Royal Expert Warns ‘Harry and Meghan on the Brink of Losing Netflix Deal’
After stepping down as working royals in 2020 and moving to America, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed lucrative, multi-year deals with Spotify and Netflix to produce content for the streaming platforms. However, after securing these contracts, both companies were left waiting for substantial content from the Sussexes. In 2022, Meghan’s “Archetypes” podcast finally debuted, but Spotify canceled it after just 12 episodes and ended its partnership with the couple, told Express. This move came after a company executive publicly called them “f****** grifters.”
Now, a royal author is explaining why Netflix might follow suit and not renew the deal in 2025, and how this could impact the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Royal expert and author Tom Quinn spoke to The Mirror about the potential consequences of not securing another contract with Netflix for the prince and former Suits star. He told the publication that the pair “would find it impossible to recover from the blow of losing their Netflix contract.”
Quinn suggested that Harry and Meghan were embarrassed by the Spotify fiasco, as the contract was terminated prematurely due to a lack of content. They are keen to avoid another public failure. “It’s very likely to be a repeat of the problem with the couple’s Spotify contract which came to an abrupt end in 2023 after Harry and Meghan failed, according to a Spotify spokesperson, to meet ‘productivity benchmarks,’” Quinn said. He added, “It’s always been Meghan’s dream to build a hugely successful commercial enterprise and she is still convinced even after the Spotify debacle that she has the drive and talent to make this happen.”
Quinn emphasized the significant impact of losing the Netflix deal, stating, “The loss of the Netflix contract would be a major blow and one from which it would be all but impossible to recover. The last thing Meghan wants is the humiliation of trying to set up a deal with a much smaller company — the way things are going even that might not be a possibility.”
So far, Netflix has received limited content from the Sussexes, including the six-part docuseries “Harry & Meghan” in 2022 and two other documentaries that did not crack the platform’s Top 20. However, the couple has two new shows in the pipeline. One is a documentary featuring Prince Harry about the sport of polo, and the other is a cooking and gardening show curated by Meghan. The latter program, directed by Michael Steed and with Meghan and Chanel Pysnik serving as executive producers alongside showrunner Leah Hariton, is described as celebrating the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship.
Despite these upcoming projects, Quinn believes it may not suffice. He opined, “Harry and Meghan are on the brink of losing their multi-million-dollar Netflix contract for the simple reason that Netflix expected a great deal more from the couple.” The pressure is mounting on the Sussexes to deliver compelling content that meets the streaming giant’s high expectations and justifies their substantial investment.