Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are suffering another possible blow to their careers!
According to Page Six on Thursday, sources claimed their remaining projects with Netflix are seemingly stuck in limbo, leaving their first look deal with the streamer potentially in jeopardy! For those who don’t know, Meghan and Harry extended their creative partnership with the company through Archewell Productions with a multi-year, first-look deal for film and television projects in August.
How first-look deals work is that studios pay a retainer to producers to get first refusal on any projects they create. Those producers then get paid more when they sell a project. It’s unknown how long the pair’s deal lasts. However, the chances of renewal aren’t looking good for them so far because their projects aren’t out yet!
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In August 2023, the Sussexes’ media company, Archwell Productions, announced they would produce a movie based on Carley Fortune‘s novel Meet Me at the Lake. Netflix shelled out a whopping $3 million for the rights to the book. However, nearly three years later, the film has not been released. In fact, Page Six reported on Thursday that the project is still listed as in development but hasn’t made much progress, including hiring a director and cast. And Hollywood insiders are confused about the holdup! One source said:
“Three years in development for a movie like this at Netflix isn’t good.”
To put it in perspective, Netflix announced the movie adaptation and casting for Emily Henry‘s popular novel People We Meet on Vacation in August 2024, and they wasted no time in getting it out. They started filming in the fall of 2024 and dropped it in January 2026. If Netflix can turn around that film so quickly, why has barely anything happened with Meghan and Harry’s project that they announced back in 2023? What is going on? Hmm.
And that is not the only project in limbo right now! In September, the couple announced they were adapting Jasmine Guillory’s romance book, The Wedding Date. This is also still classed as in development at Netflix, and who knows if it’ll ever move into the production phase! Based on their track record so far, it seems unlikely!
That said, Meghan and Harry have managed to push out some content. They debuted their new documentary, Cookie Queen, which is about Girl Scout cookies, at the Sundance Film Festival in January and reportedly offered the film to Netflix. However, it has not been bought by a distributor or streamer despite winning plaudits at Sundance. Uh oh.
It is unknown exactly why Netflix didn’t swoop it up, but the royals haven’t had success with some of their previous projects with the company. Their tell-all documentary, Harry & Meghan, was a hit for the streamer, but others like their Polo documentary failed. Meanwhile, With Love, Meghan reportedly is not coming back for a third season due to poor ratings.
It makes you wonder then if Netflix is losing faith in the Sussexes! And if the two have no movies or shows coming out soon, well, that is also not a good sign for their future with the platform! As an industry insider pointed out:
“I don’t know how long this new deal is for, but if they don’t have anything to show soon, I can’t imagine it will be renewed.”
Oof…
Sources close to Archewell, though, claim there are several scripted and unscripted titles in different stages of development with Netflix and are moving through the normal creative process. Meghan and Harry also reportedly have a good relationship with the CEO Ted Sarandos. Those insiders, along with Netflix sources, insisted Meet Me at the Lake and The Wedding Date remain in development, and Archewell continues to have a “positive and collaborative relationship” with the streamer.
We’ll see how long that lasts! Meg and Harry just need to put something out — and have it do well! Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Tell us in the comments (below).
[Image via Netflix/YouTube]
