Netflix 'wants to screen Harry and Meghan doc around The Crown'
Netflix ‘wants to screen Harry and Meghan documentary straight after the latest series of The Crown to capitalize on buzz of Duke’s upcoming tell-all autobiography’
- Netflix is trying to push Harry and Meghan’s documentary out by the end of the year to capitalize on the buzz that The Crown and Harry’s book will generate
- ‘[Netflix executives] knew the book was coming out, which is why they wanted the series this year. They don’t want to hold off any longer,’ a source said
- The couple has been seen filming the series since signing the widely reported $100million with the streaming service
- Netflix wants the documentary to come out shortly after The Crown’s fifth season airs in November, the couple are said to want it to come out next year
- The Duke’s book is expected to hit shelves in the fall, prior to the fifth season of The Crown
Netflix is hoping to screen Harry and Meghan’s documentary around the same time as the upcoming season of The Crown to capitalize on the Duke’s upcoming biography.
Multiple sources told Page Six the major streaming service doesn’t want to be ‘scooped’ by the Duke’s memoir, despite claims the Sussexes want the documentary to air next year.
Harry’s book is set to be released sometime this fall, and Netflix will be keen to capitalize on the huge buzz that the tell-all tome will likely generate.
The embattled streamer is also said to be keen to further boost royal fever by running the Sussexes as yet-untitled documentary immediately after the fifth series of The Crown.
It will hit screens in November. The Crown – which has sparked fury among monarchists – will tell the story of Harry’s late mother Diana’s separation from her husband Prince Charles.
Diana will be played by Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki, with Dominic West taking on the role of Charles.
It will be set throughout the 1990s, although it remains unclear if this series will feature Diana’s death in in a 1997 Paris car crash, or whether that will feature in the sixth and final series.
Netflix reportedly wants Harry and Meghan’s documentary to come out this year so it doesn’t get ‘scooped’ by the Duke’s biography, which is due out in the fall
Netflix wants the documentary to air shortly after the fifth season of The Crown (pictured), which is said to be largely focused on the death of Diana (Elizabeth Debicki, pictured)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been filming the Netflix documentary for more than a year after signing a widely reported $100million deal in 2021.
‘[Netflix executives] knew the book was coming out, which is why they wanted the series this year,’ a source told Page Six. ‘They don’t want to hold off any longer.’
The royal couple, however, reportedly wants the series to hit the small screen next year, according to Page Six.
DailyMail.com has contacted Netflix for comment. On Tuesday, Netflix revealed it had lost 950,000 subscribers in the second quarter of 2022.
Analysts had expected far worse news – and up to two million fewer subscribers. But Netflix’s $201.93 share price sits way below the $693 record of October 2021 – with bosses likely banking on a royal programing bonanza to drive new users to their service.
The drama-filled couple has been filming the documentary with left-leaning filmmaker Liz Garbus, who directed a season of the Handmaid’s Tale.
Garbus was also due to work on the Duchess’ series Pearl before it was scrapped by Netflix.
Netflix film crews were seen capturing the couple’s every move at the Invictus Games in April. The company has sent a camera crew to follow Harry and Meghan when they meet the Ukraine team at the Invictus Games for injured military veterans in the Netherlands for their documentary about the Paralympic-style games.
But critics have accused the royal couple of ‘cashing in’ on the Games by allowing Netflix into private meetings. And royal experts believe the VIP status given to the couple will allow Netflix to portray the couple in a favorable light, as they deal with the fallout from their bombshell interview with Oprah last year.
Netflix crews were seen following the couple at the Invictus Games (pictured) in April
Speaking to MailOnline earlier this year, Meghan’s acid-penned biographer Tom Bower sensationally branded the Sussexes ‘the Royal Family’s worst traducers’ and accused the couple of ‘exploiting an old, unwell woman to boost their credibility and coffers.’
They were also reportedly filmed meeting with the Queen earlier this year after Netflix’s dismay for the couple failing to be pictured together earlier this year.
Bower said: ‘I have no doubt it was all done for their Netflix documentary. The Queen’s advisers failed to protect her from being exploited by the Royal Family’s worst traducers, while the Sussexes exploited an old, unwell woman to boost their credibility and coffers.’
Other experts suggested that the surprise face-to-face meeting with the Queen, who turned 96 in April, and has experienced a series of health problems recently, was an ‘olive branch’ after considerable tension between the Sussexes and Royal Family.
Harry’s biography – which was written by JR Moehringer – is believed to cover the Prince’s childhood and military career, as well as, uncover stories from within the Royal Family.
‘There’s a lot of new stories in there about the past that Harry has not spoken about before, about his childhood … there is some content in there that should make his family nervous,’ an insider told Page Six.
The ‘juicy’ book does not say anything derogatory about the Queen though.
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