The overwhelming response to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s latest business venture is likely to put their $100 million deal with Netflix in jeopardy, according to a top brand expert.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s “Polo” documentary, which was released on the streaming platform earlier this week, has faced negative reviews from critics of late.
The two, who served as executive producers on the project, made minimal appearances in the documentary series, with little promotion for the project.
Brand expert Nick Ade has now warned that the documentary could prove to be the “nail in the coffin” for the pair’s lucrative Netflix partnership, which they signed in 2020.
“The new polo documentary hasn’t received good reviews, and it’s another attempt by Meghan and Harry in the making,” Ade told the daily mail,
“All eyes will be on whether the show gets ratings and makes the all-important top ten. It, like the Invictus documentary, could get off to a good start because of the public’s fascination with the pair and potentially polo.
Ade warned that the project was always going to be “bad” as it was up against Netflix’s latest releases such as “Black Doves” and several new Christmas films.
He added, “This could potentially prove to be the nail in the coffin for their deal with the streaming giant, who now use algorithms to ensure that their programming is the perfect fit for their subscribers.”
The Post has contacted representatives for Netflix and the Sussexes for comment.
This comes after the 43-year-old former “Suits” actress finished shooting her upcoming show for Netflix in July.
Although details about their new project are scarce, the series will reportedly center around cooking and wellness.
It will be produced by Markle herself along with Sony Pictures Television and will likely collaborate with her upcoming lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, which has not yet launched.
Both the Polo documentary and the upcoming cooking show fall under the deal that Harry and Markle signed with Netflix under their Archewell Productions company.
In February, Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria revealed what kind of projects the two are working on under their wing Attractive deal with the platform.
“They have some unscripted stuff they’re working on with Brandon (Reig, head of unscripted shows at Netflix),” Bajaria said.
“And they really have a bunch of development going on. He has a film in development; A (scripted) series they are working on. So all very early development, with a movie, a TV show and some unaired shows. But yes, the film is great.”
The couple’s previous collaboration with Netflix — a documentary called “Harry & Meghan” — proved to be a big hit when it was released in December 2022.
He also executive produced the Netflix documentary “Live to Lead” as well as “Heart of Invictus”, a documentary based on athletes preparing for the Invictus Games, founded by Harry, which arrived on the streamer in August 2023.
That same month, author Carly Fortune confirmed that Archewell was adapting her romance novel “Meet Me at the Lake” for Netflix.
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