Meghan Markle Urged to Save Netflix Partnership

Newsweek

4 days ago

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Meghan Markle should strike up a different kind of deal with Netflix in the hope of saving her relationship with the streaming giant as a TV producer, a culture expert told Newsweek.
Prince Harry and Meghan signed a five-year deal in September 2020 to make shows for Netflix and the contract is due to expire this September.
It has not currently been renegotiated and The Sun and People both reported Netflix is planning to bring the partnership to an end.
Meghan Markle collects honey from her beehives during filming for her Netflix show "With Love, Meghan" which broadcast in March 2025.
Meghan Markle collects honey from her beehives during filming for her Netflix show "With Love, Meghan" which broadcast in March 2025.
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Why It Matters
That, however, might be more complicated than it sounds as Netflix is an equity partner in her online shop, As Ever, where she sells wine and produce including jam and flower sprinkles.
Her latest Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, was designed to help market As Ever, meaning canning the series could damage the commercial success of her company, which Netflix makes money from.
It is, of course, also possible that Netflix will renegotiate the deal after all when the time comes.
What to Know
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede told Newsweek the upcoming second season of With Love, Meghan, expected in the fall, could be make or break for the couple's chances of keeping a Netflix deal of some kind.
However, he also said there is another option available for both sides: "What a lot of studios do is something called a first look deal where she gets to come up with her ideas and they get the first look.
"Which means they have that almost exclusivity and there's a little bit of a relationship between the two parties.
"It's really important for her to get her brand across and with As Ever, it was the perfect way to have the two together but we know that social media can be really great too.
"She might go and do a YouTube series and YouTube is the most watched thing on the planet. There are other avenues for her but from an optics point of view and a success point of view, I suspect she would want to be in a renewed relationship with Netflix because they have powered her and her husband in massive way over the last five years."
If Meghan and Harry do part ways with Netflix, they could try to pitch to other networks, though a prime contact in the TV industry may be about to bow out of his current role.
Deadline reports Brian Robbins, co-chief executive of Paramount Global, is due to leave his role after a merger with Skydance.
It is, of course, entirely possible Robbins could still put in a good word for Meghan even after his departure but being Montecito neighbors with the co-CEO would have certainly been a helping hand.
"There's an opportunity here for her to shop herself around to other networks," Ede said. "She could talk to Hulu or she could talk to Disney because she's obviously been tied down to this deal.
"She has the next season of With Love, Meghan coming out so I think all eyes will be on that and whether it does well from a numbers point of view and a PR point of view.
"So that may be where Netflix decide to either keep her and say look we're going to commission another season or they might decide we don't actually want to do anything with you at the moment."
Netflix's Stake in As Ever
As an equity partner, Netflix is entitled to a cut of As Ever's profits but past statements from chief executive Ted Sarandos suggest he is also planning to use the company as a test case for a wider expansion into merchandise.
"I think Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture," he told Variety in March. "When we dropped the trailer for the Harry & Meghan doc series [their December 2022 biopic], everything on-screen was dissected in the press for days.
"The shoes she was wearing sold out all over the world. The Hermès blanket that was on the chair behind her sold out everywhere in the world."
"People are fascinated with Meghan Markle," he said. "She and Harry are overly dismissed."
And he hinted he had plans to use As Ever to learn lessons for Netflix's wider expansion when he said: "We're a passive partner in Meghan's company, and it's a big discovery model for us right now."
Ede said: "They would probably keep the stake in the brand because they've actually developed that brand with her and its important to keep that relationship.
"I don't think they would want to cut their noses off to spite their faces but if they don't renew their TV shows, they will just be getting revenue stream from her shop.
"They've invested a lot into that so they will want to see a return, a massive return. My gut feeling is they will do a first look deal with her.
"They will look at the numbers for the new season and see if that does relate to sales, because that's what this is really about. People aren't going to subscribe to Netflix to watch the next Meghan show so that's done for them from that point of view."
What Happens Next
Season 2 of With Love, Meghan has already been filmed, alongside Season 1, Netflix confirmed. According to People, it is due to be released in the fall.
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