Balac worked on the hit FX/Disney+ documentary series Welcome to Wrexham, which followed Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s takeover of the Welsh lower-league football club.
Next year, then, looks to be an uncertain year for the Sussexes, particularly for Meghan, who faces her greatest solo challenge of all – the launch of her Netflix cookery show and of her much-discussed lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard.
Indeed, after the apparent failure of Polo, so much hangs on her cookery show that some are calling it the ‘last chance’ for her to ‘save’ the couple’s lucrative Netflix deal – which is, after all, their chief source of funding.
One Californian source told the Mail’s Alison Boshoff: ‘It’s make or break. People say Netflix are exhausted. It’s so much work with her and, bluntly, the “deliverable” does not seem to be worth it.’
Another entertainment executive remarked: ‘Her show will have to be an enormous hit to turn around their deal and their reputations in this town.’
Well-placed sources indicate the launch of the show and the brand will happen in the first quarter of the year and, judging by the fact that it’s not part of any Netflix schedules in January, we must expect late February – after Harry’s Invictus Games in Whistler, Canada – or even March for the launch.
A Netflix source says details of Meghan’s project are being shared with only a ‘tiny’ audience of executives in the US.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida in April
Harry has played polo for years, but the sport is far from accessible for a person earning an average salary
The shows – filmed not at her Montecito home but at a nearby mansion – have been directed by veteran Michael Steed, who worked with the revered late chef Anthony Bourdain.
The show-runner is Leah Hariton, who previously made Selena + Chef in 2020 featuring the actress Selena Gomez.
They have been produced for Netflix by The Intellectual Property Corporation, which is an off-shoot of Sony Pictures Television.
That big money Netflix deal for Harry and Meghan comes to the end of its five-year period in autumn next year, and boss Ted Sarandos will want to see results.
However, well-placed Hollywood executives say that any new deal will amount to nothing like $100 million because of the lack of content the couple have actually produced.
Notably, the Sussexes have failed to produce a single drama or movie – unlike their role models Barack and Michelle Obama, whose company Higher Ground has made the hit film Leave the World Behind and critically acclaimed Rustin.
Much hinges, then, on how the brand is received by the public. And sources are certain Meghan is determined to ‘own’ the project, as the duchess might put it herself.
Prince Harry, 40, who served as an executive producer alongside Meghan, 43, promised the series, released globally last week, would showcase the ‘true depth and spirit of the sport’ as well as the ‘intensity of its high-stakes moments’.
However, the five-part docuseries, which centres around the build-up to the polo World Cup in Florida and mainly focuses on players such as Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso, Timmy Dutta, and Nacho Figueras, struggled to impress critics.
The series hardly features Harry and Meghan and has been nicknamed ‘the Nacho show’ behind the scenes because it focuses primarily on the Argentinian player – Harry’s best friend – and Adolfo Cambiaso, nicknamed the Michael Jordan of polo.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a five-year agreement with the California-based streaming giant in 2020 worth an estimated $100million (£80million).
But there has been uncertainty over whether the deal will be renewed next year, especially after their £15million Spotify contract ended early in June last year.
In February, Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bajaria revealed that Harry and Meghan ‘actually have a bunch in development’ under their Archewell Productions arm.
According to The Times, Ms Bajaria told a Netflix promotional event in Hollywood that the Sussexes were working on ‘a couple of unscripted things’ – thought to be documentaries – plus a film and a series, which are all in ‘very early development’.
Specific details on the shows are unknown, but the film could be related to Harry and Meghan’s planned £3million adaptation of the novel Meet Me At The Lake.
