EXCLUSIVE: Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex is cooking up two new projects with Netflix.
Deadline can reveal that The Duchess has two non-fiction projects in production at the streamer. They form part of the overall deal that her and husband, Harry, The Duke of Sussex, signed with the company in 2020 via their Archewell Productions banner.
The first series will see The Duchess, otherwise known as Meghan Markle, celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship.
It will be produced by Sony Pictures Television’s The Intellectual Property Corporation, which is behind series including Hulu’s The D’Amelio Show and A&E’s Leah Remini: Scientology & the Aftermath.
Selena + Chef’s Leah Hariton will serve as showrunner with Michael Steed, who has helmed episodes of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, directing.
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex and Chanel Pysnik will exec produce for Archewell Productions alongside Hariton and Aaron Saidman and Eli Holzman for IPC.
It comes after Meghan launched her new business venture American Riviera Orchard.
The second series follows the world of professional polo. Shot primarily at the U.S. Open Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida, at The USPA National Polo Center, the series will explore the world of the sport, which is known primarily for its aesthetic and social scene. It will pull the curtain back on the grit and passion of the sport, capturing players and all it takes to compete at the highest level. Prince Harry has been known as a keen polo player and is often photographed playing internationally.
The series will be produced by Boardwalk Pictures, the production company behind series such as Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? and Sex, Love & Goop.
Miloš Balać, who has worked on FX’s hit docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, will serve as showrunner.
Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will exec produce alongside Pysnik for Archewell Productions, with Andrew Fried, Sarina Roma, and Dane Lillegard exec producing for Boardwalk Pictures and Balać and Ian Samplin also exec producing.
Both untitled shows are in early stages of production.
It is the pair’s latest projects at Netflix; the Harry & Meghan docuseries from the couple launched in December 2022 with six episodes. They also made Live To Lead, an interview series featuring the likes of Greta Thunberg and Gloria Steinem, and Harry’s Heart of Invictus documentary series launched last year
Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria recently said that they have a “bunch” of projects in development including a movie and a scripted series.
Bajaria didn’t disclose what any of these projects were but last year the duo, who run Archewell Productions, acquired the screen rights to Carley Fortune’s Meet Me At The Lake novel to turn into a movie. It tells the story of a couple who meet in their thirties, and deals with themes of childhood trauma, including losing a parent in a car crash, mental health challenges and post-natal depression.
All of this comes after Deadline revealed in February that Meghan signed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media, the company behind Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The move will see her launch a new podcast series and Lemonada will also distribute her previous Spotify series Archetypes to all podcast platforms.