Prince Harry and Meghan Markle face an uncertain media landscape in America as their high-profile streaming deals expire or shrink. Six years after relocating to California, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are preparing to return to the UK amid shifting entertainment markets and scaled-back commercial partnerships.
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle settled in California following their departure from the British royal family in 2020, they stepped into a booming streaming economy. Global media companies were spending heavily to secure prominent names, leading the couple to sign a Netflix partnership reportedly worth $100m. Their production organization, Archewell Productions, aimed to deliver scripted and unscripted projects, children’s content, and documentaries. A $20m podcast deal with Spotify added to their expanding media footprint.
Years later, those mega-deals have either expired or been pared back. While the couple prepares for travel back to the UK—motivated in part by King Charles’s ongoing illness and Harry’s desire to reconnect with familiar causes—their commercial future in American content creation faces new questions.
The Royal Family Remains the Only Bankable Sussex Brand
Content centered on royal intrigue proved far more successful than non-royal projects. Their 2022 documentary series, Harry & Meghan, set record viewing figures for a documentary debut and ranked among Netflix’s most successful docuseries.
Subsequent releases that lacked royal themes struggled to capture similar audiences. A polo documentary failed to enter Netflix’s global top 10 lists, while viewership for the second season of their lifestyle and cooking show, With Love, Meghan, declined significantly. An animated children’s series titled Pearl was cancelled, and Netflix ended its partnership with Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, after seven months, though the wider corporate relationship continues.
Evan Shapiro, a former U.S. media executive and creator economy analyst, noted that the Sussexes entered the market during a unique transitional period for entertainment.
Shapiro added that streaming competition has expanded dramatically. That era has passed. It’s fucking hard [now] … the competition is literally every human on earth. Eight billion people with phones who are all competing with Meghan Markle.
Contrasting Fortunes in the Attention Economy
Social media consultant Matt Navarra observed that initial advantages did not guarantee long-term retention in an era of infinite viewer choice. They arrived in Hollywood with almost every advantage imaginable, but audiences now effectively have infinite choice,
Navarra noted in reporting by The Guardian.
Beyond media ventures, other philanthropic and commercial initiatives faced setbacks. Commentators observe that while digital platforms and streaming services expanded rapidly during the pandemic, the permanence of traditional institutions contrasts sharply with the volatility of modern tech-driven commerce.
Harry Reflects on Ties to the UK
Prince Harry has spoken openly about the difficulty of maintaining connections to his home country from a distance. In an interview, he described his enduring attachment to Britain and its communities.
“I have always loved the UK and I always will love the UK. It’s been good to reconnect with the causes I am passionate about. I have been able to spend some time with people that I have known for so long. It is hard to do it from far away.”
With content partnerships scaled back and personal ties drawing him back across the Atlantic, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex navigate the next phase of their public lives as their initial six-year American chapter draws to a close.
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