Deranger math is “Prince Harry & Meghan got a $100 million Netflix contract in 2020, and if Netflix doesn’t renew the contract in 2025, the Sussexes will be broke!” That has been the raison d’etre of the British tabloids for five years: to somehow engineer “Harry & Meghan need lose all of their money!” They’re tried screaming about their money, they’ve tried shaming Harry for “writing a bestseller” and “selling out his horrible family.” They’ve mocked every single thing Harry and Meghan have done. And they still believe, in their tiny little peabrains, that the Sussexes are just one Daily Mail column away from being broke and having no other option than “crawling back to the UK and begging to do royal work.” Speaking of, did you know that the British papers published “bad reviews” of Polo, the Netflix series? Well, now the Mail is speaking to some guy who says, for sure, the bad reviews mean that Netflix won’t renew their contract with the Sussexes, and you know what that means!
UK brand and culture expert Nick Ede has revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Polo may be the ‘nail in the coffin’ for their £80million Netflix deal. Prince Harry, 40, who served as an executive producer alongside Meghan, 43, promised the series, released globally this week, would showcase the ‘true depth and spirit of the sport’ as well as the ‘intensity of its high-stakes moments’.
However, the five-part docuseries, which centres around the build-up to the polo World Cup in Florida and mainly focuses on players such as Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso, Timmy Dutta, and Nacho Figueras, struggled to impress critics. It’s a reality that Ede considers threatening for the Sussex’s Netflix deal, he told MailOnline: ‘The new polo documentary hasn’t received good reviews, and this is another foray into producing from Meghan and Harry. All eyes will be on whether the show rates and makes the very important top ten. It could, like the Invictus documentary, start well due to the public’s fascination with the pair and with polo potentially. But it’s more than likely to [fare] badly when up against blockbusters like Black Dove and safe Lindsay Lohan Christmas films.’
‘This could potentially be a nail in the coffin for their deal with the streaming giant who now use algorithms to make sure their programming is perfect for their subscribers.’
The series hardly features Harry and Meghan and has been nicknamed ‘the Nacho show’ behind the scenes because it focuses primarily on the Argentinian player – another drawback for Ede. He said: ‘With very little airtime, we don’t get to see the pair much and also hardly any PR around the series, this looks like it’s Oh No! Rather than Polo!’
The brand expert concluded: ‘We are still waiting for the new food show from Meghan and with the hype around this new show simmering rather than boiling, TV bosses will be starting to get worried about their big investment.’
I haven’t watched the entire series, but Nacho is just providing commentary and explaining the sport and the characters. It’s called color commentary and he’s good at it, but no, it’s not The Nacho Show. Despite the predictable “bad reviews” in the British outlets, I get the feeling that most haters have greeted Polo with disappointment – Harry & Meghan aren’t centered in the series, it’s built around interesting (but barely-known) professional polo players and it’s set up like a standard sports docuseries, meaning sports-centered soap operas and Real Housewife-esque family moments. I’m saying that as a compliment – it’s a slick, well-done series which is very watchable. Now, will it be another sports docuseries success like Full Swing, or will it bomb like Break Point? Possibly somewhere in-between – Break Point sucked because the people working on it didn’t give a sh-t about tennis or what was actually happening on the tour. Full Swing worked because of the drama, personalities and authentic relationships.
As for the Sussexes’ Netflix contract… I’ve seen some suggestions that Harry and Meghan actually want to move on to other things. I don’t know. Given Meghan’s cooking show and how American Riviera Orchard is being built around it, I suspect that Meghan actually wants to stay with Netflix. Whatever happens, I hope they learn how to promote their damn projects.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Netflix.
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- The Duke of Sussex during the awards ceremony after he played in a polo match during the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duchess of Sussex presents the trophy to her husband, the Duke of Sussex after his team the Royal Salute Sentebale Team defeated the Grand Champions Team, in the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duchess of Sussex the Duke of Sussex poses for pictures with the teams after he took part in the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duchess of Sussex the Duke of Sussex poses for pictures with the teams after he took part in the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duchess of Sussex presents the trophy to her husband, the Duke of Sussex after his team the Royal Salute Sentebale Team defeated the Grand Champions Team, in the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke Of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex after arrive at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center. Featuring: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex after arrive at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge, to benefit Sentebale, at The USPA National Polo Center. Featuring: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Where: Wellington, Florida, United States When: 12 Apr 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
So, they are mad that H&M didn’t center themselves so they could yell at them for centering themselves???
LMAO every little tr0ll is mad that H&M didn’t centre themselves in #POLO.
I know right! Make up your little minds. I call bullsh*t on this person knowing anything about the Sussexes contest with Netflix.
“I call bullsh*t on this person knowing anything about” anything!!! First off, they refer to the contest at the center of the docuseries as the “World Cup in Florida” rather than the “U.S. Open Polo Championship.” Very different things. The World Polo Championship is organized by the Federation of International Polo (FIP) and is contested by national teams without gender restriction. The so-called “World Cup” is played every few years and rotates between countries. FIP is recognized by International Olympic Committee as the worldwide governing body for polo. The U.S. Open Polo Championship is organized by the U.S. Polo Association and includes only Men. There is a separate event for Women. The U.S. Open (men) has been held at Wellington, FL for the last twenty years. Naturally, the DM article author and their sources knows $0 about any Netflix contract with anybody. And, of course, this article is couched in typical ‘something might happen’ britmedia parlance.
Yep, @kirk. BS. It’s always (mostly) some Brit who is now an “expert” on what H&M are doing. As far as I know, they’re doing their life. Looks good to me.
Started watching the Polo series yesterday. It’s good and interesting. I had no expectations of H&M being in it. There was nothing to suggest they would be. The BM are very sad people.
We have a customer who has a granddaughter that is a polo player. She travels around the world and, well, her granddad said she finds this docuseries very educational.
The more of these stories they run on them the more they prove leaving the UK was the best move. Every day they dump on them.
What do they want from them? Will they be happy if they are found in a one bedroom apartment surviving on Ramons with the children.
They have to make a living and they are doing it. It’s so sad. Now they are saying they are about to divorce. That Harry looks unhappy. His father is dying.
Harry and William occasionally look like the wives annoy them. Welcome to marriage.
Chile I’m like Tyler Perry when it comes to the nasty British press. I don’t even bother to read their malicious nonsense.
Right? And imagine what KC/PoE could accomplish if they re-directed some of the Sussex hate towards something productive, like food insecurity, healthcare access, etc.? Or they could just get themselves proper educations, such that they could better serve the British people?
My take on it is as follows:
1) If H&M don’t renew their Netflix contract, it will be due to a mutual agreement between them and Netflix. The CEO isn’t going to concerts with Meghan and praising her and such because he hates her and wishes he had never signed the contract with the Sussexes. But I can see both sides saying “you know what, we want something different, this worked well for a few years but we’re ready to move on” with zero animosity.
2) Netflix doesn’t care about the negative reviews in the British press because that’s what we all expected. So the idea that because the DM or whatever panned the series means Netflix is going to say “oh no! now we must cancel this contract!” is rather laughable.
3) We know Meghan has the cooking show coming up and we know there was *something* going on with the Carley Fortune book. Maybe the latter won’t stay with Netflix but the CEO made it sound like Meghan had many things in the pipeline. So if the contract doesn’t renew my guess is those projects will still come out on Netflix.
4) most people have said that it was unlikely that Netflix would renew for another huge sum, just because streaming contracts have changed since 2020, even if the contract is renewed.
5) FINALLY – H&M are in a different position now than they were in 2020 so its possible THEY are not interested in another contract with Netflix (again back to point 1, where there is no animosity.)
Basically I can see things with Netflix going in a few different directions and none of those directions have anything to do with what the British tabloids say about Polo.
Completely agree with your take Becks.
“Netflix doesn’t care about the negative reviews in the British press because that’s what we all expected.”
There is no such thing as bad publicity in the Entertainment Industrial Complex!
Agree with all the above. The British media’s obsession with them having to write another book, having to have another streaming contract it’s just another indication of them having absolutely no imagination and explains why the British royal family constantly copies everything that Harry and Meghan does. Before they signed those contracts, or wrote books they were putting out cartoons about them working at McDonald’s. They literally have no idea how to earn money and so they assume that no one else does. No one is signing these big contracts anymore with streamers because the landscape has completely shifted, but the British media lives in the past along with the BRF so to them doing something new and going in a new direction it’s a failure not the natural progression of things..
And the thing is too, along those lines – we have no idea what they made from their Netflix contract, what Harry made from Spare, what Meghan made from the Bench, what they’ve made from the investments that we know about (Clevr etc). They may be in the realm of “dont need to work and can live off investments” level of wealth, which would just kill the British press.
But they’re going to assume as long as they’re working that they’re broke, and the reality is – look at just two of their close friends – Oprah and Tyler Perry. Both billionaires who continue to work constantly. Neither one needs to work another day in their life. But they do. and I think that’s what we’ll see from H&M.
The reviews good or bad will encourage people to watch it.
Thanks to the envy of British tabloid writers, they’ve dredged up increased interest in Polo the sport that didn’t previously exist. That’s fabulous advertising others trying to promote a production must also envy but for different reasons. Love the irony!
I’m sure Meghan will promote her show. I just don’t think they will producing anything other the cooking show and her podcast going forward. That’s all I’m saying.
I’ll add that only Meghan signing to WME kind of shows this is the direction they will be going in the future.
If it featured William dm would have glowing praise.
None of us, the viewing public, know what metrics Netflix has set for the Sussexes for their projects. As long as they meet and/or exceed Netflix’s expectations, they are in a good position to renew their contract (or not, if that is their choice). The bottom line is we don’t know the details of their contract. So all this nonsense from the BM is irrelevant.
And I’m pretty sure they factor in the hate-love that the derangers show them. The BM is desperate to believe that they can control the narrative and control how the Sussexes are viewed. But they are on a global stage now, so the yapping from Salty Isle is just noise now – static in the background.
The UK press is, as usual, overlooking the interest that polo and the featured players have in countries outside the UK and US.
Well, they will either renew again or they won’t. But it seems clear that the Sussexes have a good relationship with the head of Netflix. Polo was a fun sports doc. I don’t think the Sussexes should hang their heads in shame as some people seem to want them to do. Whatever happens I don’t think it’s a make or break thing at this point for Harry and Meghan. Harry is about to shell out a ton of money to go to court with the Sun. Someone on the brink of having to move back to the uk bc they’re broke wouldn’t be making those choices just saying.
Haven’t you heard? Its ALWAYS make or break for Harry and Meghan in the british press lol.
I’ve heard it way too many times😂
“May be the nail in the coffin,” in other words he knows nothing.
I’m mostly just shocked that this isn’t ‘make or break’ for them.
First, I think Netflix might be also the one not swimming in cash, and they have indeed has been silently shrinking more and more onto sure bets. Even shows with good ratings are taking long to air new seasons. It’d be perfectly normal if they downsize or terminate deals for not unique or particularly mass appealing family-friendly content. It’d be relevant when it comes to H&M just bc who they are.
(I guess Netflix would smash records if Meghan went back to acting or if H&M were open to a reality show on their daily life in the aftermath of their departure from BRF, but I’m sure that’s not even open for discussion.)
Secondly, I don’t think there’s dissapointment about Nacho kind of centering the show. Pppl don’t dislike him, but Polo marketing led to believe that Harry would be the one explaining the game. You can hardly find a bad thing that audiences wanted to hear more from him.
Although it’s true that seems uncertain for H&M to keep their lifestyle without a source of massive cash, ‘moving on’ from Netflix is actually a flex and not the tragedy it’s painted to be.
I’ll admit, as a strong Sussex supporter, this show isn’t really my cup of tea, although I am watching it. I do think people want to see them in front of the camera more.
I’ve been saying Meghan needs to do a cooking show for YEARS and I’m pumped it’s happening.
Now they just need Prince Harry to do some sort of interview-based travel show and my dreams will come true. He’s funny and charming with the public.
I think this year has shown where Prince Harry’s focus is and it’s on his philanthropic efforts. I don’t know what type of content they’ll put out in future but like they they’re not solely focusing on themselves but it ties to their interests or philanthropy. Meghan mentioned it wasn’t all going to be serious stuff. I don’t get people who want 24/7 of them the way the British media do.
+1 @Tina E. I TRIED watching it because I wanted to given them numbers, but yikes…it’s a slog. I just couldn’t. I loved the Invictus series, loved the “Live to Lead” series highlighting courageous lives, loved their documentary about leaving UK and watched it several times. I just can’t with the Polo – and I wanted to really bad.
I think Break Point wasn’t as successful as Full Swing because they didn’t have the biggest players in the sport doing episodes. Unless you REALLY follow tennis, it was mostly people folks don’t know (or know that well). Full Swing got everyone to participate.
I think Harry and Meghan knocked it out of the park with Pollo. I am hoping for a second season to follow the young players development. Happy Kaiser filter through the gutter press nonsense because I do not go there for their poison and hate. Clueless about the Sussexes finances because I am not their accountant. I sense they are good because they know what the stakes are and Harry has stated they are not going back to the UK.
Polo
As of yesterday Netflix has said Polo was the number two on the list of recommended documentaries. Netflix would be a fool to let H&M go anywhere. Look who is circling them to get a deal. Paramount CEO who was in Jamaica with them for the Bob Marley premiere and Bezos who was in their Box at the Beyonce concert
I watched part of Polo yesterday and thought it was very good. I had work to do, so couldn’t watch the rest, but I let it run in background until the end. I’ll watch the rest over the weekend.
I don’t know what will happen with the Sussexes and Netflix, but it’s not my problem and it’s not the BM’s problem, either. At this point, I really don’t see how they’re making any money on articles like this.
I have watched a couple of episodes and my thought are that maybe they are not doing a lot of pr because of a the unfortunate event that happened or maybe they want people to connect with the people in the show instead of themselves.
That is quite likely. Connecting with the people in show will be more likely to lead to its success.
Obviously some of these reviews from the British media were written before they even released the series, just like they did with the Oprah interview. They are not reviewing the work on it’s content but through their racism against the creators. Zero integrity whatsoever from the British media as expected. The Sussex’s are far from broke, and if they need to ever fill their coffers Meghan just needs to publish a journal or two and they will be fine.
I watched the first 2 episodes last night and I’ll probably finish tonight. I’m not a binge watcher so a couple of episodes at a time is enough for me. I thought it was good, I won’t be a spoiler for those that haven’t started watching so that’s all I’ll say. As for the Fail, they know nothing, it’s all suppositions and make believe with them. I guess they are hoping to be a broken clock and be right once in a while but it’s not happening folks.
I don’t get the complaining about the H/M doing the promotions for Polo or that they aren’t in it enough. The promotion seems to be on par with other sports docuseries. I have never seen a promotion for Full-Swing or Break Point. As for the couple being in focused in the show I don’t think that was ever the intent. They have both said they already told their story and they are moving forward and a big part of their moving forward is giving others a voice, recognition etc. That is what they did here.
As for my review of Polo- I enjoyed it, I always viewed it as a rich man’s sport. But seeing how some put a lot of energy, time, money and sacrifices gave me a new perspective on the sport.
Didn’t the head honcho at Netflix say he loves Harry and Meghan, their stuff does really well. Bots and derangers leaving bad reviews is to be expected always. Not expected, one of my favorite podcasters, or pubcasters, has gone on a rant about Polo for the last 2 weeks. Called it trash and urged Netflix to dump it, talked about comments that Harry had abused a pregnant horse. I hate to even repeat that, but I mean if you have one brain cell you know if that were true it would be a headline on DM every single day. Really disappointed me, needless to say I’m done with that podcast. I don’t listen to hear someone go off on hating Sussexes or anyone.
He did say on record that he has known A list Hollywood stars and has seen people react to them, but not on the same level as the reactions he has seen over Meghan that is other worldly. He loves The Sussexes and Netflix has been making so much money on The Sussexes that whatever amount Netflix shelled out to get The Sussexes, Netflix has been getting a hefty return.
IF, Netflix and The Sussexes part ways, it can only be a huge step up for The Sussexes and Netflix would not lose anything as it would have been by mutual agreement.
The polo pony died in 2010.
The death of Drizzle, a pony Prince William and Prince Harry used for polo, has been in the news recently. According to media reports, Prince Harry was taking part in the second half of a charity match when he realised that Drizzle was struggling. Within minutes of being retired from the match, Drizzle suffered a heart attack and died.
The media are reporting Drizzle’s death as little more than an unfortunate incident. A guest at the match told The Mail on Sunday that “[i]t was very lucky that Harry rode her off because we were spared the gruesome spectacle of watching the pony die”.
https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/the-death-of-prince-harrys-polo-pony-is-not-an-isolated-incident/
Even PETA cleared Harry of all wrong doing (in another article).
Watching POLO I was happy to see that no one uses spurs or whips, as it was common when Charles was young and an avid player.
No one ever criticised Anne or Zara, their sport Eventing ( the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping.) is very hard on the horses.
I’m sorry but what podcast are u listening to???
I’ve never heard of Full Swing but not a sports person. Polo was really good. Enjoyed watching it. Is it gonna change my life-no. Do I have a lifelong crush on Adolfo Cambiaso-yes-I love him. Thanks Polo! There are people who seem to think the Sussexes have all their eggs in one basket, hence being so invested in them failing. Well let them wait and be disappointed. Harry clocked them at Dealbook. Anyway, was a fun series, enjoyable. Hope they get a second season. They need to go to Argentina.
I’m very confused at that Nacho Show comment. Im halfway through episode 3 and I don’t recall seeing him since the first episode. Are they being racist and confusing him with Cambiaso who is also Argentinian?
Nacho gives occasional commentary about the game but he definitely isn’t the focus. Maybe he is confusing him with Cambiaso. I really like the commentary from the various polo experts and commentators , giving the players and game more context. Not all of them were Argentinian either, in case Eden gets further confused.
I reckon they didn’t watch it and only saw the trailer and the little promotion Nacho did.
Yes, I’m at the 5th episode and Nacho has had maybe 30 seconds in the 1st, 3rd and 4th episodes. They must think all Argentinians are alike.
Let’s not forget Meghan has a huge huge HUGE ace in the hole. She has an untold story to tell. As she cleverly hinted at when she said, I DIDN’T SIGN AN NDA…
That story could take several forms, including a memoir or a movie.😉
I’ve watched the whole series and it’s compelling and very well done. It is excellent story-telling and the camera work really draws you into the action on the polo fields.
I found Louis a bit of a neanderthal but I was moved to tears to see his mother hug him on the field. I loved the cooking scenes with Dutta family (Does big Tim do all the cooking in the family or just for special dinners) and watching Louis wrap prosciutto around asparagus really gives you some insight into their family life. You really felt for Bob through the words of his son. There was little focus on Bob prior to the accident, so the viewer didn’t really know him, but I’m glad that they cut away from the accident. The competition between generations, was very compelling, and I think it was extremely lucky that they recognized the important story lines represented in the US Open. A fiction writer couldn’t have done better, especially with the significance of the final match.
People who actually watch it will find a good series full of human drama and a light shone on what many may have considered an exclusive sport. We all could have predicted what the BM would write and how they would react.
Aw yes! The family cooking was my fave and then Timmy helping Tim cook in the later episodes! I was just like yes plz I will take some biryani. And Louis with his other in law was interesting. She was a star. I would watch another season of those people.
I much preferred Polo over Heart of Invictus (I thought Invictus was poorly put together and would have had a much clearer narrative if it had been edited and constructed differently).
If you have an IMDB account, please go and rate every episode individually and leave a review to counter the very obvious malicious ratings being posted by anti Sussex nut jobs – I’ve even reported several of them.
I find the lack of promotion by Archewell confusing 🤷♀️
Just put a review onto IMDb. I gave it 10=stars and a good review. That should put a cat among the pigeons of all the derangers that have left a 1and2star review.
I plan to start watching this weekend. The more the salty British media cry about how terrible the show is, tells me it’s the opposite because these people are so predictable when it comes to anything involving Harry and Meghan. So they can continue to cry tears of bitterness and I will be sure to add my hours of viewing. F the haters
All I see constantly from the Daily Toilet Bowel full of you know what and the nasty UK press full of smallbrained low IQ miserable people is they all suffer from the same disease = TALL POPPY SYNDROME!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love Harry & Meghan and what they stand for and I’m going to watch the Polo series too – why not?
I bet Charles was glued to his throne!
The thing is, the British press will shit on everything they do no matter what. I haven’t seen any reviews from none British sources other than The Cut just siting the British sources and being all “they can’t keep flopping” without offering their own review. I’m telling you all, watch out, no joke, the BRF has a long game and they’re trying to team with Russia and Trump to get the “colonies” back. They’re going after Harry and Meghan because they, no joke, think they are trying to be King and Queen of America. These people have deep connections and societies throughout the world. They haven’t given up the idea of taking America over. This is why they don’t really care about the Commonwealth anymore…they have Elon Musk, they have Donald Trump, they have Mark Zuckerberg, and they have Putin, and Jeff Bezos…and America went and voted in Trump. This has nothing to do with “Polo”, this is about ensuring Harry doesn’t become King of America and then take over England instead of William becoming King and taking over America. This is why Edward cozied up to Hitler…to get his kingship back. These people are evil, corrupt and have a long game. They have not changed. Furthermore, they don’t promote the British team at Invictus because….no joke they think Invictus is Harry forming his own army and when NATO brought a delegation to the Hague they were terrified, not jealous. The Sussexes aren’t promoting Polo or any of their projects because they know all of these facts. They are going after the papers and the BRF honestly thinks they are next. They are laying low and trying to make their work speak for itself, but unfortunately right now the BM and BRF are louder. Trump getting in…in telling ya, was a battle won for William. This is war. Polo is just a pawn in the game.