Has Netflix Pulled the Plug on Harry & Meghan’s Hollywood Dream? Insider Says They're 'Done'

Both parties claim Meghan's brand is ready to stand independently, though internal reports from Netflix indicate a partnership that has simply run its course.

After five years of immense scrutiny — and a record-breaking launch that promised a new era of content — the deal between the Sussexes and Netflix appears to have reached an impasse. The shift follows news that the streaming giant has officially stepped away from Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand, As Ever. Spokespeople for both parties framed the move as a natural transition for the brand to stand on its own; however, those within Netflix suggest a more exhausted reality. 

While public statements suggested the decision was mutual, behind the scenes, for Netflix, things have allegedly soured. As per Variety, sources close to the production teams suggest that the constant repackaging of Markle and Prince Harry’s royal exit had reached a point of diminishing returns. “The mood in the building is ‘We’re done,” one insider told the outlet, indicating that the couple’s conduct in high-level meetings has caused friction, compounding communication issues that have long plagued Archewell Productions’ dealings with the streamer. Although top executives like Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria remain supportive publicly, the pressure for a scripted hit was mounting. For instance, since signing the deal in 2020 — a contract estimated at roughly $100 million — the Sussexes have yet to deliver a single scripted film or series. 

The divestment comes as With Love, Meghan struggled to find an audience, a failure that left the streaming platform holding $10 million in unsold inventory. To clear the glut, the company allegedly set out the teas and baking mixes on card tables for employees to take for free. While Archewell maintains that the docuseries will continue as ‘seasonal specials,’ the full series has not been renewed. The friction has now allegedly turned personal. Sources also tell Variety that Sarandos and his wife, Nicole Avant — neighbors of the Sussexes in Montecito — are tired of constant project updates via text. 

Insiders also claim that Sarandos recently joked that he would not take a call with the Duchess without a lawyer on the line. While a Netflix spokesperson called the claim ‘absolutely inaccurate,’ and the Sussexes’ attorney, Michael J. Kump, labeled it ‘blatantly false,’ the persistence of the rumor reflects a deepening rift in the partnership. Hollywood veterans have also been quite vocal about the couple’s output, particularly following the collapse of their Spotify deal, noting that the pair lacks talent beyond their royal titles. “Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent,” said the then-UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer during a conference in 2023. “Just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something.”   

Now under a non-exclusive ‘first look’ deal — a standard industry step down from an exclusive pact — the Sussexes face a critical test to deliver something that isn’t a documentary about themselves. Currently, Archewell’s scripted slate rests on two projects, including a feature adaptation of Carley Fortune’s Meet Me at the Lake. Whether these projects will be enough to save a partnership that many insiders believe has already reached its expiration date is the question looming over Harry and Markle’s Netflix future.