Prince Harry’s future with Netflix confirmed after latest project ‘flops’

Prince Harry has faced a major blow after his show, Polo, was ridiculed by critics for being ‘unrelatable’ and ‘pompous’ – and it puts his Netflix career in jeopardy

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix documentary, Polo, found itself at the centre of a wave of criticism after it ‘flopped’ following its release. The couple were spotted filming in Wellington, Florida as they attended the Sentebale Polo Classic to record scenes for their fourth Netflix docuseries.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were listed as executive producers on the five-part series that launched on December 10, but was dogged by a number of negative reviews from viewers and critics. It also failed to make the top ten in Britain, America or any of Netflix other huge regional markets. Now, it means this could be the end of Harry’s partnership with Netflix.

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The show centres on a group of professional players as they progress through the 2024 season, but people pointed out that while Harry and Meghan co-produced the show, it appears to be more of the duke’s project as Harry, 40, has been associated with polo for a long time. Royal fans who were hoping to see Harry and Meghan in the show were also left disappointed as they only appeared in the opening sequence and the final episode of the show.

Critics believe the show didn’t invest in a poster campaign, releasing only a trailer on YouTube. Prince Harry, 40, who has played polo all his life, wrote a two-line statement on Netflix’s website. “This series offers audiences an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look into the passion and determination driving some of the world’s elite polo players, revealing the grit behind the glamour,” the prince said. “We’re proud to showcase the true depth and spirit of the sport – and the intensity of its high-stakes moments.”

Meanwhile, a source told Closer that neither Harry nor Meghan, 43, had much control over the direction of the program. “Truth is, it was pretty much out of their control. The bosses wanted the series to appeal to the masses and pushed this reality TV slant so it’s not entirely their fault.”

‘Polo’ followed the lives of competitors in the US Open Polo Championship, focusing on dramatic events like an on-field injury and a rivalry between and father and son. But critics say it was “unrelatable” to audiences and Eric Schiffer, chair of Reputation Management Consultants, told Newsweek: ‘It’s a pompous portrayal of privilege posing as a documentary. It feels fake. You could almost see an ad, ‘polo the new cure for insomnia, brought to you by royalty.'”

He continued: “They’ve made it the new frontier of unrelatability. This ensures polo becomes even less popular for regular people. It just reeks of entitled and is disconnected, unrelatable.”

A two-star review from The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage described the show as Prince Harry’s “unintentionally hilarious profile of the world’s stupidest sport” and said: “Fixtures are chosen by popping confetti-filled balloons, obnoxiously privileged players weep in darkened rooms when they lose … this documentary about the royal’s hobby is like a spoof.”

While The Times said Prince Harry “made a TV show only he would watch,” calling it ‘tedious’ and ‘utterly unrelatable,’ audiences also brutally scored it 27 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.

This marks the latest in a series of streaming projects pursued by Harry and Meghan that have flopped or failed to find a consistent audience, despite Netflix inking a contract with them said to be worth $100 million in September 2020.

According to The Sun, it is understood that there are no plans for any more Netflix shows, with Harry either in front of or behind the camera, as the deal runs out.

Their second documentary ‘Live to Lead’ was released in December 2022, which featured interviews with prominent world leaders and activists including late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and climate warrior Greta Thunberg. It currently has a 15 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In summer 2023, the ‘Heart of Invictus’ came out the following summer and followed a group of competitors in the Invictus Games, a global sporting event for wounded service members founded by Prince Harry, but wasn’t able to break into Netflix top 10, and was also dogged by bad reviews.

‘Harry & Meghan,’ documentary released in 2022 gave an insight into the couple’s personal life, where they revisited their decision to step down as working British royals, and this finally gave the pair some success. With 81.6 million hours of viewing time in just four days, it became one of Netflix’s biggest documentary debuts ever.

But since, there has been uncertainty over whether Harry and Meghan’s deal with Netflix will be renewed, especially since their multi-million dollar Spotify contract fell through in 2023.

The Mirror has reached out to Harry’s representatives and Netflix for a comment.

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Source: Mirror