Meghan Markle and Prince Harry don’t seem confident about the future of their £80million ($100million) Netflix deal, with time running out for it to be renewed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍 signed a five-year contract with the streaming service after stepping down from the Royal Family. The lucrative partnership is due to end next year and it’s yet to be confirmed if it will be renewed.
PR expert Ryan McCormick said the couple don’t seem “overly confident that it will last” after failing to mention their Netflix deal on their new website for Archewell Productions. In fact, the Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍es have also failed to acknowledge Meghan’s brand new podcast deal with Lemonada.
A statement on their site simply reads: “At Archewell Productions, we believe that stories have the power to unite and inspire audiences around the globe. Founded in 2020 by Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍, our company is dedicated to illuminating thought-provoking and diverse narratives that underscore our common humanity and celebrate community.”
It said Harry and Meghan are working on “scripted and non-scripted TV, film, documentaries, and podcasting,” but failed to go into any specifics. Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Ryan said: “Why Meghan and Harry haven’t discussed their Netflix deal could be for a number of reasons.
“One of them is that they may not be legally permitted to do so. If that’s not the case, the duo may be cautious about discussing the arrangement because they’re not overly confident that it will last.”
Meghan and Harry have received criticism for their Netflix partnership after releasing a bombshell documentary which featured a number of attacks against the Royal Family. Ryan continued: “For all the criticism that The Duchess & Duke have received, I think their silence on certain matters is severing them both very well recently.”
While there have been reports Netflix could pull the plug on Meghan and Harry’s expensive partnership, one of the streaming service’s top bosses recently announced the Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍es have more projects in the pipeline. At a February event to announce upcoming projects, Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria teased: “Oh, what are they working on. They actually have a bunch in development.”
She added: “They have a couple of unscripted things they’re working on with Brandon [Reigg]. And they actually have like a bunch of development, they have a movie in development, a [scripted] series that they’re working on.”
Bela emphasised the projects are “all very early development”. She also seemed very excited about the film, gushing that the “movie’s great”. Bela did not offer further details, but the “unscripted” projects are thought to be documentaries.