Meghan and Harry’s ‘procession of duds’ brutally called out amid claims entertaining series canned

A bombshell new report has claimed that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s much-hyped entertaining series might be in jeopardy.

It’s impossible to be anywhere near the internet and not be bombarded by the glut of superfluous, overstuffed gift guides right now.

It is, after all, that time of year when we load up on Shenzhen-made, landfill-bound crapola for our nearest and not so dearest, a grossly, capitalistic wonderland of wrapping paper and regret.

Gwyneth Paltrow suggests a $12,800 at-home infra-red sauna; Oprah Winfrey an $800 musical jewellery box and a solar-powered bird feeder.

Both women, both friends of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, should consider sending them something nice and shiny, because the couple has just discovered quite the pre-Christmas lump of coal in their stocking.

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The Daily Mail has reported that the duchess’ forthcoming Netflix lifestyle show might never air and that the streamer could be considering getting ready to largely wash their hands of the couple – and that “there won’t be another deal”.

“A-listers are now actively keeping away from them and events they are apparently going to attend,” an insider told the Mail’s chief reporter Martin Robinson.

“One told me ‘it’s not a good look to be around them’.”

This week, the Sussexes have been all over the news thanks to their willingness to prominently feature the backs of their young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, on their annual digital holiday card. (Theirs was sent out “on behalf of the office of” the couple. King Charles and Queen Camilla’s card just comes from them).

The touching bit of famiglia PR-ing was a clever touch given that Harry’s recently released Netflix series Polo has ended up as another expensive bombe surprise for the struggling TV producing duo. The reviews for the five-parter were scathing and audiences struggled to care less.

Meghan’s new Netflix show might never see the light of day. Picture: Netflix

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The duke and duchess’ 2025 TV line-up could now be in doubt.

While Harry spent 2024 helping make a five-hour series no one wanted to watch, Meghan spent months filming some sort of series about entertaining for the streamer which has been pegged to air in the first quarter of next year.

However, now the Mail’s Robinson has poured potential cold water on that, claiming, according to a Netflix insider, that “Meghan’s cookery show may not see the light of day”.

Others have offered a less dire prognosis, with Robinson also writing that the duchess’ mystery project “might” be aired, “especially if it boosts Meghan’s lifestyle brand, but it will be ‘make or break’ for the couple”.

Everything now appears to be riding on the former Suits star’s show, which will have to be an absolute belter and a chart-topper to turn around the Sussexes’ beleaguered TV-making fortunes.

The Sussexes shared a kiss for the cameras in Polo. Picture: Netflix

With Polo having cantered off into the sunset never to be seen, heard or talked about again, it now joins the procession of duds that have come out of their Archewell Productions.

Earlier this year, a massive data dump from Netflix revealed that Harry’s Heart of Invictus documentary series, while beautifully shot and deeply moving, was a ratings stinker with it having only been watched by 300,00 people. (A not dissimilar figure, 242,000, have alone watched Prince William being interviewed by Ted Lasso’s Hannah Wasdingham about his Earthshot Prize in a matter of days).

In 2022, the Sussex name was slapped on the supposedly inspirational documentary Live To Lead, which was given the massive lemon of a release date of New Year’s Eve. No surprise it disappeared without a trace.

(It probably didn’t help that Live interviewee and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was quick to tell the world she had only learned of the Sussexes’ involvement in the project when the trailer was released, having actually filmed the interview in 2019).

Adding even more pressure on the success of Meghan’s pots and pans wrangling bit of TV hausfrau-ery is the roster of Sussex projects that have failed to materialise or were knocked back.

An offering from Meghan Markle’s American Riviera Orchard, which is yet to properly launch. Picture: Instagram

There better be a whole lotta money in marmalade. Picture: Instagram

In May 2022, Netflix canned what was set to be their first project, an animated kids’ series called Pearl. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Executives decided that few children would care if the show they were watching had been produced by a duchess”.

Other concepts they had come up with, including “a sitcom described as Emily in Paris, but about a man, and a family-friendly TV show about gay characters”, failed to impress Netflix and were never given the green light, the Journal reported in 2023.

The same report also revealed that Harry and Meghan were developing a Great Expectations prequel called Bad Manners about Miss Havisham. Nothing has been heard of that project since.

(That same story also included the juicy claim that the Sussexes “at times seem surprised by the work required to finish entertainment projects”).

In August 2023, it emerged that Netflix had spent millions buying the duke and duchess the rights to the hit novel Meet Me At The Lake for them to bring to the screen.

With the new year right around the corner, shooting has not even begun, raising the question of whether they could even get it done before their deal with the entertainment behemoth ends in 2025.

The auguries for their future with Netflix are looking increasingly gloomy and a source has told the Mail’s Robinson, “there won’t be another deal. There may be one offs but that’s it”.

If this scenario does come to pass, it will leave the Duke and Duchess of Sussex nearly jobless, with Spotify having parted ways with them in 2023 and nothing having come from Harry’s ties to Penguin Random House since the release of Spare.

(The duke is still BetterUp’s Chief Impact Officer, whatever that might mean).

Their future prospects could end up all falling to Meghan’s pending, pending, pending American Riviera Orchard lifestyle brand, which shows no signs of launching any time soon and which has faced ongoing trademark hurdles. There better be a goshdarn whole lotta money in marmalade.

It’s a real shame that the Sussexes didn’t work on a show about another Dickens novel. Just imagine how handy it would have been if they were adapting Bleak House.

Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles

Originally published as Meghan and Harry’s ‘procession of duds’ brutally called out amid claims entertaining series canned