Prince Harry and Meghan ‘set to release new Netflix documentaries’
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are working on multiple documentaries as well as a scripted television series and a film adaptation, a Netflix executive has revealed.
The couple, who signed a lucrative five-year deal with Netflix in 2020, will be under pressure to secure a ratings hit to justify their reputed $100 million payday.
It comes after they appeared at the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love, in Jamaica, alongside Brian Robbins, the Paramount Pictures chief executive, fuelling speculation that they may be courting a new deal.
Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, revealed that the Sussexes had several major projects in the pipeline and were working with Brandon Riegg, vice president of unscripted content.
Asked at a preview event in Hollywood what was next for Prince Harry and Meghan, she replied: “Oh, what are they working on?
“They have a couple of unscripted things they’re working on with Brandon.
“And they actually have, like, a bunch of development, they have a movie in development, a (scripted) series that they’re working on. So all very early development, with a movie, a TV show and a couple of unscripted shows. But yeah, the movie’s great.”
Netflix is said to have stumped up £3 million to secure the film rights to Carley Fortune’s Meet Me at the Lake, a romantic novel that will be produced by the Sussexes’ Archewell Productions.
The book, published last May, is understood to have resonated with the couple, exploring themes of mental health, postnatal depression and childhood trauma over losing a parent in a car crash.
As part of the next phase of their deal, the Duke is said to be hoping to return to Africa to make a documentary, although the project is in the early stages.
Sources close to the couple have previously told The Telegraph that they also have several “fun” television series in the pipeline.
“There will be more of a heavy focus on fictional, scripted content,” one said. “It will be romcoms, feel-good and light-hearted programmes.”
For the most part, the couple will adopt executive producer roles, allowing them to pursue other projects and philanthropic work.
The Sussexes’ Netflix output stalled last year owing to the Hollywood writers’ strike.
So far, they have produced only a handful of shows. Their six-part Harry & Meghan docuseries was released in December 2022.
Heart of Invictus, the Duke’s behind-the-scenes documentary about the competitors preparing for the 2022 Games, followed last August and they also lent their voices to Live to Lead, a series featuring pre-recorded interviews with global leaders and activists.
Meghan’s animated show Pearl, about powerful women of history, was dropped.
Meanwhile, Archewell lost another senior member of staff last month when Bennett Levine, a production manager, quit after just two years.
Last year, both Ben Browning, internal content head, and Fara Taylor, who led the marketing team, also left and neither was replaced.
Last month, Archewell Foundation’s tax returns revealed an $11 million fall in donations last year to $2 million, tipping it into a loss.
