Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s $100 million deal with Netflix will not be renewed when it expires later this year, according to several reports.
The couple signed the contract in 2020, but it will not be extended beyond 2025, a Hollywood insider tells Entertainment Weekly’s sister publication PEOPLE. The move reflects “a shift in Netflix’s broader business strategy,” according to the outlet.
An anonymous source also told The Sun that “there’s no animosity from either side,” and that “things have just run their course.”
EW has reached out to representatives for Netflix and the couple for comment.
Markle and Prince Harry released a a handful of non-fiction projects on the streaming giant. The impending end of the deal will reportedly not impact the rollout of season 2 of Markle’s lifestyle docuseries With Love, Meghan, which premiered in March and ran for eight episodes, featuring celebrity guests like Mindy Kaling and Abigail Spencer joining the Duchess of Sussex at her home and in her kitchen.
In addition to With Love, Meghan, Netflix also rolled out the Liz Garbus-directed Harry & Meghan docuseries in 2022, which included six episodes revolving around the duo’s life in the United States after stepping back from their duties as senior members of the British royal family.
The couple formed their Archewell Productions company after announcing their decision to leave the royal family in January 2020, with the pair signing their deal with Netflix that September. Other Archewell projects at Netflix included Live to Lead, Heart of Invictus, and Polo.
“Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope,” the couple said at the time in a statement to the New York Times. “As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us.” They added that Netflix’s “unprecedented reach” to subscribers will assist in their mission to “share impactful content that unlocks action.”
Their foray into entertainment wasn’t entirely well received, however, with The View cohost Ana Navarro admitting on the air during a March broadcast that “some people like her, some people hate her, some people don’t care,” looking toward the camera while motioning toward herself.
Former View cohost and conservative political commentator Meghan McCain also slammed Markle over With Love, Meghan, calling the series out of touch with audiences that Markle was attempting to reach with the show.
“I cannot stand her. I love people that I can relate to, like every other 40-year-old mom. I don’t want to eat her jam,” McCain said on her digital talk series. “I don’t know what she’s doing. This is like her ninth rebrand. I actually had to review her show and her podcast, and it was horrible. It was so boring.”
[Yahoo news]