Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are facing another setback in the world of entertainment – after it was reported this week that their $100million Netflixmegadeal is coming to an end.
Now, their adaptation of romantic novel Meet Me At The Lake is understood to be hanging in the balance and ‘may never happen’, according to sources in PageSix.
The Sussexes announced in August 2023 that they would be producing the film for the streaming giant – but two years later and Archewell productions is reportedly yet to hire a director or pick a cast.
A source in Hollywood told the outlet: ‘By this point, you would have thought they would have got a director on board and a cast. So what is the delay?’
‘And when you make something for Netflix, it takes a long time for it to actually hit the streamer – there is so much to do in post production, to make sure it’s ready for every country. If the deal is up this year, then when is this film going to be made?’
Earlier this week, it was claimed that Meghan and Harry’s hopes of a new Netflix deal are ‘dead’ after their two most recent shows – With Love, Meghan and Polo – flopped.
However, the Sussexes could be in line to sign a ‘first-look’ deal with the streamer like the Obamas when their exclusive deal ends later this year, PageSix reported.
‘There are more TV projects coming soon with both the duke and duchess,’ a source added.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are facing another setback in the world of entertainment following the reported end of their Netflix deal (pictured in August 2024)
Earlier this week, it was claimed that Meghan and Harry’s hopes of a new Netflix deal are ‘dead’ after their two most recent shows – With Love, Meghan (pictured) and Polo – flopped
MailOnline has reached out to representatives for Netflix and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.
Carley Fortune’s Meet Me At The Lake, which the Sussexes acquired for a reported £3million, echoes their personal story and includes a character whose parent dies in a car crash.
New York Times bestselling author Fortune’s second novel is a romance about two long-lost lovers, Will and Fern, whose paths cross by chance a decade after first meeting and sparks fly between the pair.
Sources previously described the book as ‘right up their alley’ because they ‘love love stories and rom-coms’.
Experts previously said it could be a ‘huge hit’ for the platform, like Purple Hearts, one of Netflix’s most successful films ever.
The book has just the right formula to bring in millions for Netflix, film expert and founder of Movie Metropolis Adam Brannon told MailOnline at the time.
‘There is potential for Meet Me at the Lake to be one of Netflix’s most popular films, joining the likes of Red Notice, The Adam Project, Purple Hearts and Extraction.
‘Romance films, especially those based on novels generally perform very well on the streaming service, becoming sleeper hits in which they silently rack up millions of viewing hours over longer periods of time when compared to all-out blockbusters’.
Now, their adaptation of romantic novel Meet Me At The Lake is understood to be hanging in the balance
Meghan has most recently launched a range of wines but a Netflix insider has claimed the sales have been poor
Prince Harry in Polo S1, which was watched by just 500,000 people, and was at a lowly 3,436 out of 7,000 shows
The Duchess of Sussex has ‘had everything going for her’ but the viewing figures for With Love, Meghan have still been ‘dismal’, an insider at the streamer reportedly said.
Meghan’s lifestyle show failed to break into Netflix’s top 300 programmes for the first half of 2025 and was even thrashed by multiple seasons of Suits.
Harry’s passion project documentary Polo ranked at a disastrous 3,436 out of 7,000 shows and was only watched by 500,000 people in six months.
A second season of With Love, Meghan, was announced by the Duchess herself as the first season came out in March this year as part of the couple’s $100million deal with the streaming giant, which expires this year.
But a Netflix source claimed: ‘This deal is dead.
‘She had everything going for her—name, platform, press—and the numbers were dismal.
‘They’re just waiting for the credits to roll. They’re letting it expire without drama. There’s no appetite for anything new.’
Formerexecutive editor of the American edition of Ok! magazine, Rob Shuter, has claimed that the streaming giant will not offer them a new contract once it concludes.
Meghan has not posted in over two months on ShopMy – and her social media presence has notably quietened
Her jams sold out immediately. She has denied this was a stunt
‘The interest just isn’t there anymore. They went from buzzy to background noise’,a Netflix source told Mr Shuter.
Some experts have even claimed that Netflix will want ‘to keep a vague hand in’ with them in case Meghan and Harry ever split up, so they can get in first with a docu-series on a divorce.
There are rumours that they could leave the door open for one-off projects with the Sussexes, although apart from their fly-on-the-wall documentary, Harry & Meghan, most of their shows have been considered flops.
As Ever, which showed Meghan cooking, gardening and hosting friends, was outperformed by hundreds of shows in the first six months of this year.
Millions more people watched repeats of Suits, which made Meghan Markle a star before she met Prince Harry.
Its 5.3million viewers put it roughly on a par withthe second series of BBC hit Peaky Blinders, a 2007 series of Gossip Girl, kids show Grizzly and the Lemmings and a true crimeshow calledWorst Ex Ever.
Another ‘nail in the coffin’ for the Netflix deal was that Meghan’s Napa Valley wine ‘isn’t selling’ and ‘there is no great demand’, an insider at the streaming giant claimed yesterday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have also fallen out of favour with A-listers, especially the former Suits star, MailOnline’s source said.
Meghan Markle show with Netflix, With Love, Meghan,was a relative flop, new official figures reveal.
Netflix will not be renewing their $100million deal with Meghan and Harry after her latest show struggled with poor reviews – but they may keep them on side if the worst were to happen with their relationship, it has been claimed
‘No one in Hollywood rates them anymore or wants to be around them, especially her’, the insider said, adding: ‘People are bored with them’.
Netflix has been working with Meghan to launch and promote her products, some of which have been made by their preferred suppliers, including her jam.
MailOnline’s insider at the streaming giant has said that Meghan’s rosé, which promises to ‘capture the essence of sun-drenched outdoor moments’, has not been a huge success and this was another ‘nail in the coffin’ for the $100million broadcast deal.
‘The wine isn’t selling’, they said, adding: ‘There’s no great demand whatsoever’.
Commenting on As Ever’s claims the wine sold out in an hour, the source added: ‘It’s small batch’ – meaning it was only ever produced in a small quantity.
Netflix believes the launch has shown that ‘there isn’t a demand for her wine from a mass market point of view’ and this means a bigger and more lucrative supermarket or department store deal is ‘unlikely’, the source claimed.
Customers had to purchase a minimum of three bottles for $90 or six bottles for $159, and 12 bottles for $300. This mean there was a minimum spend of $119, as buyers were also charged $20 for shipping, plus taxes.
2025 has been billed as the year the Sussexes would relaunch. As well as Meghan’s new TV show and lifestyle business, the couple have been out and about at concerts including multiple Beyonce shows.
Meghan celebrates the announcement of her second series despite series one not making it into Netflix’s top 300 shows of 2025 so far. But a source has claimed that Netflix are ‘waiting for the credits to roll’ on that series and will not renew
There was also a flurry of activity on Meghan’s Instagram account, including a number of personal family video such as twerking when about to give birth.
‘Meghan hasn’t posted on her own socials for nearly a month’, MailOnline Netflix insider said.
‘The issue is that there’s no consistency and people are bored with them. Many stars go silent and in the background are building their brand and equity but it feels like Harry and Meghan are losing their way even more.
‘The Netflix deal not being renewed will have a big impact on them as they are running out of options of who will work with them and reap in the future.
‘As Ever has a good fan base and a strong database of subscribers to its newsletter but consistency is key and it’s not delivering on this so people will quickly be bored and the novelty is wearing off now for most’.
‘There’s no animosity from either side’, one source told The Sun.
‘Things have just run their course.
‘Netflix execs are well aware Meghan’s priority now is her own brand, and they won’t play second fiddle to that’.
Meghan Markle shared a series of cosied up snaps of her and Prince Harry enjoying Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter tour as their public appearance increased
She also posted a video of her and Prince Harry dancing in a hospital room ahead of Lilibet’s birth as part of a flurry of Instagram activity
Meghan’s As Ever brand was originally known as American Riviera Orchard, after the area in which they live.
Five months after Megxit in February 2020, the Sussexes bought their house in Montecito for $14.65million (£10,890,000).
In their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey the following year, which took place while Meghan was pregnant with daughter Lilibet, Prince Harry reflected on their money-making activities to date.
He said their deals with Netflix and Spotify had both been driven by financial necessity.
The prince said he was cut off by his family in the first quarter of 2020, shortly after he and Meghan announced they would step back as senior members of the royals.
He added that he still had the money left to him by his late mother, Princess Diana.
‘Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to do this,’ he said, referring to the family’s move to California.
