Netflix Cancels Meghan Markle's Animated Cartoon Series' Series Amid Cutbacks During Development

Netflix has secretly canceled Meghan Markle's forthcoming animated series, Pearl. The musical was still under development, thanks to the Duchess of Sussex's Archewell Productions.

The streaming giant's first animated series 'Pearl' was meant to depict the narrative of a 12-year-old girl researching notable women in history. According to Deadline, it was canceled as part of budget cuts due to a drop in subscribers.

What Is Meghan Markle's 'Pearl' Series All About?

The cancellation of the show was verified by Hollywood sources. Together with Elton John's husband David Furnish, Meghan Markle served as executive producer for the show.

"Like many young girls her age, our protagonist Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she strives to conquer life's everyday problems," Meghan said, adding that the series was created as family entertainment to empower young girls.

Last week, Netflix also canceled Dino Daycare and Boons and Curses, two children's shows that were in development. According to sources, Archewell Productions and Netflix are still collaborating on additional projects.

Last year, the Sussexes inked a $139 million agreement with Netflix, but they have yet to create anything for them. When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the megabucks relationship in September of last year, they said they aimed to create material that both educates and inspires.

The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry established Archewell in Autumn 2020 to produce scripted series, docu-series, documentaries, films, and children's programming, according to The Sun. The Invictus Games for injured veterans, which Prince Harry established, will be held in The Hague in 2022, and the series will center on participants competing in that event. A request for comment from the BBC was not immediately returned.

Netflix also announced the cancellation of two animated children's programs, Dino Daycare and Boons, and Curses. Netflix said in April that its overall number of members had fallen by 200,000 in the first three months of this year, well short of its goal.

It also predicted that two million more subscribers will abandon the service in the three months leading up to July. Some experts worried that the corporation has run out of easy methods to build the business following a time of rapid expansion during the pandemic.

Consumers who are strapped for cash are cutting back on streaming services while others believe there is too much content to pick from in the face of fierce competition from companies like Disney and Amazon, as per BBC.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Archewell Productions

While their current ethos has been to push out as much content as possible, all new content and originals will be subject to quality control. Netflix appears to have recognized their initial drop in subscribers as a turning point in their approach.

In the first quarter, the company's stock dropped more than 20%, and it lost 200,000 paying users while projecting 2.5 million additional subscribers. In the second quarter, they anticipate losing another two million global members.

Many Archewell productions projects are still in the works, including a docu-series called Heart of Invictus, which is based on the Invictus Games, a global adaptive sports championship for wounded warriors, injured and sick soldiers, and women. Meghan also announced the launch of her Archetypes podcast via Spotify.

The program, which will begin streaming this summer, will shed light on gender stereotypes. Meghan Markle will host the audio series, which will concentrate on the history of gender preconceptions and designations, Unilad reported.