Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Netflix shows: Cooking and polo

television

from Michael Starr

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are branching out and expanding their Netflix roles.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have two new non-fiction projects with the streamer – one is a cooking show and the other is a polo series.

Both programs fall under the deal they signed with Netflix under their company Archewell Productions.

The first series will feature Meghan Markle, which “celebrates the joy of cooking, gardening, entertaining and friendship,” according to Deadline. It will be produced by a division of Sony Pictures Television, which is also behind “The D’Amelio Show” (Hulu) and “Leah Remini: Scientology & the Aftermath” (A&E).

The showrunner will be Leah Harriton (“Selena & Chef”), and the series will be directed by Michael Steed (“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown”). The “Suits” alum will serve as one of its executive producers.

The new deal comes as Markle launches her new venture American Riviera Orchard.

The second show will follow the world of professional polo and will be filmed mostly at the US Polo Open in Wellington, Florida at the USPA National Polo Center. It will “pull back the curtain on the grit and passion of the sport, capturing players and everything it takes to compete at the highest level.”

Prince Harry plays polo and is a big fan of the sport. According to Page Six, he is expected to make a cameo in the project.

This series will be produced by Boardwalk Pictures (“Chef’s Table,” “Pepsi,” “Sex, Love & Goop”). It will be hosted by Milos Balach (FX’s “Welcome to Wrexham”), and Harry and Meghan will serve as executive producers.

Meghan and Harry have a history with Netflix; in 2022, they launched their six-episode documentary series Harry & Meghan and also produced the interview series Live To Lead, which features chats with Greta Thunberg and Gloria Steinem, among others.

Harry launched his Heart of Invictus documentary series last year.

The couple also bought the screen rights to Carly Fortune’s book Meet Me At The Lake – with the hope of turning it into a movie. It’s about a couple who meet in their thirties and “deal with themes of childhood trauma, including losing a parent in a car accident, mental health challenges and postpartum depression,” according to Deadline.

Markle also signed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media in February, which will see her launch a new podcast series, with Lemonada distributing her Spotify series “Archetypes.”