As Netflix continues to struggle financially, it has decided to cancel the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle’s animated series in an attempt to cut costs.
The series, called “Pearl,” was announced last year and is one of the many projects that Netflix is now dropping, the BBC reported.
Netflix had partnered with Archewell Productions, which is the company formed by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Markle was originally announced as the executive producer of the animated series.
“Pearl” was going to be centered on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl inspired by influential women from throughout history.
“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,” Markle said last year when the series was first announced, Deadline reported.
Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers the first quarter of 2022 and the stock dropped 35 percent, which knocked more than $50 billion off of its market cap, CNBC News reported. This was the biggest loss for Netflix to date, according to Collider.
Up to this point, Netflix had experienced a whole decade of incredible growth as it became a leader in the streaming world.
During the pandemic, the streaming giant had a boost that sent its stock soaring above $425. But in the aftermath of pandemic, that growth dropped off.
“Our revenue growth has slowed considerably,” Netflix acknowledged in a letter to shareholders, The Washington Post reported.
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Netflix said that the previous boost from the pandemic had actually “obscured the picture until recently.” But now that the picture is clearer, Netflix is reeling and trying to navigate how to economize.
“Even Netflix’s in-house members of the Royal Family are not immune to a wave of cutbacks going on as the streamer recalibrates after a precipitous stock drop incurred after a drop in subscribers,” Deadline reported.
However, Netflix is not completely pulling the plug on all Archewell Productions projects.
It will continue working on a documentary series called “Heart of Invictus,” which will focus on the Invictus Games for injured veterans, an event that Prince Harry founded, the BBC reported.
Netflix halting progression with “Pearl,” while also deciding to move on with the series focusing more on Prince Harry, shows just how much the popularity of Markle is waning.
With the ability to cut any number of projects to save on costs, Netflix executives decided that cutting a pet project of Markle‘s would do just fine, indicating that they weren’t too worried about there being any backlash against this.
If Markle were wildly popular and cutting her series would cause outcry, then Netflix probably would have made another decision. But this just goes to show that though Markle has tried to stay relevant in the public eye (like making deals with Netflix and interviewing with Oprah), she just doesn’t have the love of the people.
When she interviewed with Oprah, Markle even tried to sell the woke outrage of racism in the royal family, Time reported. That made headlines for a while, but even that didn’t stick.
Markle is out of touch with audiences and, as a result, she is becoming just another B-list celebrity.
Audiences are simply not interested in woke celebrities anymore — if they ever were. And as Netflix navigates financial loss, this is a lesson it may have to learn the hard way.
