Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, signed a multi-year deal with the streaming service in 2020.
Netflix have cancelled new animated series, Pearl, created by the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, as part of a multi-year deal with the streamer.
According to Deadline, the series was announced last year with Markle to executive produce alongside David Furnish.
Pearl was described as a family series that centers on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who finds inspiration in a variety of influential women throughout history.
About the series, Markle said:
“Like many girls her age, our heroine Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to overcome life’s daily challenges.
“I’m thrilled that Archewell Productions, partnered with the powerhouse platform of Netflix and these incredible producers, will together bring you this new animated series, which celebrates extraordinary women throughout history.
“David Furnish and I have been eager to bring this special series to light, and I am delighted we are able to announce it today.”
Markle and Prince Harry signed a multi-year deal with Netflix in 2020, under Archewell Productions, intending to create scripted series, docuseries, documentaries, features and children’s programming.
Deadline reports there remains bullishness on the Archewell deal with a number of projects percolating, including the upcoming documentary series Heart of Invictus.
Pearl isn’t the only animated series Netflix has dropped, with Dino Daycare and Bones and Curses shelved.
The news comes as Netflix is in recovery mode after it recorded its first loss in subscribers ever, with 200,000 people abandoning the service in the first quarter this year, and a further two million expected to unsubscribe in the second quarter.
Looking at it from a monetary perspective, the company’s stock has plummeted, resulting in a $50 billion loss in market capitalisation, the biggest loss for Netflix to date.
The streamer then signaled cutbacks in content expenditure, which has affected both production and staff.
But Netflix had reportedly been telling producers to take some development projects elsewhere well before they released their first 2022 earnings report.
Whether the Archewall Productions deal will continue to suffer from these cutbacks is yet to be seen.
