Predictably, many people vociferously defended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s complete lack of promotion for Polo, the Netflix docuseries they executive produced. “Executive producers don’t promote their projects!” A lie – producers do promotion constantly, especially when the producers are more well-known. “The British media promotes the Sussexes’ projects for them!” Yeah, why would Harry and Meghan speak positively about their own work when the British media has full rein to vomit scorn on every little thing they do or say? “The media would just analyze every little thing they said!” And? Don’t you want Harry and Meghan to use their voices? Wasn’t that the whole point of all of this?
Anyway, I started watching Polo last night – I’ve only seen the first episode – and I actually enjoy it. I enjoy most sports documentaries, and the way they’re setting up the cast of real-life polo characters is smart. Right now, Adolfo Cambiaso is being spoken about like the boogeyman, the Kendrick Lamar of polo. Every polo player in the series seems in awe of him and his accomplishments. I enjoy the Dutta fam, even if Tim Sr. is giving me PTSD from my own hyper-critical Indian father. I find Louis Devaleix to be incredibly charismatic on-screen, even though he’s clearly kind of terrible in real life. He’s like a bull in a china shop – cursing up a storm, pure muscle, and fully obsessed with polo. Obviously, the British “critics” raced to binge-watch the series and they’ve delighted in ripping it to shreds:
Professional reviewers have raced to give Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new show about the horseback sport of polo a kicking on the day of its release. British newspapers are first out of the blocks, publishing unflattering reviews of Polo, which was executive produced by Harry and Meghan, within hours of it dropping on Netflix Tuesday.
The Telegraph gave the “tedious inside-look” at the game two stars and its reviewer concluded: “There’s lots of blood, sweat, and tears in the series—but not enough of the Sussexes to make this anything other than a dull indulgence about a rich person’s pursuit. This horsey hiccup is another bad neigh day for the Sussexes and their media ambitions.”
The U.K. Guardian contrasts the game of polo, which it describes as “the stupidest, most obnoxious sport known to humanity” with the Sussex’s lofty mission statement on signing their reputed $100 million deal with Netflix when the couple airily declared, they wanted to create “content that informs but also gives hope” utilizing “powerful storytelling” through a “truthful and relatable lens.”
Its verdict on the series? “Polo looks destined to fall through the submenus into obscurity at the speed of light. And rightly so. It’s clattering and niche, and feels like a spoof documentary designed to play on screens in the background of episodes of Succession.”
I honestly thought it would be more about ultra-wealthy people indulging in their misguided polo dreams, but it’s not that at all. Some of the people on the show are wealthy, but they’re putting all of their money into their polo obsession, which cannot be smart long-term. As I watched the first episode, I kept thinking about sponsorships and how very few of these polo players can really hope for lucrative sponsors to come and pick up the slack – polo simply isn’t a big enough sport for most players to receive that kind of personal sponsorship. Which means, the majority of polo players have to eat the costs of their polo obsession or hope to be good enough to make a team with a wealthy patron. Just the upkeep on the horses alone is mind-numbing. Anyway, yeah, of course the British media raced to criticize the show. Another reason why Harry and Meghan should have done some promotion in the American media.
Also: this clip is one of the most unhinged things I’ve ever seen. How dare Polo not even mention Prince William!!
Trolls are mad because Prince Harry didn't mention the royal family in his Polo documentary 🤣🤣🤣#PoloOnNetflix #HarryandMeghanpic.twitter.com/5sj2W0nXaA
— Kay Ross-Levy 🌺 (@KayRoss96) December 10, 2024
Photos courtesy of Netflix/Polo.
Dm was trashing it before it was even shown
I also didn’t see any reviews of HOMELESS 😳 so I guess nobody watched it 🤓
Well there were some negative reviews of that one as well but that was pretty much it. And that told me what I needed to know….if the British press couldn’t polish that one enough……then it had to be pretty bad.
Who is this documentary for? Outside of Pretty Woman, most people have never even seen the sport. The exorbitant cost of entry means it will never be mainstream anywhere. I think the lack of promotion is to keep PETA and other animals rights groups from calling for a boycott of the series.
Huh? Are you for real @Megan? SMDH
Read it the mainstream media https://www.newsweek.com/prince-harry-animal-rights-problem-netflix-peta-1892078.
It became a hobby for hollywood stars of the thirties. Spencer tracy and Leslie Howard were among film stars who competed
Glamorous actresses like Carole lombard would be among the spectators
Not much self-awareness with these people. Don’t they realize they are criticizing their own RF? Charles was big into polo, and while Bill wasn’t as much I don’t think, he still played.
Exactly what I thought when reading that! “a dull indulgence about a rich person’s pursuit” and “the stupidest, most obnoxious sport known to humanity”
I mean yes, but doesn’t that describe most things the RF also do? The late Queen was a rich lady who famously had stables of horses that jumped over stuff as a sport…
The queen visited horse farms in Kentucky and sent some of her mares over to be b r e d to famous thoroughbreds including Seattle slew.
Charles played for the Maple Leafs, owned by Galen Weston Sr, who lived at Fort Belvedere (Peggy wanted his widow Hilary evicted). Jilly Cooper wrote an extremely well received book in the 90’s, Polo, so don’t tell me that Brits don’t enjoy a bit of Polo lol!
I think we all knew they would trash it. Anything Harry does Peg goes right to his gutter press bedmates to shit all over it. The royals have played Polo for a long time. Chuckles was a polo player and there were glowing articles about it. But the minute Harry decided to do a documentary about it well it suddenly sucks. They are so obvious in the jealousy.
I watched the whole thing yesterday. It was really good and recommended it to my kids to binge!
I binge watched it too, and I really enjoyed it! I am glad the Sussexes were only in it briefly and let other people tell the story. It was very fascinating and makes me want to go watch polo next year!
+1 (and I wasn’t sure I’d like it about 1/2 way through the first episode).
My son and I watched the entire thing yesterday, he doesn’t follow the Sussex’s and I don’t think he realized who produced the series, we both loved it. I will be watching it again it was a very interesting look behind the scenes and I enjoyed learning the rules of the game. I expected the British media to try to tank this project just like they continue to do for absolutely every project the Sussex’s have done since they left that family behind. Also why in the hell would he mention his toxic brother in the docuseries about the US polo championship? If he had he would have been accused of profiting off his Royal relatives. Peggy isn’t relevant and it would have looked ridiculous to insert him into the show, no one in the USA cares what Willy did or does, unless he’s caught in roses bush again.
They don’t even realize if they had shut their traps about the Sussexes, this could have been a highlight on the polo industry that included the U.K. Of course this focused on the U.S., the U.K. has made themselves as poisonous as possible to Harry and Meghan.
I’m not going to read that daily beast review because it’s likely a load of pish anyway but I find it all quite sad what is happening. Harry and Meghan and Netflix not promoting this is a damn shame. Then on top of that derangers and the media are predictably ripping this to shreds. And I am barely seeing Sussex fans posting about Polo.
And it’s actually such a well executed documentary series. It deserves a lot more
They did the same thing with The Crown, it’s what they do, hate sells 😮
These people aren’t acting in good faith. HOI wasn’t good because it focused too much on Harry ( it didn’t), now Polo isn’t good because Harry and Meghan are in it enough (it is). Their criticism is based around not having enough content to create hysterical articles around (Express), pretend to be intellectually superior (Guardian). This is about people being salty about clicks. As for the promotion I’m going to say the exact same thing I said yesterday, the only people that have to be ok with promotion is Netflix. Or are people who are aware of the show saying they aren’t going to watch it because Meghan didn’t give any interviews about what it’s like watching Harry play polo? H&M fans will watch it if they care, and Polo fans will watch it because of the people in it like the Cambioso’s not because of H&M. This was already going to have a niche appeal, pretty sure Netflix factored that into their projections when they greenlit it
You’re right. Whatever way they go they are going to be criticized. Apparently now even on here, people want to be in control of their lives.
Yes Somebody , been noticing that myself lately and find it very disappointing .
I don’t even get where the whole promote thing is coming from. It’s Netflix. It’s a streamer. It’s not like they did a documentary that was released at the movie theaters. I don’t get why people are acting like Harry or Meghan need to say anything about it. Actors have come out and said that the way that Netflix, Amazon, Apple, etc. have done things has changed the game in terms of movies being out at the theater, and promotion of said movies. I can’t imagine a documentary on Netflix (which there are tons btw) needs tons of promotion.
I mean, Sabrina Carpenter had one of the biggest tours of the summer/fall (Eras aside) and she promoted her Christmas special. Lindsay Lohan and Kristin Chenoweth have been promoting their holiday movie.
People do promotions for Netflix productions all the time (Angelina Jolie has spent months essentially promoting Maria.)
And for a lot of people involved with Netflix productions, they have their own social media so can use that for promotional purposes. Here, that aspect is missing.
All that said, I do agree that the British press is acting in bad faith but when are they not? they were going to criticize this series no matter what.
Michelle Obama promoted her dating show on Netflix so I don’t understand why Meghan and Harry aren’t promoting POLO. There’s nothing on the Sussex.com website or Archewell Productions page.
But for what though? The people you named are actors/actresses. These are producers of a documentary and they were in just one episode.
Miloš Balać has been promoting though. He’s given interviews to People, Page Six, etc. Honestly the RR wants them to come out so they can criticize them (and who wants to deal with that) and then even fans want them to promote for something.
And the RR has been reporting since September that Netflix isn’t happy with them. I think it’s BS, but honestly, I think it’s a damned if they do and damned if they don’t situation.
And I can see them pulling back since Meghan’s show is about to launch so then they would get told they are all over the place.
I did not know Michelle Obama had a dating show on Netflix, and I’m a subscriber 10+ yrs. Never saw a single promotion for a show with her (I would have watched it).
I did know about Polo though. It’s ALL OVER twitter, and yes, the Sussex fans are definitely shouting out about it.
What do you mean, “for what”? you promote something because you want it to do well. H&M are the most famous names attached to this. The idea that they should NOT be promoting it for “reasons” is just kind of silly. Other famous people promote their projects. People on here keep moving the goalposts to defend the Sussexes- maybe Netflix doesnt need it promoted, oh wait, its being promoted but by other people, oh wait streaming shows aren’t usually promoted but they are if its from actors and actresses etc.
For whatever reason H&M don’t promote their Netflix projects and I think at this point its a clear choice on their part. Netflix may be okay with it but I think we, on a gossip website, can certainly discuss whether we agree with that choice. I dont understand the people who are shutting down that discussion.
I don’t understand the issue some people are having regarding promotions either. There are a ridiculous amount of content on Netflix and to think that everything released on Netflix needs to be promoted is extreme. Jamie Foxx just released his own special this week and there are no outcries about him not promoting that special, especially considering that his is in part to silence the conspiracy theories about his near death experience. Them promoting this docuseries wasn’t going to prevent their naysayers from criticizing them or this film. The ridiculous issues with them not being in it enough or not mentioning William or the royals is only proof that nothing Harry and Meghan did was going to prevent them from attacking them.
@Becks1
As I said for what? They are not “starring in” and as others have pointed out this is not like it’s the first time a celebrity hasn’t promoted their Netflix shows. And I keep saying, they are producers. The showrunner and producer who is a man of color is promoting it and frankly I love that.
@Dee: You’re absolutely correct.
@Dee you’re right especially about projections. Production budgets and promotion budgets tend to be linked and I highly doubt the production budget for this was high. Some articles came out in People, Variety, Vanity Fair, etc of the showrunners promoting this but unless the production budget it high or H&M actually feature prominently in a program I can’t really see them doing lots of promo for a streaming project as most other celebrities don’t outside of those instances either.
Sabrina Carpenter is doing a lot of promo for her special because she’s headlining it. Tyler is doing extensive promo for his movie because it had a substantial budget and is also getting a limited theatre run. I think Meet Me At The Lake will probably be their big budget project as just acquiring that book cost Netlfix a pretty penny; if they don’t promote that when it comes out THAT would be a big problem.
The Guardian review was by a man who was open about detesting polo and polo players. The Telegraph review by a man who wanted to see more of the Sussexes because HE finds polo dull. Not exactly objective, lol! Interestingly, The Express gave a good one, but Sykes is clearly up to his tricks again and didn’t mention it.
Just curious: who wrote the express review?
The BM trashed the Oprah interview before it aired, and it trashed the ESPY awards, all because Harry and/or Meghan are involved. I know people think they should have actively promoted it, but IMO it feeds the narrative they are trading on their titles. I’ll wait for the ratings.
Actually, polo does have sponsors and is very big globally. Everything isn’t about the US and UK.
I started the series yesterday and ended up bingeing the entire thing. It started a little slowly, but the episodes got better as I went along. The last three episodes really brought the drama about the people and the sport. I definitely became invested to see it through to the end.
The Sussexes have a hit on their hands if people ignore the belly-aching from the British media. They’re the same ones that panned Suits, and you see how that turned out…..
I actually took out a Netflix subscription to watch it.It was actually classed as a sports documentary. This is probably why there was not a great deal of promotion..I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it but I found I did. They explained the rules were behind the scenes of players families.Naturally because it’s Harry and Meghan the BM are trashy it. I thought it was really professionally done and Harry and Meghan didn’t make it all about themselves unlike William and Kate. No doubt the BM will be praising Wills year end Earthshot review. They are so caught up in their own negativity they can’t report properly anymore.
Lol! Your description makes it sound like a soap opera for polo fans. That might be all the promotion it needs.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT 😍😍 jealous much 😳
Too funny that people are mad nobody talked about the Royal family yet these same people attacked Harry and Meghan for years for talking about the family. That’s what is so annoying about the British media. No matter what they do it’s wrong.
The reviews from the British press are predictably and won’t carry a lot of weight for US viewers. I dont think anyone here cares what the Telegraph says about a Netflix show, lol.
That said…..there should have been some more promotion for this from the Sussexes, who are the most well known names connected to this project. Someone responded to my comment yesterday about this and said that anyone who doesn’t know about Polo is living under a rock. that’s just a naive take, sorry. My husband consumes an insane amount of sports media – listens to podcasts and sports radio all day, thats all he follows on social media (besides me lol), etc. he had never heard of this until I mentioned it yesterday. the idea that anyone who isn’t completely up to speed on what Harry is doing for Netflix is “living under a rock” is just…..well, naive.
I know they didn’t promote their H&M docuseries, but that series sort of promoted itself. this one is different.
Anyway I hope to start watching it tonight but may not get to it until this weekend.
I am surprised that there wasn’t more promotion in the sports realm. I think the viewership for this show will be more international and the hope is that it will just bring more eyes to polo, which it has already done.
People also forget – Harry and Meghan still get paid even if you hate it. Their pay check doesn’t depend on reviews. And given the attention anything they do gets, they’re going to keep getting paid.
This is a sports documentary along the lines of the F1 documentary and so they should be promoting in those spaces, like on ESPN or something.
I watched it having no knowledge about polo and I enjoyed it. They take the time to explain the basics to newbies without too much exposition and they focus on a few players and their families who are set to play the U.S. Open in polo. They also focused on a few players with charisma so they are interesting to watch.
Plus they only have five episodes and it is a quick watch.
There isn’t much Harry or Meghan in it and not much Nacho, except as a talking head, but that doesn’t really matter because they build interest in the actual polo players.
Now for season two they should focus on the Argentinian part of the polo season.
Exactly. It’s a sports documentary. I loved it honestly. I had no idea. But to me it wasn’t about either of them.
of course its a sports documentary which is my point. My husband had never ever heard of it, which meant its not getting discussed on any sports media that he consumes, which is a lot (frankly, its too much, and I wish he would turn the podcasts off at some point, but at least he hates Joe Rogan so win some, lose some.)
When some of us say “there should have been more promotion from H&M” its not because we think the focus of the documentary is H&M. Its because its common to use the most famous names attached to a project to promote that project.
In theory someone like Bill Simmons would watch this and talk about it on his pod but he has a personal issue with them.
I loved the series. I never thought I’d be interested in polo as a sport but it’s really exciting. H & M did a great job.
People are probably going to come for me, but I don’t understand their media strategy and approach to the tabloids and promotion. I think Harry, or even Nacho, popping up on ESPN would reach a new audience and expand viewership. It’s December, and people are looking for things to watch. I’m surprised Netflix is okay with no promo. I’m afraid it’s going to be buried in Netflix, which is a shame because the docu is very well-produced and fun to watch.
Disclaimer: I adore H&M. Two seemingly opposing things can be true at the same time: I both support H&M, and I am confused by their approach. One does not negate the other.
I binged the whole series and loved every bit of it. I knew nothing about polo and was happy it was explained. I found the players fascinating and interesting, loved the whole family atmosphere, drama, and fashions. I felt Louis’ mother-in-law stole the show. She was hilarious. I found it well put together. Well done, team Sussex.
☑️ ❤️
I’ve watched the first 2 episodes and am really enjoying it!! So far Louis is my least favorite character, the constant f-word usage doesn’t appeal. I’m a bit more fascinated by the wives, they all look alike, overblown lips, same hair color and what’s with Sally’s brows?
Agreed about Louis. He seems like a nightmare to live with. I’m very interested in his wife, though. Ames isn’t hers, I’ve already looked. So he has this six year old from a previous relationship and had a whirlwind courtship, engagement, marriage and now baby. She knows polo, plays herself and has a career independent of him. Give me more of her! Timmy Dutto’s dad is stressing me out 😂. I’m here for the Cambiosa juggernauts!
Sally’s brows! Right? My first thought when I saw her was that she has money, she can afford better brows. LOL
I know absolutely nothing about polo so I liked how they explained how it’s played. I cracked up that the polo field is “the size of 9 football fields”. Very American way of measuring.
I started falling asleep in the third episode (because I was exhausted, not because it was boring) so I’ll have to finish it tonight.
Not surprised by the British press’ reaction and no doubt when Meghan promotes her show they will have the same reaction. Anyway, I don’t think that when Harry and Meghan said they wanted to have a voice they meant promoting TV shows but that’s my opinion. As I said yesterday I don’t think Archewell productions in its current form will be here for much longer and I think Harry and Meghan are doing just they’re contracted to do which is to put out content until 2025.
I agree with them having a voice not equaling hitting the promotion circuit every time they do something. They executive produced it and it isn’t awards bait, I wouldn’t use up currency on it either. Obviously I’m watching because they are attached to the project, but that won’t be what determines its success. It is niche content that sports docuseries and polo fans will watch. Now I want to go watch the F1 series!
I don’t think so, they are still doing her podcast and they are producing a romance movie that is not going to be out in 2025. And that author has a whole series so I am sure they are going to wait to see what response they get and Netflix will see about acquiring the rights again.
So this show is about the nitty gritty of the sport and truly shows what the players go through. That’s kinda cool.
“not enough of the Sussexes”
We knew why the BM would watch Polo, but it’s nice they’re being honest about it /s
“Polo” is not meant to be the Harry and Meghan show. It’s a sports documentary meant to be reviewed by serious and knowledgeable sports writers. The DM has no business reviewing something about which they know nothing. Par for the course, though.
I binge watched all 5 episodes and was fascinated. I enjoyed seeing the families behind the scenes and their interaction. For me this humanized the sport because all I had ever heard was it was the sport of kings. Obviously it is an expensive sport to be a part of but this series shows the depth some go to participate in something they love. And the cost to them and their relationship.
This show was very well produced and it comes across amazingly on the screen. The human interaction was so good to me. I am hopeful with enough viewers they will be a season 2 to follow the players as they try to obtain their goal.
I started watching it out of sussex support but am surprised about how into it I got. The Dutti family had some serious food stuff going in with all their cooking. Louis was funny but irl he’d drive me mad. All those men would really. Polo crazy. It takes a singular focus. So yeah, I came away thinking I’d absolutely watch another season of these people chasing their polo dreams.
It reminded me of the years I lived in the South and would occasionally don a fascinator for a derby! I enjoyed!
I am glad they didn’t promote it, it just causes more fodder for attacks. The documentary will do well inspite of negative pres.
I agree with the defenders
Agreed. I don’t know what executive producers do or don’t do, although I don’t ever read about them promoting work. I’m generally focused on the cast interviews. So I can’t take a side on posters lying, but I will “predictably” defend the Sussexes. Lol.
I also binge-watched Polo. I enjoyed it, a lot. I hope to hear the viewership numbers.
I started watching yesterday and finished off today, I loved it. I want another season. I had a love hate for Tim sr & Tim Jr so i was rooting for JR . I applauded Louis for taking up a hobby so late in life, but as a man i felt he was very selfish and didn’t have his priorites right, I’m glad his MIL gave him a hard time also Wow for the injuries he has sustained doing this sport. i wish they talked more about the horses. not just the number each team has but breeding etc. i loved the Drama of the Father and Son on opposite teams. the only downside was i felt the sentebale polo match was Shoehorned into the series and didn’t flow too well like the rest of the program. other than that it was an epic series and i want more
Yes, more about the horses! I was astounded when they made a comment about Adolfo Cambioso having 3000 horses, but always on the lookout for another. I loved the whole family aspect of it, on all teams. Since this series focused on US Open, with a break in the middle for Sentebale charity, seems like a second season (unlikely) would have to focus on Argentina or the horses. The fierce competitiveness of the players is unmatched. It was hilarious when Mrs. Adolfo Cambiaso said “I can’t even play Monopoly with him.”
I just watched the first episode. its fascinating and I am totally hooked.
Corrrct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Polo originate in the UK, England ? Maybe I got that wrong. I do remember it being referred to as “the sport of kings” and Charles loved to play, it’s where he first met the Rottweiler and Diana was drug along to watch him play, with the smug Rottweiler looking on. Harry and Meghan could cure cancer and the couriers, presenters, royal family hacks would attack because they didn’t give Kate and Charles credit for, reasons, they will never win with them. They are the abusers who are bitter that their victims got away, and didn’t look back. They spew their venom, lie, sneer, and bully as if the rest of the world actually believes them. They have no idea how bad they look and the damage they are doing, to themselves and their reputation
Google says it originated in persia as a military training tool 2000yrs ago
One critique is that there isn’t enough of the Sussexes in it? They definitely still want all Sussex, all the time, and seem pissed they’re not getting it. Just started watching it. Found the first episode a bit choppy as it introduced the characters and explained sport but really getting into it. I am fascinated by Cambiaso and the living legend surrounding him. I could watch him all day. Plus he’s gorgeous. So many gorgeous people. Timmy and Tim are an interesting dynamic. Louis , hmmm, find him a bit extra. Love the ambition of it all. They criticize it as a rich man’s sport but seems everyone needs more money. I think the criticism is misdirected at the Sussexes because they want more access into their lives, instead of at the actual production. The series is good, has some pacing issues but am liking it so far.
It really shows you that Nacho is not a one-off in the looks department for polo. Adolfo Cambioso literally smolders LOL.
Oh my god, that man is gorgeous and so dynamic. He has something extra and so charismatic. I’m only on 2 episodes but liking the father son dynamic story arcs with him and the Tims. Although the series is beautiful boys on beautiful horses, gotta give it to the women who are in relationships with these guys whether its the wives or mothers because they really are the emotional support who have to deal with these driven egos while their own ambitions don’t necessarily get similar support. Really like Louis’ wife and his MIL is a pistol. Can’t wait to see the rest of the series ( pesky work-arrrgh).
Well I said it yesterday and I will say it again today, I agree with Kaiser , Harry and Meghan should promote their show . They are the names that people want to know everything about. I mean Meghan wears a pin and it sells out . Harry walks down the street and it’s front page news So why not use that sparkle and attention to sell polo .
If they want to promote it, the players in the series should be the ones out there. Yes a blurb from the Sussexes would be nice, and Archewell productions need to put something on their page, but the Sussexes are not the focus. It’s usually the cast that promotes the show and the actual show runner gave an interview in People. Docuseries in general are never gonna be promoted the way a Bridgerton or White Lotus will be. It’s niche.
I agree, L4Frimaire.
I decided not to engage with the haters on Twitter, but guys, can you believe they are claiming Megan is not fluent in Spanish? it’s hilarious, they admit they don’t speak the language themselves, yet they critique her pronunciation of the word “mayo”! (which was said perfectly in an Argentinian accent).
I’m not interested in polo, buy might watch this on the weekend.
The majority of Derangedeers barely manage to write coherently *in English*, not even mentioning their poor spelling and grammar.
Being fluent in Spanish never prepared me for the way Spanish is spoken in Latin America, in my case Colombia, where I spent a year in high school. And then we went on holiday to Peru, Chile, Argentina, where the language is called Spanish too, but…
The Haters should go out more, touch grass, and face facts of life — like the British monarchy not being the center of the universe, and the Wailses not someone who needs defending.
Meghan is fluent in Spanish and speaks with an Argentinian accent. Anyone who claims otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about or is lying.
The British did not create polo. It originated in Asia. The most demented of the British press continue to think the world revolves around the British royal family, and of course it does not. Polo requires two athletes-a horse and a rider. Polo is now an international sport. Horses are now very expensive to maintain and transport, so it has become “the sport of kings.” The sport and the human drama are very well presented. The father/son relationships, the mother/son relationships, and husband/wife relationships and boy/friend relationships are well presented. It’s a polished first rate documentary. I’m hoping for a couple of episodes on the horses and their training, the economics of keeping the stables in a second series. I think that would be fascinating.
The Sentbale Cup play was part of the narrative about the championship. Harry got to promote his charity in the documentary, and he has been playing polo to raise money for it for years. It was interesting to see the participation of Adolpho, Louie and Nacho all involved in the game. This series was created around the US polo championship in Wellington where the Sentabale cup was hosted. It gave us all a glimpse into the fundraiser. The part where Harry and Meghan were included was natural and organic.
I highly recommend the series. It is first-rate and its focus on a specific championship periods and its participants is what makes it compelling. I particularly found the narratives around the Duttas and Cambiosas very interesting- contrasting two father/son relationships that included the mothers as well.
Who cares? Rinse and repeat. The BM will never stop so just ignore. 2024 was the year I stopped worrying about H and M as it’s clear they are doing fine. I wasnt sure in the early days if they would be able to build new businesses etc while withstanding the onslaught of negativity but it’s clear they have. They have financial independence, friends, community, business and a foundation. Not everything they do will be a massive hit but they don’t need it to be. Just started watching the Polo and I’m liking it!
It’s expected British Media would “trash” anything Prince Harry and Meghan DoS does. They did the same for “Harry and Meghan” and PH’s autobiography, “Spare”. What’s disgusting is watching an entire country noticeably harassing The Sussexes, who do not mention the BRF; all of this because they escaped from the UK 5 years ago.
They should have promoted it, because it is not on the Netflix top 10 list or the “new and popular” page. I don’t blame them though – they get beat up no matter what they do! I have a feeling Polo will be another fail for H&M. I feel awful for the two of them.
“Another fail”? There are other failures? Please explain.
The only goal of those in the UK is for the Sussexes to fail at everything. That’s it. They don’t care whether it’s good or not or what the subject is. They want content of the Sussexes so they can call them fame whores, hence the griping that they’re barely in the series and it doesn’t talk about the royal family, lol. They want them to fail so they can say I told you so. Even if the Polo series gets good numbers and positive word of mouth, they’ll call it a failure if it isn’t in the top 10 or whatever.These people are nothing but vultures and have nothing worthwhile to contribute.
I think that failure is relative to what their expectations were in creating this film. Maybe your goal or expectations were for it to be in the top ten on Netflix, but nothing Harry and Meghan have released, be it books, movies or documentaries has ever been pushed to the point that it was about anything more than either getting their sides told or putting out something they believe in. Sometimes our own expectations don’t always align with theirs so to say they have failed without knowing what their main objective is, is saying that they failed you and not necessarily that they have failed themselves. Netflix has a ridiculous catalog of things to watch on their platform and to assume that their goal is to be top ten, seems unfair and overly presumptuous.
I think that comment really gets down to the root issue of a lot of the criticism around how visible Harry and Meghan are. A lot of people seem to want to use the Sussexes success to vicariously dunk on other people, and their lack of visibility doesn’t allow for that. Because honestly what do you really care whether or not Harry’s book is successful, or Megan’s lifestyle brand is successful, or a documentary they put out breaks records? If you enjoy something, your enjoyment of it doesn’t lessen if a bunch of people aren’t aware of it. The people that they are accountable to for success, the people that are relying on them for pay or the people that they have gone into these agreements with seem to be happy ( Meghan was literally just sitting at a table with Ted sarandos last week), it’s bizarre how fervent some people seem to be that they aren’t doing things to be as successful as they believe they should be.
Okay, please explain “another failure?”
Good grief, the only thing I do think they messed up with was the whole response to press about the NY chase thing. They got ripped by so many people I think that has made Harry and Meghan probably both going, we only respond if we have to at this point, so we don’t get beat up.
But also Netflix has it listed as New on Netflix. Jamie Foxx is #1 for obvious reasons and yep, he didn’t promote that show. Black Doves is getting incredible buzz (FYI, it’s really good) and so is The Madness, etc. etc. There’s some weird stuff in the top 10, at least to me though. That Marry show looks awful.
That’s exactly what trolls would say! Throw in a little disclaimer, such as “I like Harry and Meghan” before the hammer throw. No evidence is ever offered to support the hammer, though. Never examples or a an explanation of why they think that.
I’d hardly call their projects a failure. Archetypes was #1 on Spotify in 7 countries. It beat out Joe Rogan which is something no one had done since the Obamas. And you can’t fail what hasn’t launched, like Meghan’s cooking show and ARO. Look at the attention Invictus now gets. Not a failure.
I think we all could have predicted the British media response before seeing it. The Guardian article sounded like child not liking his vegetables. I looked at his previous bits and seemed to just be giant moans. I’m disregarding BM takes. I don’t think they’re in good faith.
I’ve got two episodes to go. The first one was a bit slow but I’ve warmed to it. In parts it feels like their other sports docs Drive to Survive and Break Point. And that’s how I’m watching it. Harry is almost irrelevant. It’s a Netflix sports doc and if you like the previous ones you’ll probably like this enough. Polo is like F1 for me in that they’re background sports so the people better get a little more interesting. The highlight was Tommy Paul watching a match.
The Telegraph complaining that there’s “not enough of the Sussexes to make this anything other than a dull indulgence about a rich persons pursuit” proves that they aren’t concerned with fair or accurate reporting because the docuseries is called POLO because the real attention is on the sport and not Harry and Meghan. The same way that the Guardian is showing how disingenuous and fair in their reporting about what they call “the stupidest, most obnoxious sport known to humanity” while being one of the media outlets that reports on the other royals participating in that very same sport. “Of course the British media raced to criticize the show” only proves that it didn’t matter if the show is great, which it is, or if they promoted it, the media was always going to unfairly criticize it and them. That is who this media and their critics have always been. The clip confirms that their haters were going to find something to create faux outrage about to be unhinged and dishonest about. The royals don’t have a monopoly on polo and the little we saw of Harry and Meghan makes it obvious that not everything is about the other royals or about them. They were willing to take a backseat to allow the real story to be told about Polo and some of it’s American players. I think that is partly why they don’t promote their stuff with Netflix (which obviously Netflix is okay with) because they know that sometimes putting yourself out there too much can create over exposure which can be a turn off and this film isn’t about them, but about Polo.
Went in it not expecting much since I don’t follow Polo at all, and I found myself halfway through episode 3 before I knew it. It’s a good series!
It is a sports doc featuring horses and good looking men. If either holds your interest and you don’t loathe the idea of horses being involved in sports/the risk of catastrophic injury to the horses, there is nothing to really object to. Look how many random ESPN docs exist and almost all are compulsively watchable even when the sport and the subjects are a bores. The rota is having to scrap a living with the dullest, most entitled and laziest left behinds imaginable. Harry and Meghan are gone for good. They are going broke during the nonexistent season 8 of the Crown.
“[T]he stupidest, most obnoxious sport known to humanity”? It would be interesting for a journalist to discover just how much money the brf has spent over the decades on polo when it’s described as this. From that perspective, the brf should have done something else with that money. Perhaps help feed the hungry. Just sayin’.
I haven’t started watching yet, but I will be. I like the fact that they are focusing on the players and families.
I highly recommend Polo. The sport is interesting and exciting. The series was well produced
I don’t know, they would have found a way to bully the Sussexes if they had promoted it. They have the right to be tired and to not want to promote the show.
British commentators are Harry and Meghan’s super fans after the Sussex Squad. They’re on top of everything they do. They are so obsessed with them. Did Harry and Meghan need to do publicity for the program so that the bots would automatically negative bomb it? No. I think it is an interesting move. The anti-Sussex folks are giving it views just so they know what to hate tweet about it.
The main characters are amazing and draw the viewers into their lives, thoughts, and the sport . I learned so much about polo. There is more to it than that the ritzy, elitist persona that we are typically shown about the sport. Can we all admit that Timmy Dutta is a hottie? I’m hoping for a season 2.
It’s comical that BM are upset that we don’t see Harry & Meghan much in the series and not one individual acknowledges the stale leftover royals. I loved see how important the Sentebale game is to the players and how Harry is loved and respected in the circle.
Everything H&M do will be attacked by the UK media and so called “experts”, so we shouldn’t be surprised that they go after Polo. Yes Polo is an elitist sport, as is F1 motor racing which Netflix has produced a series for a number of years.
WE should also remember that from the earliest days of H&M’s relationship the UK media, especially the tabloids, along with “experts” decided to launch a campaign of hate against them, which only got worse when they left for the USA. Why? because they wanted to control their destiny, and that was unforgivable for the UK media.
Now, this hatred and attacking everything H&M do is so ingrained into the writers and “experts” that they can’ help themselves to the point that when H&M do something they automatically attack them, it’s as if they have brainwashed themselves.
I agree that they should be pushing back on the British media narrative. At this point, I wonder if it has something to do with Harry’s lawsuits, because nothing else makes sense. Meghan knows how the industry works. It’s such a curious choice to remain quiet.
I think they did a great job with Polo. I’ve only watched the first two episodes, but there real-life stakes and serious money involved for some people on the show, there’s drama and pretty people, and there’s conflict which is needed if you’re making a sports documentary. They did a good job of simplifying the sport.
Ahhh, finally an equestrian! I felt so alone. I used to play polo, and everything you said is spot on. The ponies have better healthcare than most Americans.
About race horses: quarter horses are the most heartbreaking. Not a huge fan of racing (I do love an OTTB though – so rewarding), but I used to go to tracks for social things. Never again. The last time I was there, the first half of the day was a quarter horse racecard. They put 2 down that night in 8 races. I had to leave.
I hope one day Harry and Meghan along with their team stop moving in fear of the British media. At the very least there should have been a red carpet premiere event for this series. They consistently allow the UK media to create false narratives with no pushback. Their communication team is doing the bare minimum when at the very least Archwell Should have social media pages to promote their work.
@L4Frimaire
ITA! Can you imagine if the Cambiaso father and son duo and Timmy Dutta strolled those lithe muscular figures on a talk show set and set up a few action scenes from the series? Instant sex symbols! 🔥🔥🔥