Netflix is working with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s company Archewell to produce two new non-fiction shows, the streamer confirmed to Forbes on Thursday, marking the fourth and fifth series to come out of a $100 million deal between Netflix and the royal couple.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf on Sept. 16, 2023.
Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation
Key Facts
The first series will be “curated” by Markle and “celebrate the joys of cooking and gardening, entertaining and friendship,” Netflix said, a theme that seems to mesh with the duchess’s recent announcement she’ll launch a lifestyle brand called American Riviera Orchard.
The show will be directed by Michael Steed, the man behind the “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” series, and showrunner Leah Hariton, who also made the Daytime Emmy-nominated “Selena + Chef” show with Selena Gomez.
The second series will see “Welcome to Wrexham” showrunner Miloš Balać provide viewers “unprecedented access to the world of professional polo.”
The show will “pull the curtain back on the grit and passion of the sport,” Netflix said, which Prince Harry has played for much of his life and reportedly kept up with after his move to California in 2020.
Neither show has a name or premiere date, but Netflix said details will be released in the coming months.
Big Number
5. The two shows will bring the total number of projects from Archewell Productions to five. The company was founded in 2020 and is so far responsible for “Heart of Invictus,” a documentary following athletes participating in the Prince Harry-founded sporting event for wounded veterans; “Live to Lead,” a docuseries on impactful world leaders, and “Harry & Meghan,” a show about the couple’s departure from royal life. “Harry & Meghan” holds the record for the most viewing time of any Netflix documentary in its debut week with 81.55 million hours watched. All the shows are available on Netflix.
Key Background
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced in January 2020 they would be stepping down as senior royals. They cited bullying from the British media and mistreatment and racism within the royal family as their reasons for leaving.
They moved to California and have since launched several business ventures. They created a charity organization and an audio and video production company using the name Archewell, and signed deals with Netflix and Spotify worth $100 million and $20 million, respectively. The Spotify deal ended last year after the couple reportedly failed to meet “productivity benchmarks.”
Markle moved her podcast, “Archetypes,” to Lemonada Media. Last month, while speculation was swirling around the seeming disappearance of Princess Catherine before the to-be-queen revealed she’d been quietly undergoing treatment for cancer, Markle launched a new brand via Instagram.
American Riviera Orchard was announced with a nine-post grid on Instagram and a short video that shows the duchess arranging flowers, baking and standing in a stone walkway wearing a floor-length gown.
Few details were provided, but company registration documents revealed plans to create an online retail store selling tableware, cutlery, cookbooks, stationary, party decorations and other similar items. On Thursday, People magazine reported the band will launch this spring.
This article was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
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