In 2020, when Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan moved away from royal duties – and inked, among other agreements, An agreement of $ 100 million over five years with Netflix– They turned to narration as their vehicle for the impact.
For the Sussex, the partnership with the streaming service was an ideal collaboration, a source close to the sharing couple with Harper bazaar. This allowed them to generate a freedom of creation to generate content that aligns with their values, mental health initiatives for social transformation.
The agreement has produced five major projects in five years, including the couple’s explosive documentaries Harry and Meghanwho has become The biggest start for a Netflix documentary When it was released and is still the second most popular documentary series in the company. Then came the documentaries Live to directmonitoring Heart of invictuslinked to Invictus 2020 games. And more recently, Netflix produced Harry Polo And Meghan’s With love, Meghan. The latter shows that the world’s top 10 Netflix in 47 countries.
Unlike other projects that Sussex have undertaken – such as their Document of $ 20 million with Spotifywhich ended in 2023 – The Netflix agreement seems to have power. Evidence? With love, Meghan has already been renewed for a second season, and the episodes will make its debut later this year. Beyond that, Netflix is a partner of the Meghan lifestyle brand, suggesting that the company’s relationship with the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex is nowhere to soon.
Netflix was an incredibly collaborative partner from the start, the source close to Sussexes shares with Bazaar. The group of company products and experiences of the company – has created programs from the platform outside the screen to deepen the Fandom – collections of products inspired by series like Bridgerton, Cammar gameAnd Foreign things. Like never the first product fall – was published last month and with a range of eight products – took place in just 45 minutes.
It was a “big step,” said Meghan in the May 6 episode of his Podcast Memonada Media Confessions of a founding woman. “Netflix arrives as a trading partner is enormous,” said Duchess. “The simple fact of having a world power that believed in me, and the site which is sold in the first 45 minutes of launch – everything, each piece on which we had worked. It told me that customers – people – took place in me and this vision. That’s all you really want as a founder.
The CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, said Variety In March, the Sussex was “too rejected” and said specifically that Meghan “is underestimated in terms of his influence on culture”, adding, succinctly, that “people are fascinated by Meghan Markle”. None of this looks like a commercial relationship that ends imminent.
Andrew Morton, royal biographer and author of 1992 Diana: her real story tell Bazaar that Harry and Meghan are closely linked to Sarandos, stating that the couple could even follow in the footsteps of Sarandos with regard to the program taken in Apple TV + cameo The studio In an coming season.
Netflix wants success, he said, adding that “Netflix would not have invested both monetary capital and social capital in Meghan’s lifestyle if they did not think it would be a winner.” Among the Duchess of Sussex, “you can see the direction it is going, and it is not a stupid direction,” says Morton. “It’s a fairly intelligent direction.”
Morton adds from Meghan: “You see, you can get fascinated by the wall of the criticism she obtains, but in the end, it is to see the figures.” Although Harry’s efforts were “worthy but not really at the box office”, Meghan’s contributions made the headlines “because people display it and have a vision of the content she creates – and no matter their opinion on her,” they look at him “.
Meghan’s efforts “seem to have many more components, and there are more legs”, continues Morton, adding that this next year “is a critical year” like the “test for Harry and for Meghan is to make programs which are independent of their previous royal life and which are simply committed by what they do.”
Speaking from Morton is an expert at this stage – he notes that Harry and Meghan are not “the first Royals to try to make television shows. Prince Edward was the first, and he swore that he would not do programs on the Royals. And guess what happened?
“And therefore, for me, [Harry and Meghan] Go to the sale of their royalty to the realization of legitimate and non -royal programs that will obtain an audience – and that is what, in all honesty, for Meghan, that’s what she tries to do, “says Morton.” They are on stage now where they must have autonomous projects that are popular, who get a viewer, but not Loal. »»
For Rachel Bowie, Royals expert for Purwow.com and former co-host of the popular Royally obsessed podcast“All this together is a sign that, yes, the agreement that the Sussex have with the streamer TV will be renewed,” she said Bazaar.
For Bowie, the protruding facts of the partnership “were at any time Harry and Meghan appeared in front of the camera”, but what was “was the most disappointing are the projects that feel on the brand, like Harry Polo Series, but Miss the Mark – I tried to look at him, but he lacked a real conflict and I felt a little boring. “She concedes that” perhaps it is one that would have succeeded better with more juicy details on the relationship of the Royals with sport through time ” – although Harry’s decision not to do so can indicate, to the point of Morton, that Harry and Meghan firmly follow the non -royal way.
The Sussex “seem to be a valid investment for streamer,” says Bowie. “I think we are in the early stages to see what Meghan, but also Harry, is able to create.” And for the couple, all of this means “a platform and editorial control”.
A source close to the couple, without explicitly confirming a future for Sussex and the streaming service, indicates that the two parties have an “unshakable commitment to the content that makes people move”. The partnership, they add, have developed in a complete collaboration representing a long-term strategic investment.
“Several exciting developments are still under Wraps, but all will be revealed later this year,” said the source.
