Prince Harry And Meghan Markle’s Animated Series “Pearl” Got Cancelled By Netflix

Not too long after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were quitting life as senior royals and leaving the UK for the land of opportunity (cue the American Tail theme), Harry and Meghan got a podcasting deal with Spotify, and Netflix threw a ton of money at them to make a variety of projects, including documentaries, feature films, scripted series, and shows for the kids. Well, one of the shows they had in production is not happening and Netflix cancelled it before it even debuted.

Netflix recently lost 200,000 subscribers, with an estimated 2 million more to follow in the second quarter. Meanwhile, they’re reportedly blowing hundreds of millions of dollars on series like Stranger Things, while at the same time saying so long, farewell to Netfix and Tudum employees they hired mere months ago. Things are kind of a mess, and recently, it was revealed that Netflix was abruptly stopping production on two original kids’ series, Dino Daycare, and Boons and Curses. Harry and Meghan’s production company, Archewell Productions, was working on a children’s show created by Meghan, titled Pearl. It was supposed to be Archewell Productions’ first animated series for kids, but that’s not happening and it’s back to the drawing board. via Deadline:

Even Netflix’s in-house members of the Royal Family are not immune to a wave of cutbacks going on as the streamer recalibrates after a precipitous stock drop incurred after a drop in subscribers. Netflix has quietly dropped Pearl, the working title of an animated series that was created by Meghan Markle through Archewell Productions.

Pearl, which Markle exec produced with David Furnish, was announced with fanfare last summer, described as a family series that centers on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who finds inspiration in a variety of influential women throughout history.

Netflix also dropped Space Force after two seasons.

Deadline notes that Pearl was still in the development stage, and it’s not like they’re canning the whole series on the eve of the first episode’s premiere. Additionally, Deadline says that Netflix is still very much into the other projects from Archewell Productions. Just not our girl Pearl, apparently. But if Harry and Meghan were bummed about Pearl being one of the many casualties of the Netflix accounting department, they were able to soothe their bruised egos with some afternoon polo.

Prince Harry Plays Polo in California (with Meghan Markle Watching!) on Team Named for His Role as a Dad https://t.co/jsOm9zwQ8M

— People (@people) May 2, 2022

There’s no word on what else Archewell Productions has on deck, but Deadline claims industry sources have been saying for a while that Netflix was telling producers of all kinds that it could be time to start shopping projects to other streamers or networks. Deadline adds that the Netflix content model will likely “evolve” into something a little different. Netflix reportedly gave $100 million to Harry and Meghan to make a bunch of content. But between the shows getting canceled and employees getting fired and the drop in subscribers, Harry and Meghan’s deal now feels like an awful lot of money for shows that Netflix doesn’t even want to be made anymore! If I were Harry or Meghan, I’d be terrified that an embarrassed Ted Sarandos was about to show up on their doorstep, asking if Netflix could have a couple dozen million back, in exchange for one low-budget documentary called Watching Harry Take a Nap, and a guest spot on two episodes of Is It Cake?.

Pic: INSTARimages