Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s deal with Netflix seems more like a “retainer” than a traditional contract, according to broadcaster and journalist Esther Craichu. During a recent appearance on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Craichu provided some candid insights into the couple’s arrangement with the streaming giant.
In her view, “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.” She went on to explain that Netflix has “put no money behind this,” describing it as simply a “right to first refusal.”
Essentially, this means Netflix has the option to buy content from the Sussexes if it aligns with their interests but isn’t tied to any specific content production. “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,” Craichu said.
Craichu also pointed out that the streaming service’s focus seems to be on potentially dramatic content involving the royal family. “I mean, to be brutally honest, what they’ve done is they’ve said, ‘unless you have some juicy tea to spill on the royal family, or you get divorced and want to give us a documentary, probably not.’”
The expert humorously wrapped up her assessment, saying, “But if they have something juicy to say about the royal family, like the king sent me a potted plant, which turned out to be poison ivy, or that ‘H my fox’ just didn’t hold me the way I wanted to, and so we’ve had to consciously uncouple, then maybe. That’s basically it.”
This take sheds light on the flexible nature of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix deal, which, at least for now, doesn’t appear to be the powerhouse collaboration many anticipated. With no major commitments from the streaming platform, it seems the couple’s potential projects are still very much on standby, awaiting the right content to surface.