Meghan Markle is reportedly parting ways with Netflix to take full ownership of her burgeoning jam business, amid uncertainties surrounding her $100 million (£74 million) agreement with the streaming service.
According to insiders, the 44-year-old Duchess of Sussex maintains a positive relationship with Netflix and is still on friendly terms with its CEO, Ted Sarandos.
Rumors suggest that Meghan aims to expand her Netflix-supported jam brand, As Ever, to an international audience.
A source shared with The Sun: “Meghan continues to have a good rapport with the Netflix team and shares a close personal friendship with Ted Sarandos. She is pleased to have full control over the company without causing any discord.”
“This is an opportune moment for Meghan to assume complete control, especially after her recent achievements.”
“While Netflix has been a supportive partner, Meghan has long desired to globalize the brand but felt restrained by the more cautious approach of Netflix’s team.”
Ahead of the launch of With Love, Meghan in March last year, the duchess said the ‘make or break’ cookery show helped her ‘find herself’ again.
She described herself as a ‘female founder’ and ‘entrepreneur’, but not an influencer.
It has been reported that Meghan Markle, 44, plans to take her jam empire global with her and Harry’s $100million (£74million) Netflix deal said to be in limbo
The Duchess of Sussex is suggested to be taking ‘complete control’ of her As Ever brand
‘I see myself as an entrepreneur and a female founder and if the brand ends up influential, then that’s great,’ she told People magazine.
Just 12 months later, suggestions that Meghan plans to go global with her brand come amid reports the $100million Netflix deal with Harry was ‘up in the air’.
Archewell Productions, the couple’s media company, announced in August 2023 that it was making a film based on Carley Fortune’s novel Meet Me At The Lake.
Netflix purchased the rights to the novel for $2.9million (around £2.2million) but nothing has yet materialised.
Three years on, the project is said to remain categorised as a development and is lacking in both cast and a director.
Page Six reported insiders as claiming the projects are in limbo.
‘Three years in development for a movie like this at Netflix isn’t good,’ a Hollywood source was reported as saying.
Plans for a movie version of Meet Me At The Lake marked a change in direction for the couple, away from tell-all documentaries about the Royal Family.
Harry and Meghan have also announced plans for a Netflix version of The Wedding Date, a 2018 novel by American author Jasmine Guillory
The novel, which sold 37,000 copies in its first week, is centred around a couple who first meet in their 30s – just like Meghan and Harry.
Themes in the book include postnatal depression, mental health and childhood trauma relating to the death of a parent.
The Sussexes, who recently returned from their tour to Jordan, have also announced their plans for a Netflix version of The Wedding Date, a 2018 novel by American author Jasmine Guillory.
Last August, the couple signed a new ‘multi-year’ contract with Netflix.
Meghan and Harry were described as ‘over the moon’ at the news, although it was understood to be far less lucrative than their previous one.
In a further blow, it emerged in January that the Duchess’s cookery show – which offered lifestyle tips from inside a rented £5million mansion near Meghan’s Montecito home – would not be returning for a third series on Netflix.
The second season of With Love, Meghan also failed to land in Netflix’s Top 10 US shows in its debut week, according to Forbes.
Insiders told Page Six that the 44-year-old’s pet project won’t be up for renewal – after the Duchess called it ‘a lot of work’.
One insider claimed: ‘It is not returning as a series. There have been conversations about holiday specials, but there’s nothing in the works yet.’
Another source said: ‘People will see similar cooking and crafting on Meghan’s socials for the brand, but more bite-sized.’
A spokesperson for As Ever said: ‘As ever is grateful for Netflix’s partnership through launch and our first year.
‘We have experienced meaningful and rapid growth and As Ever is now ready to stand on its own.
‘We have an exciting year ahead and can’t wait to share more.’
The Daily Mail has approached Netflix for comment.
