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Harry and Meghan hire director Liz Garbus to create Netflix reality show

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have teamed up with an Oscar-nominated, left-leaning director to help create their Netflix docu-series.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have hired Oscar-nominated, left-leaning director Liz Garbus to help create their Netflix docu-series.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have teamed up with Garbus for the show, which — as Page Six exclusively reported — they have been working on for more than a year as part of their multimillion-dollar deal with the streamer.

Garbus was seen in the background with the couple last September during their trip to New York City with a small camera crew who hid their equipment in an apparent bid to keep the top-secret project under wraps.

The Sussexes’ three-day New York excursion included a stay at a luxury apartment at United Nations Plaza owned by power player lawyer Barry Bloom.

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Liz Garbus has been tapped by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to direct their new show on Netflix. Picture: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Showtime
Liz Garbus has been tapped by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to direct their new show on Netflix. Picture: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Showtime

The cameras followed them to a red carpet gala honouring veterans aboard the USS Intrepid in Manhattan, and at a lunch at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.

Garbus was seen with colleagues smuggling camera equipment under coats and bags out of the UN digs while setting up and filming the Sussexes.

Her film crew was also spotted with the couple in an Airstream van on their way to the veterans’ gala.

Garbus is openly political; her Instagram account urges for abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade and calls Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams a “brilliant” leader.

The royal family is generally expected to be apolitical, but since Harry and Meghan split from the royals and moved to the US, they seem keen to align themselves with progressive issues, especially in fighting climate change.

During the 2020 presidential election, Meghan also worked with noted feminist Gloria Steinem to cold-call voters, encouraging them to head to the polls.

During their New York City trip last September, Harry and Meghan were spotted being filmed discreetly by Garbus’ camera crew. Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen
During their New York City trip last September, Harry and Meghan were spotted being filmed discreetly by Garbus’ camera crew. Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen

Garbus has built her career as a documentarian and filmmaker tackling true crime, voter suppression and the justice system, and also helmed the last season of The Handmaid’s Tale, which earned her an Emmy nomination in 2021.

Story Syndicate, the Brooklyn-based production company Garbus runs with her husband Dan Cogan, was responsible for Amazon’s All In: The Fight for Democracy and HBO’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, both released in 2020.

Royal watchers are keen to see what the famously guarded Harry and Meghan will divulge about themselves and their family in their upcoming docu-series. Picture: Alexi Lubomirski/Handout/The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Royal watchers are keen to see what the famously guarded Harry and Meghan will divulge about themselves and their family in their upcoming docu-series. Picture: Alexi Lubomirski/Handout/The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Garbus also directed the film Lost Girls, which became an early pandemic hit on Netflix, Cousteau for Nat Geo/Disney+, and documentaries on Pete Buttigieg for Amazon and Anthony Fauci for Nat Geo.

She was nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar in 2016 for What Happened, Miss Simone? and again in 1999 for The Farm: Angola, USA.

A rep for the Sussexes was unavailable for comment.

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/royals/harry-and-meghan-hire-director-liz-garbus-to-create-netflix-reality-show/news-story/02bd37a9d458838091acf88a60690222