Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made even more waves than usual when they left the royal family behind in 2020 and eventually relocated to Montecito, California. The couple would quickly go on to share their side of the story when it came to exactly why they gave up their positions as working royals, and branch out by signing a mega-deal with one of the best streaming services, Netflix. A new report, however, has suggested that that deal will soon be over, and insiders have opened up about how each side is supposedly feeling now.
What’s Been Said About How Netflix, Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Feel As Their Deal Reportedly Breaks Down?
The early days of the 2025 TV schedule brought those with a Netflix subscription what might now be the last program formed from the partnership between the streamer and the Sussexes, the hotly contested home entertaining show With Love, Meghan. That series (which saw Meghan Markle launch herself into the celeb lifestyle influencer marketplace occupied by the likes of Martha Stewart and Gwyneth Paltrow) has now been revealed to have placed below several seasons of Suits, the former actress’ legal drama, right as we’re hearing that the multi-year, multi-million dollar deal will be allowed to lapse when the contract expires in September.
This report comes courtesy of The Sun, which spoke with an insider who claims that part of the reason the deal (allegedly worth a total of $100 million) will be scrapped is because Markle has made her As Ever brand her top project, as opposed to creating programming for the streaming service. That source claimed:
The deal is done; no more shows will be made. Netflix feel they’ve got all they can from the couple. Netflix were clever in that they got a hell of a lot of viewers for the first documentary series, and knew, realistically, it would prove the zenith of content from the Montecito pair. They’re not unhappy with how things turned out — they got those initial hits, and produced one of the most talked-about shows of all time. The content got weaker from there on but, frankly, for £20 million a year, anything was better than nothing.
Late 2022 saw the couple and streaming service launch the first part of Harry & Meghan, the docuseries which saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex detail their experience as a couple while they were still working members of the British royal family. The revelations held within that and part two of the doc included many allegations of bad behavior on the part of the press and royals, and while it was certainly popular in terms of viewership, it proved just as controversial as much of what the couple has done.
This was hardly the only program planned for Netflix, but all of them have been embattled in one way or another. While Markle’s lifestyle series had to delay its premiere because of the L.A. wildfires, their animated show, Pearl, was axed before it could even really get off the ground, the extreme delay for Heart of Invictus led many to think it had also been canceled before it could air (it wasn’t), and their other shows (Live to Lead, Polo) barely made a dent when it came to viewers. The source, however, noted that there are no hard feeling for either party, adding:
There’s no animosity from either side. Things have just run their course. Netflix execs are well aware Meghan’s priority now is her own brand, and they won’t play second fiddle to that. Publicly, there will not be a statement and of course, if things change dramatically, they’d be open to a one-off project down the line.
Shortly after With Love debuted, Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that they were still working with the duo because he felt “Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture,” and added that he thought she and Harry have been “overly dismissed.” While there’s been no confirmation that the deal really won’t be re-upped, there have also been claims that the regal marrieds are also now attempting to save money by cutting their personal full-time PR staff, along with many who handled things for their various brands, and are instead employing a PR firm. Potentially speaking to that, the insider said:
But for Harry, especially, this will be a blow. It’s a huge loss of revenue.
We’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds when it comes to them and possible new streaming projects, whether their partnership with Netflix is continued or not.
