Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan new Netflix film and TV series

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are working on ‘a bunch’ of new Netflix projects including a film and two other ‘unscripted’ projects, a company executive has said. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a five-year agreement with the California-based streaming giant in 2020 worth an estimated $100 million (£80 million). But there has been uncertainty over whether the deal will be renewed next year, especially after their £15million Spotify contract ended early in June last year.

Now, Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bajaria has revealed that Harry and Meghan ‘actually have a bunch in development’ under their Archewell Productions arm. According to The Times, Ms. Bajaria told a Netflix promotional event in Hollywood that the Sussexes were working on ‘a couple of unscripted things’ – thought to be documentaries – plus a film and a series which are all in ‘very early development’. Specific details on the shows are unknown, but the film could be related to Harry and Meghan’s planned £3 million ($3.2 million) adaptation of the novel Meet Me At The Lake.

It comes after Harry and Meghan turned up in Jamaica last week after being invited by the family of Paramount boss Brian Robbins with whom they have a friendship. The Sussexes, who were attending the premiere of the new Bob Marley film One Love, were pictured with father-of-three Mr Robbins and his stylist wife Tracy James who live in Los Angeles. The photos and revelation of a friendship were notable given the Sussexes could be searching for new forms of income amid speculation over the Netflix deal.

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede said at the time that Harry and Meghan would want ‘to shop around and look at where they can land their next ratings winner’. Last November, Meghan revealed that the Sussexes have various projects on the horizon and she wanted to produce ‘things that make people feel something’. Speaking at the Variety Women of Power Gala in Los Angeles, she said: ‘We have so many exciting things on the slate. I can’t wait until we can announce them, but I’m just really proud of what we’re creating and my husband is loving it too.’

The couple’s six-part documentary ‘Harry and Meghan’ was their first Netflix release in December 2022, which included a series of swipes at the Royal Family. Three weeks later the Sussexes released their second Netflix production, ‘Live to Lead’, which was about global leaders who have fought for social justice. Then in August last year, Harry released his latest series Heart of Invictus, which featured athletes preparing for the 2022 edition of the games and saw him open up about mental health struggles after returning from military duty in Afghanistan.

Also last August, Netflix paid £3million for the film rights to Carley Fortune’s romantic novel Meet Me At The Lake which Harry and Meghan will produce. But last May, Netflix dropped Meghan’s planned animated series Pearl as part of a wave of cutbacks prompted by the streaming service’s drop in subscribers. Earlier today, Harry and Meghan released a new video urging social media companies to reduce the amount of harmful content children see online.

The Duke and Duchess put out the clip last night of their appearance at a World Mental Health Day discussion in New York on October 10 last year. They issued the video on their Archewell website following a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child safety in Washington yesterday – and saw politicians warn social media giants: ‘You have blood on your hands ‘.

During yesterday’s hearing, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg stood up and apologized to families who say social media contributed to their children’s suicide or abuse. Last month, a lynchpin of Harry and Meghan ‘s Netflix series left the production arm – bringing the total number of staff they have lost since they married to at least 17. Archewell TV executive Bennett Levine left the firm last month and moved to a US rival in a move described to as a serious ‘blow’ to the couple.

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