The next step! After stepping away from their royal duties in March 2020 and making the move to California, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made another giant move: Netflix.
In September 2020, the couple, who married in 2018, signed a multi-year deal with Netflix to create original content including documentaries, movies, series and children’s programming. The partnership is titled Archewell Productions.
“Our lives, both independent of each other, and as a couple have allowed us to understand the power of the human spirit: of courage, resilience and the need for connection,” the duke and duchess said in a statement at the time. “Through our work with diverse communities and their environments, to shining a light on people and causes around the world, our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope.”
The England native made his Netflix debut in Rising Phoenix, a documentary that details how the Paralympic Games came about. The film was released in August.
“Harry’s always had a creative streak [and] Meghan’s inspired him to take it to the next level,” a source told Us Weekly exclusively that month. “Working in the entertainment industry isn’t something he particularly thought about doing as a royal, but since separating from the royals he now has the opportunity to explore new, exciting opportunities and can’t wait to get his upcoming projects off the ground.”
Following their announcement, an insider close to the couple told Us exclusively that the couple were offered nearly $100 million for the deal.
In December, three months after announcing Archewell Productions, the parents of son Archie and daughter Lili announced that their Archewell Audio production company had teamed up with Spotify. “We created Archewell Audio to make sure that we can elevate voices that maybe aren’t being heard and hear people’s stories,” the former actress shared at the time.
During a March 2021 CBS interview, the pair reflected on the reason for their many business ventures. “My family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us,” the prince said at the time. “[I was cut off] in the first quarter of 2020. But I’ve got what my mom [Princess Diana] left me and without that, we would not have been able to do this.”
Scroll through the gallery below for everything we know about the couple’s partnership with Netflix:
