Meghan and Harry Should Use Hollywood Strikes as 'Period of Reflection'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should use the temporary pause in the entertainment industry, caused by the ongoing actors' and writers' strikes in Hollywood, as a "period of reflection," following a turbulent chapter in their post-royal working lives, experts have told Newsweek.

Since leaving the royal family in 2020 and setting up home in California with their young family, Meghan and Harry have forged careers in the entertainment industry, with one of their first moves being the formation of the Archewell Productions company to produce visual content and Archewell Audio to produce podcasts.

The couple signed two major multimillion-dollar content creation deals with streaming platforms, Netflix and Spotify, and began releasing content in 2022. Meghan released one season of her podcast series Archetypes in August and the couple released two docuseries in December, the first being their eponymous bombshell show Harry & Meghan, the second being a series of interviews with influential leaders titled Live to Lead.

Though Archetypes and Harry & Meghan dominated reports when first released, the couple announced they were mutually parting ways with Spotify in 2023 after one season of Meghan's podcast, and a further disappointment came in July, when their docuseries failed to earn an Emmy nomination.

"The next six months could be perceived as the most challenging for Harry and Meghan, with increasing probability that we could be about to enter the beginning of the end to their Hollywood ambitions unless they can make a big turnaround," entertainment expert and founder of MarkMeets, Mark Boardman, told Newsweek.

Now, as the couple looks to turn negative coverage in the wake of these developments into positives by releasing new and exciting content through their partnership with Netflix, the Hollywood strikes of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) pose immediate roadblocks to any progress.

"Harry and Meghan find themselves at a crucial juncture in their media journey and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes will undoubtedly impact their immediate media industry moves, including the operations of Archewell Productions besides work and promotion of [upcoming Netflix docuseries] Heart of Invictus, and any press around it," said Boardman.

"The Sussexes' Archewell Productions office will soon have to look at all production offers that come (some they may have rejected before), or seek to make their own content and begin the planning and promotion of several upcoming projects in hope that one could be a winner for them, unless Meghan returns to acting or Harry chooses to fill his time doing more charitable duties and takes a temporary media hiatus which I believe would be the best next move for the prince.

"This period of reflection could allow them to strategize and recalibrate their image and projects," he concluded. "It would provide them with the space to rebuild their public perception and focus on quality content creation rather than being hounded for their next endeavor."

Entertainment expert Paul Duddridge agreed with the direction the Sussexes should take in light of the industry knocks they have recently experienced.

"It was recently announced that Archewell are developing a scripted series Bad Manners which is a prequel to Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. As a scripted drama series this production would be directly impacted by both the writers' and SAG actors' strikes, however, Harry and Meghan may yet turn out to be beneficiaries of the strikes," Duddridge told Newsweek.

"It gives them an opportunity to regroup, and retool their operations. Harry and Meghan need a critical hit. So far their creative projects have received very mixed reviews. This strike will give them a much needed chance to review their creative strategies while using the industry shutdown as cover."

"Harry and Meghan need to flip the narrative," he continued. "They have seemingly worn out the goodwill of the royal family, and have not set the world alight with their creative output in the U.S.

"They are now well positioned to salvage their image with a critical success in the creative sphere. They should grab this opportunity with both hands. It may be their last."

There is no end date yet in sight for the combined Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes. The move has seen production on current and proposed film and TV projects halt while the unions negotiate with studios, with their key concerns cited being transparency for renumeration relating to content streaming, and the regulation of artificial intelligence within the entertainment industry.

Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle via email for comment.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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