Netflix was reportedly shocked when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down for a blockbuster interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, feeling it negatively impacted the eagerly awaited docuseries “Harry & Meghan.”
Months earlier, the couple had signed a multiyear production with the streaming giant, which included plans to produce a host of different programs such as feature films, docuseries, documentaries and children’s programming through their Archewell Productions company.
Their most recent production was Markle’s lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan.”
The deal was estimated at $60 million.
After it was signed, the streaming service got right to work on the series, in which the duo shared details about their love story, courtship, and the challenges within the royal family that led them to resign from senior royal duties and move to California.
However, Netflix was reportedly not expecting the former “Suits” star and Prince Harry to sit down with Winfrey and reveal never-before-heard details about their life.
Some of the stories relayed to Winfrey included Markle sharing that she contemplated suicide while pregnant with Prince Archie and detailing a huge blowup she had with her sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales, over Princess Charlotte’s flower girl dress for the 2018 Sussex wedding.
The couple also accused unnamed members of the royal family of questioning the color of Prince Archie’s skin while Markle was pregnant with him.
While there is no suggestion that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex violated any terms of their agreement, Netflix was still “annoyed” by the “lack of communication,” reports Variety.
Sources told Variety that Netflix only found out about the Winfrey interview at “the last minute.”
A Sussex spokesperson vehemently denied these claims, labelling them “categorically false,” noting that “Netflix and Archewell had legal counsel involved to oversee the evolution of the deal, as is common practice for any deal changes in Hollywood.”
The interview went ahead, garnering global headlines and blockbuster ratings for CBS.
Following the interview, rumors surfaced that a publishing auction was underway for Prince Harry’s memoir. Netflix reportedly approached the couple to discuss timing, with sources claiming that Markle “downplayed the auction” and even told Netflix honcho Ted Sarandos “that any publication would be far in the future, if it happened at all.”
The Variety article also alleges that Netflix “felt blindsided again” by the news that Penguin Random House was publishing Harry’s memoir “Spare” during the planned rollout of “Harry & Meghan.”
Netflix reportedly “acted immediately to have ‘Harry & Meghan’ air in its entirety before the book hit shelves.”
The memoir was released in January 2023 and became the fastest-selling nonfiction book of all time.
Earlier this month, Page Six reported that Netflix had cut ties with Markle’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, as her series, “With Love, Meghan,” was wrapping up after two seasons.
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