Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s foray into documentary making has finally come to its bitter conclusion as Netflix have opted not to renew the couple’s $100 million deal which is set to expire this September. Despite numerous disappointing projects from the Sussexes the streaming giant is reportedly still pretty happy with what it got from the deal.
Harry and Meghan signed the contract with Netflix way back in 2020. The deal saw the couple make numerous documentaries for the streaming service, the first of which was the highly controversial (but also highly viewed) Harry & Meghan. The six part documentary took a look at the couple’s lives behind the Palace doors and it blew a lid on the royal family as a whole.
Some of the insights given by the Sussexes into royal life may have ruined their chances of ever being forgiven by their family in the U.K. but at the time this sneak peak of the dirty royal secrets attracted a lot of viewers.
Harry and Meghan’s viewership drop-off
However, their newfound fame was short-lived as the couple quickly found out the general public just weren’t interested in them outside of the royal drama. Their follow-up projects which focused on the Sussexes’ passions and hobbies such as the Invictus games and Harry’s love of Polo failed to capture the attention of viewers.
Meghan’s most recent project, With Love, Meghan saw initial promising returns but has had little success in terms of longevity. While a second season has already been filmed, it will be the final project released under the Sussex-Netflix deal.
Netflix is ‘not unhappy’
Despite the apparent disappointment of the last few Harry and Meghan projects, Netflix are reportedly satisfied with the overall outcome according to The Sun. A source claimed that the streaming giant was able to get enough from the Sussexes’ initial project that it justified the amount they spent on Harry and Meghan.
“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 source went on to admit that “the content got weaker” but “for £20 million a year, anything was better than nothing.” As the two parties prepare to part ways in the coming months the source claims that there is “no animosity from either side” and that “things have just run their course.”
Despite this it will still be a huge loss in revenue for the Sussexes meaning they’ll have to strike up a new deal soon. The source claimed that Paramount+ was eager to work with the couple so it will be interesting to see what they produce next.
