BREAKING NEWS: Meghan Markle’s animated series Pearl for Netflix gets dumped as streaming giant calls off Archewell project because of cutbacks
Netflix has dropped Meghan Markle’s animated series as part of a wave of cutbacks prompted by the streaming service’s drop in subscribers.
Pearl, the working title for Markle’s show, was been officially cancelled, Deadline reported Sunday.
The show, which was created by the Duchess of Sussex through Archewell Productions, was still only in the development stage.
Markle and Prince Harry Archewell Productions in autumn 2020 in an effort to create scripted series, docuseries, documentaries, features and children’s programming.
Pearl was slated to be the production company’s first animated series.
Despite dropping Pearl, insiders allege the streaming service remains optimistic about the Archewell deal and has a number of projects planned including documentary series Heart of Invictus.
Netflix has dropped Meghan Markle’s animated series as part of a wave of cutbacks prompted by the streaming service’s drop in subscribers
Netflix has made several cuts in recent days, including dropping two other children’s shows and firing staff.
Last week, the streaming service scratched Dino Daycare, which was created by Jeff King, and the South Asian-inspired adventure Boons and Curses. Both shows were already in production.
Sources familiar with the cancellations told Deadline that Netflix had warned producers to take projects still in the development stage elsewhere.
It is unclear if they offered Archewell Productions similar advice.
Markle announced the now-canceled program last July. She was taking on the role of ‘creator and executive producer’ – marking the first time the former actress and Suits star would work in the position of EP.
Filmmaker David Furnish, husband to musician Elton John, was also expected to serve as an executive producer on the series.
Markle said Pearl would ‘weave together fantasy and history’ while focusing ‘on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl’ as she attempts to ‘overcome life’s daily challenges’.
The streamer also began firing staff after missing its subscriber target by 200,000 people and watching the value of its shares tank by 50 percent in a month.
The company made the layoffs at Tudum, a website filled with stories that are meant to market Netflix’s programs. At least 10-15 staff tweeted about being fired, although the exact number dismissed remains unclear.
The site, named as an onomatopoeia for the sound you hear when a Netflix show begins, was meant to allow subscribers insider access to the company’s shows.
Netflix refused to tell the Los Angeles Times how many jobs were cut, merely saying ‘our fan website Tudum is an important priority for the company.’
Some of those laid off took to Twitter, saying that the company had only hired them months earlier. Their dismissals come after Elon Musk said ‘the woke mind virus’ had left many of Netflix’s Originals ‘unwatchable.’