Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are betting on behind-the-scenes work to salvage their Hollywood careers after a string of high-profile setbacks. The couple, who moved to Montecito in 2020 with grand ambitions, now face a reality where their influence has waned significantly by 2026.
Setbacks and Missed Targets
The multi-million-dollar Spotify deal Meghan signed in 2020, which produced her Archetypes podcast, ended after the couple reportedly failed to meet "productivity benchmarks," according to The Wall Street Journal. Netflix has not renewed Meghan's lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, for a third season, and the streaming giant also confirmed it would no longer fund her brand, As Ever, citing a pre-planned mutual agreement.
Prince Harry's docu-series, Polo, failed to attract viewers and went quiet after its first season. Despite these flops, the couple is not finished yet, pivoting to executive-producing roles away from the cameras.
Promising Projects in Development
Archewell Productions, founded in 2020, has several projects with strong potential. The pair is working on an untitled series written by Francisca X. Hu that revisits the world of polo, described as an "upstairs-downstairs drama" in the sports romance genre.
Another project is a film adaptation of Carley Fortune's bestselling romance novel, Meet Me at the Lake. Fortune praised the couple, saying, "I felt like they really understood the story and what mattered about the story. It's a romance, but it's very much about a mother and daughter, too, and we talked a lot about parenthood and also about how these love stories are about so much more. It's a story about grief, it's a story about mental health, and so I felt like it was in good hands with them."
A Strategic Shift
By staying behind the cameras, Harry and Meghan can avoid the backlash that follows any on-screen appearance. This shift allows the work to speak for itself, potentially winning over critics and securing their footing in Hollywood.
The hope is that the couple will move beyond the royal feud narrative and focus on producing quality content that resonates with audiences. Success in these projects could prove their creative capabilities and earn respect from even their harshest detractors.
