Meghan MarkleandPrince Harryare experiencing growing pains finding a path to find success in Hollywood.
While there are various factors at play — COVID-19 wreaked havoc across much of Hollywood, and the industry is currently frozen in a writers and actors strike — some say excitement over the royals entering the entertainment space was overvalued.
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“The attention, commotion, and hubbub was wrapped up in the fact that Harry is a royal, and people threw money at them with hopes and dreams that it would translate into success," a Hollywood insider tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s cover story. “But I think it’s been a rude awakening for everyone — it’s like they built a house with no foundation.”
The insider adds, “The royal element, and the in some ways the drama around them, inflated the price, deals and expectations.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle August 2023 PEOPLE cover.
There have been big wins: Their Netflix docuseriesHarry & Meghanbroke streaming records, and a different Hollywood source says that Meghan, who starred on the hit legal dramaSuitsfrom 2011 to 2018, displayed a keen marketing sensibility and was closely involved in the promotional plan. “She was fully engaged and had actionable ideas,” says the source.
Meghan’sArchetypespodcast climbed the charts andwon a People’s Choice Awardbut ended after just 12 episodes. One veteran podcasting executive says Spotify is partly to blame, pointing out that the Obamas have since moved their podcasting operations to Audible: “No one stuck it out [at Spotify], because the shows weren’t done well, or they overpaid and they couldn’t bring in audiences,” says the executive.
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But critics called the execution contrived. “What works in podcasting is authenticity and intimacy and revealing things either about yourself or about a topic that says something that [listeners] haven’t really thought about,” says the executive. “None of that happened. And Meghan wasn’t prepared to do that, because she lives an incredibly guarded life.”
A source close to theArchetypesproduction says the couple was not set up for success at Spotify: “They were given no formal lay of the land to kick things off, so they were already on unsteady footing even before the ink was dry.”
But the protective web spun around the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not help. “Things moved very slowly on both ends,” the source says. “It was rare to have a direct conversation with them, so everything had to flow through a million middle persons.” (Netflix and Spotify both declined to comment.)
Leading Archewell’s production company, the couple has also experienced ongoing staff turnover. In a statement toThe Wall Street Journalin June, a spokesperson said, “New companies often make changes in their start-up phase, both with people and strategy, and we are no exception.”
Some argue Prince Harry and Meghan are being held to a higher standard than others in show business.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in New York City in July 2022.Michael M. Santiago/Getty
Michael M. Santiago/Getty
With the right projects and people around them, the insider says, a second act is within reach: “I think within Hollywood, people are rooting for them.”
source: people.com
