With Meghan Markle‘s failing show now having its funding allegedly pulled, the end might be near for the Sussexes’ attempts to get into Hollywood. However, despite all the bad reviews and poor reputation, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos claims that Prince Harry and Meghan’s docuseries was actually a grand success. Speaking with Emma Grede on her podcast, Sarandos claims that Harry & Meghan “was successful in every [and] by every measure.”
The Netflix Co-CEO starts off by saying that Meghan Markle is remarkably influential. His example was that the trailer for Harry & Meghan was analyzed down to the tiniest details, to the $20 shoes and $1,500 blanket that appeared in the teaser. He claims that both of those items were sold out all over the world as a result of the trailer. And with the documentary being one of the most-watched documentaries that Netflix has ever featured, Sarandos confidently tells Grede that Harry & Meghan was indeed a huge boon for the platform.
However, online users were quick to point out that Sarandos’ main focus was on a Netflix show that was released years ago; he didn’t mention anything about the recent With Love, Meghan and its current performance or viewership. Clearly, if Harry & Meghan was such a success, it’s no wonder that it decided to have the Duchess of Sussex be featured in another show, with two seasons, no less. But the fact that he ignored anything to do with Meghan’s current show is suspicious, fans believe. “Shareholders are watching his every step. He has to be 100 % in her camp or they will eat him alive,” remarks a commenter.
“Exactly, Teddy has to toe the line. He’s already back her losing candidacy, now he has to see it to the finish line,” agrees another. A third chimed in, saying how “Sunk cost fallacy is a terrible thing.” Netflix has already put too much effort and funding into Meghan’s endeavors, even if it was riding off the coattails of Harry & Meghan. For him to publicly admit that it was a failure would definitely be a bad look for Netflix, not like the streaming platform doesn’t have a reputation of its own already.
Not to mention, the trailer for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s documentary has an “88% dislike ratio on YouTube,” as one person pointed out. Perhaps, this was the “remarkable influence” Sarandos was speaking about. Some critics are even doubting his story about the shoes and blanket, saying they could have just been popular items on the market at the time and had nothing to do with Meghan. Whatever the case, the best proof that Netflix actually believes the Sussexes to be worth it would be if it releases another show under their name in the future. But whether that will happen is questionable.
