Netflix drops Meghan Markle’s animated series amid cutbacks - report

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has fallen victim to cutbacks at Netflix, according to a US report that said the struggling streaming giant has dropped plans for her animated series Pearl.

Announced to fanfare last summer, with Meghan as its creator and executive producer, the "family series" was to have focused on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl inspired by historically influential female figures.

It was to have been the first animated production under Meghan and her husband Prince Harry's Archewell brand, which was created in 2020 as a vehicle for their new careers in the US, following their separation from the British royal family.

Netflix, once dominant among streaming platforms but now wrestling with slumping subscriber numbers and a collapse in share value, dropped the project amid a wave of cutbacks, according to Deadline.

Referring to the decision unflatteringly as "a royal flush", the entertainment industry website said the project Meghan was co-executive producing with David Furnish, who is married to Elton John, was axed in the development stage.

"Word in town is that even before recent events, Netflix had been telling producers to take some development projects elsewhere," the report said.

"Clearly, Netflix's inordinately high content spend is being reevaluated. It is just unreasonable to expect its execs to manage that many projects, and have enough of them turn out to be memorable."

Netflix did not immediately comment.

There was also no immediate reaction from Archewell, leaving it unclear if the company would continue production on Pearl or attempt to move it elsewhere.

Other Archewell projects with Netflix, including the documentary series Heart of Invictus, about Harry's Olympics-style Invictus Games for disabled former service members, are believed to be unaffected.

The former working royals, who live in Montecito, California, signed a multi-year deal with Netflix in September last year.

Netflix has dropped two animated series not produced by Archewell, Dino Daycare and Boons and Curses, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

In publicity material for the announcement of Pearl last summer, Meghan said she was excited.

"Like many girls her age, our heroine Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to overcome life's daily challenges," she said.

"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."