Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new watered-down deal with Netflix is the “ideal outcome” for both sides, as a group of experts branded the Sussex couple “annoying.” The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced a new “multi-year first look” deal with the streaming giant this week, christening it an “extension of their partnership”.
But in reality, the new agreement, of which there have been few details, is very different from the lucrative one they signed in 2020. Now, Netflix will have to see what it is willing to offer before deciding whether to fund it. Now, a group of experts has commented on the Sussexes’ new agreement with Netflix and speculated on what people should expect in the future.
Broadcaster Esther Krakue suggested the “deal” is simply just a “retainer” for Netflix, for when the couple decide to be “entertaining” again.
She told The Sun: “It’s a retainer in case they [Meghan and Harry] decide to accidentally do something entertaining again.
“That’s basically it. So there’s no commitment. They’ve put no money behind this. It’s basically the right to first refusal.
“So if they come up with something that doesn’t have to do with their whole kind of sermonising about how to save the world, then Netflix might be like, yes. “
She added: “These people [the Sussexes] are a household name. They’re annoying, but they’re a household name. If they do anything interesting, we have to be first in the queue, because it would be a blockbuster. “
Meanwhile, News.com.au’s royal reporter Bronte Coyne said the new deal is the “ideal outcome for both parties”.
She said the couple would never sign another deal bearing any similarity to the one they struck in 2020 becauase “they don’t really exit anymore”.
She explained: “What was going to be the ideal outcome? The landscape has changed completely for TV, but streaming services in particular.
“So it did seem likely that there would either be a downgraded deal or an expiration of the deal.
“Now, the fact that both parties can say we’ve reached a new agreement, it was never going to be what it was before, but it is a new agreement. I think that an argument could be made on either side that it’s a PR win, because the deal wasn’t cancelled, as had been speculated for some time. “