Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's documentary series is set to launch on Netflix soon – we hope – but that doesn’t mean the production is drama-free.
The Sussexes will be the primary subjects of a docuseries directed by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus. Rumours about the project's status are circulating, especially amid reports that the unofficial release date was delayed. Some said the couple was unhappy with their portrayal; others report that Meghan and Harry wanted to walk back some comments about the royal family in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. The resulting media circus could arguably rival that of Don’t Worry Darling.
As the second explosive trailer drops, here’s everything we know so far about the docuseries, which both Netflix and the Sussexes have been pretty tight-lipped about:
What will Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's documentary cover?
Speaking with The Cut earlier this summer, Meghan Markle denied that the project is a “reality show.” According to writer Allison P. Davis, the duchess then noted “a difference between a historical documentary and a reality docuseries.”
As for what the show will portray, Meghan said viewers can expect “the piece of my life I haven’t been able to share, that people haven’t been able to see — our love story.”
In the latest trailer for the series, which just dropped, Harry begins by saying: “It’s really hard to look back on it now and go…what on earth happened?”
We then see Meghan getting swarmed with attention and praise from the public before Meghan appears on camera and says: “And then… everything changed.”
Harry then explains: “There's a hierarchy of the family, there’s leaking but also planting of stories," whilst guest commentators add: “There was a war against Meghan to suit other peoples agendas", and “it is about hatred and race.”
Speaking to camera, Harry notes: “It’s a dirty game. The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution, this feeding frenzy. I was terrified, I didn’t want history to repeat itself ,” and Meghan adds: “I realised, they’re never going to protect you.”
The dramatic trailer closes with Harry saying: “No one knows the full truth, we know the full truth.”
We.are.on.tenterhooks.
In the first trailer for the series, Prince Harry is asked, “Why did you want to make this documentary?” – to which he responds, “No one sees what’s happening behind closed doors,” adding, “I had to do everything I could to protect my family.”
Speaking directly to the camera, Meghan Markle then says, “When the stakes are this high, doesn't it make more sense to hear the story from us?”
You can watch the two trailers here:
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“I ended up quitting the show. I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage.”
When is it coming to Netflix?
According to the trailer, the series is “coming soon.”
After a lot of uncertainty, People reported on November 17 that the docuseries will hit Netflix in December 2022. (No, for real this time.)
But according to a Deadline report from October 2022, the series unofficial release date was always set for December 2022, on the heels of the new season of Netflix’s The Crown. However, the streamer then reportedly pushed the documentary to an unknown date in 2023 because of backlash to some of the storylines on season five of The Crown. Now it looks as if everything’s back on track.
Here’s the summary of events, as per Deadline: On October 15, former British prime minister John Major complained about an episode in which Prince Charles (played by Dominic West) complained to Major (Jonny Lee Miller) about how long he’s had to wait to become king. The ex-PM claims that no such conversation ever happened.
While The Crown is based on true events, it is a fictionalised version of those events and has never positioned itself as non-fiction. That said, following the backlash, executives at Netflix were reportedly “rattled,” according to Deadline’s anonymous source. “They blinked first and decided to postpone the documentary.”
Then, yet another report from October stated that Deadline’s story was false and that Netflix would still air the documentary series in December as planned. Now we know!
We’ll be waiting with bated breath until the specific date is revealed…
The Duchess praised the show Insecure for fighting against the trope and also mentioned the results of a DNA test.
Meghan Markle doesn’t seem to be the series’ biggest fan.
Gossip has circulated for weeks that Meghan and Harry are not happy with the documentary. On October 4, Page Six reported that the Sussexes were demanding edits in the wake of Queen Elizabeth’s death in September. According to the rumours, the couple wanted to walk back some of what they said about Charles and Camilla, now King and Queen Consort.
In an interview with Variety released October 19, Meghan implied that the documentary is not exactly what she envisioned. “It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story — a seasoned director whose work I’ve long admired — even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it,” she said, referencing director Liz Garbus. “But that’s not why we’re telling it. We’re trusting our story to someone else, and that means it will go through their lens.”
When was Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's documentary filmed?
The Sussexes finalised a multi-year deal with Netflix in September 2020 for content focused on documentary projects, feature films, televisions series, and children’s shows, per The New York Times. Since then, cameras have been spotted following them around, meaning that the doc will most likely focus on their lives over the past two years, post-royal family.
“Oh, I’m in the thick of it."
Who is the director?
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s documentary series is directed by award-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus.
Garbus has directed documentaries, including the Oscar-nominated The Farm: Angola, USA, which followed the lives of inmates at a prison in Louisiana. Garbus also directed films about public figures, including Marilyn Monroe (Love, Marilyn), Nina Simone (What Happened, Miss Simone?), and chess champion Bobby Fischer (Bobby Fischer Against the World).
A version of this article originally appeared on GLAMOUR's US site.
