The Duchess of Sussex has described her new Netflix deal as “an incredible sign of the strength of our partnership” despite rumours the streaming giant may be pivoting away from her and the Duke of Sussex.
Five years ago, Meghan and Harry secured a lucrative contract thought to be worth more than 100 million dollars (£74 million) with the platform after quitting as senior working royals in 2020.
The couple announced last August they signed a new “multi-year, first look deal for film and television projects”, meaning Netflix will have the first option on Harry and Meghan’s projects,
But the new terms led to speculation Netflix was distancing itself from the Sussexes after Meghan’s lifestyle series With Love, Meghan received widespread critical reviews.
Speaking at the Fortune Most Powerful Women summit in Washington DC on Tuesday, Meghan compared her Netflix partnership to the Obamas’ own deal for their production company Higher Ground, adding the new contract offered her and Harry “flexibility” and the chance to “shop content that might not be the right fit for Netflix”.
She said: “My husband and I were in an overall deal with Netflix, and then not just similar to Higher Ground in the Obamas’ deal, once that had come to its term, the extension of it, which was such a incredible sign of the strength of our partnership, was now being in a first look deal.
“Which is also exciting, because it gives us flexibility to go to our partners first, and then at the same time, to be able to shop content that might not be the right fit for Netflix, but has a home somewhere else.
“So for our non scripted team and our scripted team, we’ve been doing a lot of content development that can meet different rooms.”
Meghan also said she is “grateful” for the partnership, adding it has been “incredible” for her As Ever brand which sells flower sprinkles, pre-prepared baking kits and jam.
“What we’ve designed is being able to have so much robust support in year one, where you have the show complementing the brand or content and commerce or meeting, and then still enabling me to have autonomy, to build out my own team and scale it in the way that I envision,” she said.
She added the partnership means “the business will, of course, go on longer than a series”.
But when asked whether With Love, Meghan will come back for a third season, the duchess did not give a clear indication.
“The holiday special is coming out in November and that’s it’s a really good one,” she said.
“So we’re able to say eight episodes for two seasons, it’s a lot of work.
“I also recognise how much people want content in different sizes.
“So part of what we’re testing out now is: it’s amazing to be able to sit and watch a show for 30 minutes, but how can I give you a recipe in two minutes, and where can I share that with you, and how that continues to grow As Ever.
“So, exploring all the options of what it could look like.”
The former Suits actress then gave further detail about her show’s upcoming holiday special, saying she does “lots of gift wrapping techniques”.
“You guys know I used to teach gift wrapping at Paper Source and advanced gift wrapping,” she said.
“So you know, all of those things that you do as an auditioning actor.
“That’s not the full circle I was expecting, but here we are.”
When asked whether her As Ever goods will soon be available in stores, the duchess said she may look to strike a partnership with large retailers “in the next couple of years”.
“My intention with as ever is getting back to things that are tactile, how we connect with each other.
“And you can only convey so much of that, obviously, in videos or in E-commerce.
“So I think my intention would be to have really bespoke, small retail collaborations, do some interesting ones as well in global territories, and then, of course, as you think about scaling, you know, it’s a brand that’s accessible, but it still has a quality that feels as though it’s masstige.
“And so when we think about larger retailers, I think in the next couple years, that would make sense.”
The Sussexes previously described their latest deal with Netflix, which is also a partner in As Ever, as “extending their creative partnership”.
But PR and crisis expert Mark Borkowski has called it a “downgrade,” and suggested Netflix had “done a very neat job of pivoting away from two very expensive people who didn’t deliver”.
With Love, Meghan first ran on the streaming platform in March this year, with its second season released in August.
Its launch coincided with the unveiling of Meghan’s As Ever brand, with her first products including her raspberry jam, and the flower sprinkles she repeatedly promotes throughout the show.
But the eight-part series, which sees the duchess give hosting tips and cooking with her celebrity friends, was savaged by critics.
One review in The Guardian described it as a “gormless lifestyle filler” and “so pointless it might be the Sussexes’ last TV show”, while The Telegraph gave it two stars and branded it “insane” and an “exercise in narcissism”.
The couple’s other major media deal with Spotify ended in 2023 after one season of Meghan’s podcast Archetypes, with one of the streaming giant’s executives later branding them “grifters”.
