Blow for Meghan as her feminist cartoon series is scrapped by Netf lix
THe Duchess of Sussex’s animated TV series has been cancelled by Netflix as part of its cutbacks after a drop in subscribers.
Meghan had teamed up with Sir elton John’s husband David Furnish to create the show, titled Pearl, about a ‘12-yearold heroine who finds inspiration in influential women from history’.
It was due to be released as part of the Sussexes’ lucrative deal with the US streaming giant, said to be worth up to £75million.
The deal was met with criticism by some who accused the couple of cashing in on their royal links, despite Prince Harry reportedly telling the Queen that he wouldn’t.
But in an embarrassing turn of events last night, Netflix confirmed that the feminist cartoon is no longer in production.
Meghan announced the project, which was a deal between the streaming service and the media arm of the Sussexes’ organisation Archewell, in July last year.
In a statement at the time, Meghan said: ‘Like many girls her age, our heroine Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to overcome life’s daily challenges.
‘I’m thrilled that Archewell Productions, partnered with the powerhouse platform of Netflix, and these incredible producers, will together bring you this new animated series, which celebrates extraordinary women throughout history.’
Harry and Meghan will no doubt be reeling from the setback after speaking of how ‘eager’ the duchess was to bring the ‘special series to light’ with Furnish.
Pearl was due to be the couple’s second Netflix release. Their first, Heart Of Invictus – a docuseries about the Invictus Games for veterans set up by Harry – is due out soon.
Last year, Meghan, 40, and Harry, 37, released their first podcast under their Archewell Audio production strand, following a deal with Spotify which was said to be worth £18million.
The couple, who have a son Archie, two, and ten-month-old Lilibet, said they were ‘using podcasting to drive powerful conversations that inspire, challenge and educate’. Meghan said: ‘We created Archewell Audio to make sure that we can elevate voices that maybe aren’t being heard.’
‘The biggest part of this is trying to create this community where you can share,’ Harry added.
‘We’d encourage everybody else to then share their own vulnerabilities within that safe space.’ It follows two other children’s animated shows in production – Dino Daycare and Boons and Curses – which Netflix cut this week.
It is no surprise the streaming giant is reevaluating its projects after last month it was revealed it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year.
It has predicted that it will lose another two million accounts between now and June.
As a result, bosses are considering changes which could include a clampdown on password sharing and a low-cost subscription supported by advertising.
The service costs between £6.99 and £15.99 a month for subscribers in the UK.