'Just waiting for the credits to roll': Meghan and Harry's $100 million Netflix partnership 'dead' amid 'dismal' ratings and lifestyle brand flop

Sky News AU

7 days ago

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's future with Netflix appears to be in jeopardy, with a company insider claiming their $100 million content deal is effectively "dead" following a series of underwhelming releases.
New figures released by Netlfix's latest 'What We Watched' semi-annual report found that Meghan's cooking show, 'With Love Meghan' failed to break into it's top 300 programmes.
In fact, it was closer to its 400th program, coming in at the 383rd most-watched show.
It was even outranked by reruns of Suits, the legal drama that launched Meghan's acting career, and Gossip Girl Season One, which first aired in 2007.
On Tuesday, an insider at Netflix told The Mail the Duchess of Sussex had "everything going for her," but the viewing figures for With Love, Meghan were "dismal".
"This deal is dead," they said.
The insider said that Netflix are "just waiting for the credits to roll."
"They're letting it expire without drama," they said.
Another source reportedly added of the interest drop-off that the couple "went from buzzy to background noise."
The Sussexes first signed their five-year agreement with the streaming platform back in 2020, shortly after stepping back from their royal duties and relocating to Montecito, California.
To date, all of the Sussexes' Netflix projects have been documentaries, including the high-profile Harry & Meghan series, Heart of Invictus about Harry's sporting initiative for veterans, and Live to Lead, which spotlighted inspirational global figures.
Their most recent venture, With Love, Meghan, aimed to showcase the Duchess' love of "cooking, gardening, entertaining and friendship".
Despite filming both seasons back-to-back, the show's poor performance has now cast a shadow over future plans.
Deadline's co-editor-in-chief for TV, Nellie Andreeva, didn't mince words, describing the viewership numbers as "very low for a Netflix original- and pretty unprecedented for a show that has been renewed."
Originally due to premiere on 15 January this year, the first season of With Love, Meghan was pushed back to 4 March due to wildfires in Southern California.
"I'm thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch, as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California," Meghan said at the time.
The show's release was timed to coincide with the relaunch of her lifestyle brand, formerly known as American Riviera Orchard, now rebranded as As Ever.
In a February Instagram clip, Meghan told fans: "Cat's out of the bag. I'm shocked we've been able to keep this a secret for so long."
Explaining the rebrand, she said the original name had felt too restrictive.
"Last year I thought American Riviera Orchard is a great name (but) it limited me to products manufactured and grown in this area."
The As Ever brand, which draws inspiration from Meghan's pre-royal lifestyle blog The Tig, now encompasses a small line of jams, conserves, and wines sold online.
But the venture, also funded by Netflix, has come under heavy criticism from marketing experts, with Camille Moore and Phillip Millar describing it as one of the weakest brand launches they've seen.
Speaking on The Art of the Brand podcast, Ms Moore said: "I feel like she's doing such a brutal or good job, depending on how you're looking at it, of getting this like free PR and then absolutely s****** the bed."
Mr Millar was equally scathing, saying: "They're just milking that for everything they can," and suggesting the brand was simply 'maximising the value from her fame that came from Suits and being a part of the Royal Family".
Despite mounting rumours about the future of their Netflix contract, the company's Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria struck a more optimistic tone in February, telling SkyNews.com.au that Netflix was still "excited" about future projects with the Duke and Duchess.
While Season Two of With Love, Meghan is expected to premiere later this year, a release date has yet to be announced.
SkyNews.com.au has contacted both Netflix and Sussex representatives for further comment.