Many congratulations to Harry and Meghan for renewing their Netflix partnership, apparently worth tens of millions of dollars over the next few years. There seems little doubt that their decision to get married, then leave the Royal Family, has paid off in spades – financially at least, with millions tuning in to view offerings like Meghan’s cookery show and Harry’s opinions about his life as a Royal.
I suppose it’s not that surprising. Nearly 20 million of us here in the UK watched their wedding in 2018, as well as 30 million in the US and many more elsewhere. It was fabulous publicity, largely paid for by the British taxpayer, who dutifully forked out for all the security. And while the Royal Family paid for the wedding itself, it’s no big secret who funds that family. Perhaps we should ask for our money back.
But look more closely, and we can see that things might be a little less rosy than at first, and Netflix might not be quite so enamoured with the Sussexes as they once were. The New York Times reports that the terms of the renewed agreement are an indication that the original deal signed five years ago “may not have met expectations”. Ouch. And Mark Borkowski, author and PR, calls the new deal a “downgrade” and tells us that Netflix is now “pivoting away” from the couple.
Oh dear. None of us like to be pivoted away from, especially since, as Meghan says, the couple are working so hard to create “thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally, and celebrates our shared vision.”
I have to admit that any talk of a “shared vision” leaves me reaching for the nearest bucket. The one thing that did genuinely fascinate people, grubby rather than visionary, was Harry’s behind-the-scenes revelation of gossip and scandal. But he’s now fired all those bullets, and is left instead with an empty cartridge. Hence cookery and lifestyle, a proposed adaptation of a romantic novel and his apparently underwhelming documentary about the sport of polo.
If I were in Harry’s and Meghan’s shoes I’d squirrel away all that Netflix dosh and look after it very carefully, because few things last forever, least of all the public’s interest in a couple who are both now past 40 and looking a bit needy. Of the two of them, Meghan is far more of a natural TV performer and plays the part of a celeb reasonably well.
But poor old Harry, charming and impeccably mannered though he can be, is there because of an accident of birth. And there’s a limit to how long we’ll all be fascinated by him now that he’s left the institution that made him famous.
And what about his relationship with his family back in the UK? Given how he used the original Netflix series to undermine them all, it’s difficult to see how this latest, even if watered-down, deal is going to mend fences. I hope he knows what he’s doing.