TL;DR:
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are the stars of a highly-anticipated Netflix docuseries. But an expert says an inside look at their lives is something they “never really wanted.” The pair reportedly had a different “vision” that didn’t include a “reality show.”
Back in September 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s lucrative deal — worth around $100 million — with Netflix went public. Immediately, questions swirled about what sort of content they’d create.
However, the Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden says what Harry and Meghan originally had in mind is far from what’s coming to the streamer.
“The thing to remember is that Harry and Meghan never really wanted to do this project,” he said (via Express). “When they signed up for Netflix, it was to make a programme [sic]. They had this vision of sort of being like Barack and Michelle Obama and making very worthy documentaries.”
“That’s already gone by the by,” he continued. “Harry’s made a programme [sic] about his Invictus Project for injured service men. We don’t have a broadcast yet planned for that.”
“And Meghan’s big project, which was a children’s animated programme called Pearl, that’s been candled together.”
Eden’s referring to Heart of Invictus, a docu-series about competitors in Harry’s Invictus Games, and Meghan’s animated series Netflix canceled along with a slew other programs earlier in 2022.
“So, the first thing we’re seeing is a reality show, a docu-series about them. This has not been made by Archwell. This is very much a Netflix project,” Eden said. “For everyone, you can imagine Harry and Meghan being nervous about the reaction.”
In an October 2022 cover interview with Variety, Meghan commented on her and Harry’s Netflix show. She suggested what viewers see might not be what the pair wanted.
“It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story — a seasoned director [Liz Garbus] whose work I’ve long admired — even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it,” she said. “But that’s not why we’re telling it. We’re trusting our story to someone else, and that means it will go through their lens.”
Meghan went on, calling it “interesting” to be back in the entertainment industry again. “My husband has never worked in this industry before. For me, having worked on Suits, it’s so amazing to be around so much creative energy and to see how people work together and share their own points of view.”
Following speculation surrounding the release date of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docu-series, the stream finally offered a glimpse. On Dec. 1, the second day of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Boston visit, Netflix dropped a 72-second teaser.
It starts with Garbus (off-camera) asking Harry, “Why did you want to make this documentary?”
While never-before-seen photos of Harry and Meghan’s life together go by, Harry can be heard replying, “No one sees what’s happening behind closed doors. I had to do everything I could to protect my family.”
As the images (which include the Prince and Princess of Wales) get closer to the present, Meghan’s shown wiping away tears. Finally, the clip ends with Meghan looking into the camera asking, “When the stakes are this high, doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?”
Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries, formally titled Harry & Meghan: A Global Netflix Event, does not have an official release date. It’s said to be “coming soon.”