Netflix loaded with Meghan and Harry

If you were going to pitch a TV series to a major streaming platform, you couldn’t dream of a more perfect plot: a beautiful damsel in distress (and diamonds), a dashing prince in his electric car to save her, an ostensibly wintry Queena bitter rivalry with a pretty enemy and our couple finally making a brave run towards freedom.

He has everything ! Love! Tears! Private jets! Pathos in the wazoo! (There’s even an uncle-slash-ogre in the mix!)

It’s a sight that you and I and anyone with opposable thumbs would thrill in the blink of an eye. Now you have to wonder if this is what Netflix thought they could get their hands on when they managed to get Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, sign on the dotted line.

Rewind to September 2020 and it was Netflix that announced it had secured the talents of the world’s most famous unemployed and inexperienced TV producers. At the time, they were the hottest celebrity property having done the unthinkable and turned their backs on royal life and lifetime tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show.

At first it looked like a match made in heaven: heaps of cash for the Sussexes; have real royals in the books for netflix.

But nearly two years later, cracks are starting to show in that marriage with a new report claiming the next Platinum Jubileeand the celebrations in London could be a decisive inflection point.

So far, the world has yet to see anything of the Duke and Duchess’ production prowess. Of their two shows publicly lit by Netflix, Harry’s documentary Heart of Invictus was shooting until last month (and maybe still) and Meghan’s animated children’s series pearl was removed last month as part of a series of high-profile cancellations.

With reports that the The Sussexes’ deal is worth $140 millionso far, Netflix hasn’t really gotten its money’s worth.

Now, an American consultant for the company has ominously revealed that the company’s top brass are “evaluating” the “unique, exclusive and interesting content” the pair could bring to the table.

“We’re getting to a point in the business where Netflix executives are evaluating what content around the Royals and the Sussexes is actually happening to them,” the consultant said. the shimmer.

“If you’re on the network, you signed them for their unique attraction and selling point given their royal access and insight.

“Of course, both are creative and Harry has produced some powerful mental health documentaries, but big deals are about big projects.

“That’s why the tens of millions of dollars were potentially spent.”

So what could the Sussexes do to ensure they get a good ‘review’? It’s funny that you ask, what’s up with the platinum jubilee celebrations in about two weeks.

Earlier this month it was revealed that after months of back and forth, Harry and Meghan will indeed be returning to the UK for knees up to mark his grandmother’s 70 year history on the throne.

Their two young children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, who will celebrate her first birthday over the Jubilee weekend, will also be making the trip.

What is not known is if a large film crew of dozens of people could join them as well.

In April, when they traveled to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games, there was a horde of 30 cameramen, sound technicians and various other production staff in their wake.

In September of last year, when they visited New York, Page 6 reported that Meghan and Harry ‘secretly recorded their visit to New York for a Netflix documentary about their lives’, including a visit to the 9/11 memorial, the United Nations and an equality concert vaccines.

In November, upon their return to the Big Apple, the Daily mail posted photos showing a film crew following them inside a Veterans Day gala and camera gear being carried into the apartment where they were staying.

For weeks now, the House of Windsor has reportedly worried about the prospect of television lenses also peeping through the palace gates.

Earlier this month, the Sun reported that “the palace ‘guards’ will arrest any Netflix crew of Harry and Meghan if they try to film inside the royal events at the Platinum Jubilee”.

“A team has been tasked with stopping any attempts by filmmakers to ‘exploit’ the streaming giant. [$143 million] deal with the couple during the Queen’s four-day celebrations.

A well-placed source told the newspaper: “The concern is [a Netflix crew] will push it and try to gain access to the Jubilee celebration event areas where they can film Harry and Meghan and their children.

“Even if they accept that their Netflix team cannot travel to Buckingham Palace to film, they could cause problems – and at the very least cause a major distraction.

“The senior courtiers believe Netflix will see a great opportunity to leverage their mega-millions deal with the couple.”

However, while the Queen may have stepped foot on any Real Housewives of Westminster nonsense, Netflix seems to be getting a little nervous, per the shimmerwith increased pressure on the couple to deliver the goods.

“The Jubilee is the biggest gathering of British royals in years and means Harry and Meghan will be around everyone,” the consultant said. “Chefs want exclusive images and their dream is to get a glimpse of this royal world never seen before.

“Many in the business are wondering what will happen if the Sussexes are unable to deliver unique, exclusive and interesting content from the biggest event in years for the Royal Family.”

With the palace and other royal property off limits, the only possible royal filming location would be the heavy no-man’s land of Sussex’s Frogmore cottage. It is believed that since 2020 the couple have paid commercial rent for the property and it is still technically their UK address (they renewed the lease earlier this year).

That said, the property is owned by the Crown Estate and further complicating matters, Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank and their son August have lived there for around 18 months now.

The Netflix consultant says: “What happens at Frogmore Cottage is actually private interactions between the family. Frogmore is a gray area as to whether it falls within the Courtiers’ full-time jurisdiction. If everyone agrees to film scenes there, it would be exclusive and unique material never seen before.

If we take these reports at face value, it increasingly looks like Harry and Meghan are stuck between a rock and a very royal place.

Their options, again assuming these reports are correct, would seem to be that they can appease their new bosses and help the cameras go where no camera has gone before. Or, they can do the right thing by the royal family and not attempt to circumvent the palace’s decision and thus stay in the queen’s good graces.

The choice seems to come down to what they value more: money or their maternal family?

If Harry and Meghan brought a TV crew with them and filmed inside Frogmore (both of which are really big ‘ifs’), surely the Queen would be so angry that she would chase tourists away from the house. tower of London, would turn it back into a prison just for the Sussexes, then conveniently lose the keys.

In a few weeks, the Jubilee will end on Sunday evening in style with the 5000 cast members, Jubilee Pageant. But the fireworks? The way things go, there could very well be many, ranging from Buckingham Palace to Frogmore Cottage.

Daniela Elser is a royal pundit and writer with over 15 years of experience working with a number of top media titles in Australia.