Netflix pulls the plug off Meghan Markle-backed animated series 'Pearl'
Meghan Markle's animated series Pearl has been reportedly silently nixed by Netflix. This would have been the first such show coming from Archewell Productions, the firm owned by Markle and her husband, Prince Harry. Pearl was a part of a deal Archewell and Netflix had signed in September 2020. That pact would allow Archewell to create documentaries, docu-series, scripted and children's shows like Pearl.
Why does this story matter?
In April, for the first time in a decade, Netflix reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers compared to the last quarter. To make matters worse, it forecast an even bigger loss of up to 2M customers in Q2 of 2022. The report had also sent the streamer's stocks down by over 20%. As a result, several upcoming projects like Archewell's Pearl were dropped.
About 'Pearl'
Pearl was being executive produced and created by David Furnish, husband of English singer Elton John, who shares a special relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Markle was the other executive producer of the animated series along with Carolyn Soper and Emmy-winning filmmakers Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan. Amanda Rynda was to be the showrunner. It was launched gloriously last July.
Story of the series
Pearl was about a 12-year-old girl who is on a "self-discovery" journey. "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," Markle had said at the launch.
Two other children-centric shows killed too
Pearl aside, Netflix has ended the production of two other kid-centric content, too. Dino Daycare and Boons And Curses also faced the axe from the streamer. While Dino Daycare was being executive produced by Chris Nee (Ada Twist, Scientist), Boons And Curses was a South Asian-inspired adventure tale that was being created by Jaydeep Hasrajani. Markle's Heart of Invictus is coming to Netflix though.
