Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been warned they are facing a “make or break” year to turn their Archewell production company into a Hollywood success story.
A senior studio executive yesterday blasted the royal couple’s “alarming lack of original content” and bleakly forecast: “They could find themselves walking a financial tightrope simply to survive.”
Like other independent film and TV companies, Archewell is now being clobbered by soaring costs and increased wage bills for actors and writers in the wake of last year’s crippling strikes that cost the entertainment industry an estimated £5 billion.
As others scramble to recover losses and have projects greenlit by studios, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have only one new production on their slate for Netflix, with whom their five-year $100 million is up for renewal next year.
This is a film adaptation of best-selling romantic novel Meet Me at The Lake, for which the streaming giant paid $3.8 million for movie rights in a first collaboration of its kind with Harry and Meghan aside from their hit documentaries.
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The deal tallies with their stated aim of producing rom-coms and other “lighter entertainment” but our senior source strongly cautioned: “What immediately worries me is the alarming lack of any other original content on their roster.
“Netflix bought the book they are adapting but the question everyone in Hollywood is asking is: Can they actually pull this off without either of them having any real prior experience?
“This is a make-or-break year for them in every sense. Either their company turns this project into a success or they could face a financial nightmare if Netflix pulls the plug on a new contract with them in 2025.”
The dire warning comes just days after royal author Tom Bower claimed on British TV that the couple – fired by audio giant Spotify last year over patchy podcast production – have “run out of fuel” in America.
Speaking on Talk TV, Mr. Bower said Harry and Meghan have only earned money since arriving in the US by “exposing their own unhappiness with the Royal Family,” despite claiming they wanted privacy.
He added: “The idea they have anything else to contribute beyond their trashing of the Royal Family is laughable. They’ve been found out. They are now ridiculed in Hollywood and they are ignored in New York.”
Former Suits actress Meghan is understood to be considering a one-off TV reunion special with her former cast-mates on the legal drama following the show’s huge revival in syndication – again on Netflix.
But our senior studio source said: “That’s a nice bonus if it happens, but it’s small change compared to the sort of powerhouse production set-up they have tried to create.
“Given their very limited success so far, you would have to realistically ask if they would be prepared to walk away from it altogether if, say, Meghan were to launch herself as a powerful internet influencer with a worldwide following and a huge revenue stream.
“Until they fully figure out what they want to do – and what they’re actually good at – they could find themselves walking a financial tightrope simply to survive.”
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