Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem to be doing everything individually these days, and that apparently includes making new projects for their Netflix deal. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex immediately found immense success from their streaming partnership with their very personal docuseries in 2022, but since then they’ve failed to make lightning strike twice, even though they’ve started developing projects separately to double their chances.
This December has seen the release of POLO, which may have both Harry and Meghan attached as exec producers (and both of them may show up on screen — albeit not as much as you might think) but it’s clearly very much Harry’s baby. Meanwhile, Meghan has a cooking show in the pipeline which is expected to land on Netflix sometime in 2025. Unfortunately, the odds for this upcoming series aren’t looking good if the backlash the couple are receiving from POLO is anything to go by.
“It was pretty much out of their control”: Harry and Meghan branded as “sellouts” for latest Netflix show’s failure
POLO hit Netflix on Dec. 10, and less than a week later it’s already vanished without a trace from the Netflix top 10 charts, something that probably wasn’t helped by savage reviews. Even diehard Sussex fanatics were a tad disappointed, considering the limited screentime for the duke and duchess. Harry and Meghan are apparently reeling from its poor performance, despite insider intel indicating they’re not to blame for all of the show’s failures.
“Truth is, it was pretty much out of their control,” a supposed source told Closer, regarding POLO‘s vicious reviews. “The bosses wanted the series to appeal to the masses and pushed this reality TV slant, so it’s not entirely their fault. But it’s starting to feel like a big mistake.”
The insider added that POLO‘s reception has come as a “slap in the face” for the enterprising couple as they are desperate to be viewed as “respected producers” within the industry. Unfortunately, many critics blasted the six-part sports docuseries as more reality TV (and not the addictive kind) than respectable documentary filmmaking.
“As far as they’re concerned it’s very unfair they’re catching heat, they take issue with people who roll their eyes and call them reality TV sellouts,” the source defended. “People haven’t even seen the whole series and they’re already tearing it down and they fully believe the harsh reaction is simply down to their association with it.”
It’s probably true that POLO wouldn’t have faced such a roasting in its reviews if the Sussex name wasn’t attached. And yet the show wouldn’t exist without them as it’s highly unlikely Netflix would’ve showcased the high society sport without Harry’s influence, given the general audience’s lack of connection to the past-time and how controversial it is with animal welfare groups. This might’ve been the prince’s passion project, but it looks like not everyone shares that same passion.
At least everyone likes cooking! Whether Meghan’s culinary skills can make the most of the Sussexes’ diminished Netflix deal before it runs out next year, however, remains to be sen.
