Revealed: Meghan and Harry’s new goldmine
‘Deal scrapped!’ ‘Executives are angry!’ Reports have flown across the globe this week saying Harry and Meghan are being dumped from their five-year exclusive deal with Netflix.
The deal, touted as being worth $100million (£75million), but in reality a fraction of that, has been their biggest payday so far and allowed them to lead enviable lives in Montecito, California, in a $14million mansion and security.
Many have reported that it will be allowed to run out in September because Netflix has ‘lost interest’ in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex… but that isn’t right. At all!
As reported, the current deal will come to an end in September. But the couple are still firmly attached to the Netflix money hose.
Netflix boss Ted Sarandos remains a huge fan, of Meghan’s in particular, and his support is a powerful secret weapon.
There will be a third series of the Duchess’s lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, if she wants to make one. And I hear she does.
Multiple sources say the couple are getting a new ‘first look’ deal with the streamer, which will be in line with the $65million deal Barack and Michelle Obama now have – and it doesn’t get bigger than that.
I also hear there are options on the table for other lifestyle shows from the Duchess, tied to hosting gatherings at Thanksgiving or Christmas. The idea is to announce those in September when the second series (already shot) of With Love, Meghan drops.
Netflix boss Ted Sarandos remains a huge fan, of Meghan’s in particular, and his support is a powerful secret weapon. There will be a third series of the Duchess’s lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, if she wants to make one
In fact…. one well-placed source believes the Sussexes are going to make MORE money next year from Netflix and Meghan’s Netflix–backed brand, As Ever, than they did this year.
Projects ‘put on ice’… forever
But it’s bad news for their own large team at Archewell Productions, which has been funded up to now by the Netflix exclusive deal. Insiders suggest that running the team and the office costs around $3million (£2.25m) a year.
Although their team won’t comment, some belt–tightening on the production side looks inevitable. The fate of projects in development – including a rom–com film based on the book Meet Me At The Lake and a retelling of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations – is not known.
Many believe they will just go on ice – forever – as the Sussex team has not yet come up with a script which appeals enough to Netflix bosses Ted Sarandos and Bela Bajaria to get the green light.
However, sources close to the couple themselves say we can expect more projects from them BOTH for Netflix.
Despite truly poor ratings for his documentaries Polo and Heart of Invictus, Harry will also be a part of the first–look deal. He is said to be intending to make more documentary shows for Netflix, most likely in the areas of mental health and the environment – which are twin passions.
Insiders point out that although With Love, Meghan only made No 383 in the streamer’s What We Watched list, this still put it in the top 5 per cent of Netflix output. It rated higher than the well–established Queer Eye series, with over 5 million viewers.
Meanwhile Harry’s Polo documentary drew only 500,000 viewers globally, rating number 3,436 in the chart.
Sources close to the Sussexes say we can expect more projects from them both for Netflix
One close source said of Harry and Meghan: ‘They are horrible at making decisions. They ask everyone, then don’t take their advice’
By far the most successful thing they ever did for Netflix was – as you might expect – that 2022 tell-all documentary Harry & Meghan. It was a storming international success, although one that will be hard to replicate.
Meghan’s polarising little problem
Meanwhile, Meghan is busy focusing on the best ways to grow her lifestyle brand, As Ever. That was launched in partnership with Netflix this spring, with Meghan registering the trademark and Netflix managing it and providing some staff.
I’m told she is mulling the best ways to ‘evolve’ her brand, which she wants to keep affordable. She also wants to make sure that it maintains quality as it grows.
So far there have been crepe and biscuit mixes, the infamous flower sprinkles and a controversial $30-a-bottle (£22.50) rosé wine, which hasn’t been a hit with wine experts. Nonetheless, all have sold out instantly.
That’s not entirely good news for Brand Meghan, though. Lauren Sherman of news site Puck describes the business as ‘excruciatingly small’ and adds: ‘Sure, stuff sold out, but that was because they didn’t make a lot of it.’
She adds: ‘I’ve never understood why Markle, who legitimately moves product when she wears or endorses something, didn’t team up with a licensing firm, Foster sisters-style, or go ahead and raise capital from her inner Montecito circle to start a Goop-style business. (With the knowledge of where Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop brand succeeded and failed, of course.) And perhaps she’ll still do something of the sort.
‘But there are a few things holding her back. First, she is terribly polarizing, even more so than Gwyneth. A lot of people who might buy a sweater Markle is wearing from J.Crew or La Ligne would be embarrassed to serve a bottle of her wine at a dinner party.’
And the other issue? Sherman adds that an ex-Sussex employee told her: ‘The one thing Meghan and Harry have done consistently is make the wrong decision.’
That’s not for want of trying. Because, as another close source told me: ‘They are horrible at making decisions. They ask everyone, and then don’t take their advice.’
And that’s a problem all the Netflix money in the world can’t solve.
