Meghan and Harry Renew Netflix Tie-Up but With Tighter Terms and Diminished Clout
Sage Matthews here, bleary-eyed and mildly furious, because of course Meghan Markle and Prince Harry just re-signed with Netflix and of course it comes with strings that make the whole thing feel like a consolation prize.
Let us be blunt. After an initial headline-grabbing $100 million handshake in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are back with Netflix under what insiders describe as a smaller, looser pact that still gives the streamer first refusal on future projects. Sources quoted in The Times and other outlets say the new arrangement is worth far less than the original megabucks package, and it arrives after a string of lukewarm performances and critical misses that made the old contract look like a risky bet in hindsight.
Yes, Netflix publicly praised the couple. Bela Bajaria, Netflix Chief Content Officer, called Harry and Meghan “influential voices” whose stories perform well, citing the 2022 documentary series “Harry & Meghan” which remains the platform’s strongest doc debut with 23.4 million views. That, of course, is the peak they have not replicated. Subsequent fare including “Live to Lead” in 2022 and “Heart of Invictus” in 2023 failed to set the world on fire. Even Prince Harry’s “Polo” documentary, which landed in December 2024 to poor reviews, was reportedly such a disappointment that it threatened their renewal prospects.
Then there was Meghan’s own lifestyle series “With Love, Meghan,” filmed in Montecito with celeb cameos like Mindy Kaling. Despite the fanfare, it sank, failing to make Netflix’s top 300 between January and June and pulling about 5.3 million views early on, according to platform metrics reported in industry coverage. So yes, the couple did not exactly crush it with follow-ups to their big debut.
Still, power and PR do wonders. The renewed deal reportedly gives Netflix first dibs on new projects via Archewell Productions, rather than a guaranteed slate, meaning the royals pitch and Netflix decides. That sounds less like creative freedom and more like auditioning for attention. The announcement arrives with a handful of projects: season two of “With Love, Meghan” set to premiere later this month, a December holiday special “With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration,” a feature adaptation of Carley Fortune’s novel “Meet Me At The Lake” in development, and a documentary titled “Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within,” about orphaned children in Uganda. The Masaka project positions itself as a heartfelt humanitarian piece framed around the community’s resilience following the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Public statements stuck to optimism. Meghan said she and Harry feel “inspired” by partners working with Archewell to create work that “resonates globally.” Bajaria added that Netflix is “excited” to continue collaborating. Translation: this partnership still sells headlines and merch, if not the viewership they once hoped for. Netflix also highlighted the commercial success of Meghan’s “As Ever” lifestyle line, noting products sold out quickly. Commerce, it seems, is a critical component of the Sussex brand when streaming numbers disappoint.
Context matters. The couple’s initial deal was a pandemic-era splash that matched the public hunger for royal revelations and star-powered activism. The follow-ups revealed the limits of that appeal. Netflix appears pragmatic: keep the relationship for potential hits, licensed products, and the occasional splash of controversy, but trim guaranteed commitments and hand control back to the platform. Welcome to the streaming era where influencers are part-creator, part-brand, and part-expensive test case.
If you ask me, this all smells like a slow deflation of a once-toppling cultural event into a recurring cameo on the global attention circuit. They get a platform, Netflix gets first refusal, and viewers get more episodes of a lifestyle series that must now prove it can do more than move merch. The moral? Fame is durable, but streaming success is not.
Anyway, can’t wait to see how this gets worse.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and The Times, Netflix press release, New York Post
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
