Despite failing to set the streaming world alight, the royals have been given another opportunity to expand on Brand Sussex. But all is not as it first seems
If ever there was a sign that Meghan and Harry, contrary to their protests, are still relying on royal privilege, it’s the news Netflix have put a brand-new deal on their immaculately laid-out table. Earlier this month, a data dump revealed their previous offerings had made Prince Edward appear a televisual genius: elitist sports doc Polo reached the dizzying heights of 3,436 in 2025’s most-watched list, while critically derided lifestyle show With Love, Meghan spent just a week in the Top 10, the rubbernecking factor quickly giving way to mind-numbing tedium.
And yet the streaming giant still seems committed to the Sussexes, offering a similar first-look, multi-year deal to that accepted by another powerhouse couple, Michelle and Barack Obama. “Harry and Meghan are influential voices whose stories resonate with audiences everywhere,” Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bajaria stated, a rather spurious claim considering nothing other than their 2022 eponymous tell-all has connected beyond mild curiosity.
It seems unlikely that any of their future projects, should they even be picked up by Netflix, will reverse their fortunes either. Although undoubtedly well-intentioned, a sobering documentary about Ugandan orphans living in the “shadows of the HIV/Aids crisis” (Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within), has been undermined by the controversy that led to Harry’s resignation from his young African charity Sentebale.
An adaptation of Carley Fortune’s Meet Me at the Lake, a romantic film they’re producing, whose twists and turns sometimes echo their own, already sounds a little self-involved. And is anyone crying out for a second season of Meghan’s Goop-meets-Martha Stewart snoozefest, let alone a Christmas special too?
The royals’ unexpected reprieve will surely vex those creatives who’ve been at the opposite end of Netflix’s oft-unfathomable commissioning process. Only last month it pulled the plug on both medical procedure Pulse and White House whodunnit The Residence after just one season a-piece, this despite both gracing the Top 30 in the most-recent most-watched (the latter’s lead Uzo Aduba has also since picked up an Emmy nod). With sources alleging that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is proudly “in the Meghan business”, it’s clear the Sussexes are operating on a different playing field to everyone else.
But could there be some method to Netflix’s madness? The company must obviously be aware they’re not exactly sitting on a ratings goldmine. Not yet, anyway. But the renewal handily keeps the royals in their back pockets away from any other prying rivals. Should – or more likely ‘when’ – any more scandalous family drama arise, then both parties now have the opportunity to exploit it at a later date a la hit documentary series Harry and Meghan. After all, according to Vanity Fair, the former Suits star has already started pitching a book about divorce.
Another telling statement comes from Meghan: “We’re proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As Ever brand.” Sure, the Duchess is never going to surpass Nigella as the nation’s favourite domestic goddess.
But even if only a fraction of the pro-Meghan brigade fork out $14 (roughly £10) for her shortbread mix with flower sprinkles or a cool $300 (approximately £220) for a full case of her Napa Valley rosé, then there’s money to be made. It’s a showbusiness deal undeniably far more interested in the business than the show.
The anti-Meghan brigade, however, will no doubt take solace in the fact this new handshake is not the big win it initially seems to be. Netflix is under no obligation to take on any of the royals’ not-so-wild ideas. And although no specific figures have been mentioned, experts believe they’re far less lucrative than the original 2020 deal, which apparently made the duo $100 million richer. Nevertheless, it’s still a glaring example of how TV continues to reward not what you know, but who.
