Harry and Meghan's $154 million-dollar deal with Netflix is yet to produce a single project. Photo / Getty Images
Harry and Meghan's $154 million-dollar deal with Netflix is yet to produce a single project. Photo / Getty Images
Following the cancellation of her Netflix animated series, Pearl, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has scrubbed all mentions of the show from her Archewell website.
The animated series fell victim to waves of cutbacks and layoffs currently surging through Netflix in response to a huge drop in subscribers. As reported byThe Daily Mail, more than half of Netflix's original television shows released in 2018 have not been renewed for a second series.
Executive produced by Meghan and Elton John's husband, David Furnish, the series was to centre around the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who finds inspiration from various influential feminist icons throughout history. The series is alleged to have an auto-biographical element, suggested by the name Meghan's Welsh origin and derivative of Pearl.
A description of the show was available to view on the Archewell Production subheader of her website, but as of this morning is nowhere to be found.
The now-removed description by the Duchess read: "Like many girls her age, our heroine Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to overcome life's daily challenges. I'm thrilled that Archewell Productions, partnered with the powerhouse platform of Netflix and these incredible producers, will together bring you this new animated series, which celebrates extraordinary women throughout history."
This quote disappeared less than a week after Netflix quietly announced the series' cancellation. Pearl was rumoured to still only be in the development phase.
Meanwhile, Archewell Productions was established by the Duchess and her husband, Prince Harry, in 2020, with the aim of creating a swathe of documentaries, features, and children's TV shows. Pearl was slated to be the production company's first animated series.
Archewell Productions was established by the Sussexes with the aim of creating a swathe of documentaries, features, and children's TV shows. Photo / Getty Images
Despite signing a production deal in excess of $154 million with Netflix last year, Archewell is yet to produce any content for the streaming platform. Currently, the Archewell website features one show: Heart of Invictus, a docu-series produced by Prince Harry revolving around the journey of the 2020 Invictus Games competitors.
Despite cancelling Pearl, industry insiders have claimed Netflix remains optimistic about the Archewell deal and has several more projects in the pipeline alongside Heart of Invictus.
