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Since stepping down as full-time working royals in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle set their sights on Hollywood as a new frontier to conquer, working with some of the industry's biggest names to produce audio and visual content across platforms.
In the year they settled with their young family in California, Harry and Meghan announced that they had formed two production companies, one to create content for the big screen (Archewell Productions) and the other to work on podcasting projects (Archewell Audio).
Archewell Productions' first major partnership was announced with streaming giant Netflix, with the couple signing a content creation deal reportedly worth an estimated $100 million.
Through the company, Harry and Meghan announced they would be working on both scripted and non-scripted content, including an animated children's show, Pearl (later canceled in Netflix's scaling back of animated projects), and Heart of Invictus, a docuseries about Harry's Invictus Games.
Though the streaming giant partnered with undoubtedly one of the most famous couples on the planet, has this translated into viewers and subscribers?
As of 2023, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released three projects as part of this deal with Netflix, all multi-episode docuseries. Here, Newsweek looks at how each has fared in the streamer's own global "Top 10" rankings, published each week.
Harry & Meghan
Global Chart Peak: No. 2
Consecutive Weeks in Global Top 10: 4
Harry and Meghan's first project release with Netflix was the couple's eponymous docuseries, exploring through six episodes the timeline of their romance and dramatic split from the monarchy.
The show was not meant to be the first release from Archewell Productions—it had been announced as Heart of Invictus—however, no official reason for the change was given.
Harry & Meghan debuted in two parts, on December 8 and 15, 2022, amidst an avalanche of anticipatory news coverage.
From the trailer's release, the show was plagued with controversy, with social media users highlighting paparazzi footage taken from unrelated celebrities, not the couple themselves, as well as the inclusion of allegations against the monarchy.
The show itself attracted large viewing figures, and the couple earned both praise and criticism for their account of their story in their own voice, including a never-before-heard account of life behind palace walls as they lived it.
The show broke the record for the biggest documentary debut on Netflix of all time and became the streamer's most-watched show of 2022 in the United Kingdom.
Despite this, Harry & Meghan failed to take the number one spot on Netflix's global Top 10 chart, owing mainly to the proximity of its release to the hit fantasy series Wednesday.
In its release week, the docuseries was streamed over 81,500 hours, coming in behind Wednesday, which was streamed over 269,600 hours.
The show currently holds a 46 percent "rotten" critics score and a 19 percent audience score on the film and television review site Rotten Tomatoes.
Live to Lead
Global Chart Peak: N/A
Consecutive Weeks in Global Top 10: 0
Harry and Meghan released their second docuseries in quick succession to their first, debuting Live to Lead on December 31, 2022.
The seven-episode show featured long-form interviews with some of the world's leading cultural and political figures, including the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, New Zealand's then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
Each episode was introduced by Harry and Meghan and discussed leadership and character-building in the modern age.
The show was acquired by Archewell Productions, working in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation which had already recorded the interviews as part of an initiative in previous years.
Ahead of the show's release, Ardern released a statement appearing to distance herself from Harry and Meghan's involvement, clarifying through her office that she had not been involved with the royals' work and that her interview was recorded in 2019.
The show debuted to minimal press coverage, speculatively owing to the absence of any interviews or discussions with Harry and Meghan themselves.
Live to Lead did not earn a spot on Netflix's global Top 10 chart in its first or subsequent weeks. The show was largely overlooked by reviewers, making it ineligible for a critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. It currently has an audience score of 16 percent.
Heart of Invictus
Global Chart Peak: N/A
Consecutive Weeks in Global Top 10: 0
Prince Harry's highly anticipated docuseries following competitors and their journeys to the 2022 Invictus Games made its streaming debut on August 30, 2023.
The show followed a number of injured, sick or wounded veterans competing in the sports tournament founded by Harry to showcase the global army community's mental and physical rehabilitation.
The show featured interviews with Harry about his own experiences in the British armed forces, including the impact on his mental health and how this challenged him to develop the games.
The stories and games were followed over five episodes and included footage of the Ukrainian team and their experiences in the country during the war with Russia.
Heart of Invictus failed to make the Netflix global Top 10 list in its first week of release or subsequent streaming weeks.
The show was, however, a hit with critics. It currently holds an 86 percent "fresh" critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest of any of Harry and Meghan's Archewell Productions projects. It also holds an audience score of 78 percent.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more