Even though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made major news when they left their royal duties (and the United Kingdom) behind in 2020, it’s possible they made bigger news a few months later when they signed a deal with Netflix that was, reportedly, worth a total of $100 million. The early 2025 TV schedule appeared to have been home to the last of the planned projects for those with a Netflix subscription when With Love, Meghan debuted to incredibly mixed responses. However, after reports that the deal will be allowed to lapse when it’s up in September, we’re now hearing that a new contract could be in the works.
What’s Now Being Said About Prince Harry And Meghan Markle’s Deal With Netflix?
It was just about a week ago that reports came out regarding the state of Netflix’s deal with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Their contract, which saw the royals produce a variety of reality series/documentaries for one of the best streaming services to the reported tune of $20 million/year, is due to end in September, and a source noted that while there was “no animosity from either side” those at the streamer simply “feel they’ve got all they can from the couple” so no renewal of the contract would be made.
According to the Daily Mail, which spoke to its own sources recently, that’s supposedly not the case. One insider said:
Make no mistake – a deal is being worked through as we speak. If you’re in the top third of Netflix, you’re getting another deal.
One of the things that was pointed to as a reason for why Netflix was going to let the deal end without a new contract was the performance of the shows that the Sussexes created. The first docuseries, Harry & Meghan, proved to be a blockbuster hit (though viewers were brutal in their assessment of the content). Unfortunately, the shows that followed failed to light streaming viewership numbers on fire in the way Markle’s Suits had, with Polo, Heart of Invictus, and Live to Lead barely making a dent. With Love, Meghan also had issues when it came to eyeballs on the product, having placed below several seasons of her legal drama.
Why Aren’t Netflix Or Harry And Meghan Talking About The Alleged New Deal And What Might It Mean For Their Shows?
First of all, it’s worth noting that Prince Harry is said to not be a part of this alleged new Netflix deal, as he’s more focused now on his charity work than producing streaming programs. As for the silence of Markle and the grandaddy of all streaming, another source said:
What happens at the end of the contract is that people renegotiate. But when doing any kind of commercial negotiation, both sides are not allowed to talk about it. Netflix is a listed company so they can’t say anything or confirm officially yet that a new deal is happening, but that deal is not dead. Netflix are an equity partner in As Ever, so they were unlikely to drop Meghan. It serves them to promote her and her lifestyle brand via the With Love, Meghan show. It would be like punching yourself in the face not to sign a new deal.
We’d previously heard that one of the reasons Netflix was stepping away was that Markle is more interested in building her As Ever brand, and they didn’t want to play second fiddle to it. This report, however, claims that the streamer will actually gain financially from that brand, so it’s in their best interest to continue with her and help promote it through, you guessed it, With Love, Meghan. People may not be watching it in droves, but insiders claim that Season 2 was filmed right after the freshman outing, and that current plans are for it to hit the service this fall. The source continued:
People point to 'Polo was a flop,' but it’s worth remembering that Harry & Meghan was the biggest documentary on Netflix ever in 2022. That alone could have afforded them 50 flops – and it still would have been worth it for Netflix. With Love, Meghan has been worth it too. It’s done really well, especially in America, which is the only place that matters.
As noted, nothing about the deal has been confirmed by either party at this point, but it probably won’t be long before we know whether or not they worked things out.
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