Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s long-awaited documentary polo Made its debut on Netflix this week.
But you wouldn’t know it from the couple’s recent activities.
Yes, given that they executive produced the series and they both appear on camera in small cameo roles, you can expect Harry and Meghan to be working hard to promote polo,
Instead, they seem to be distancing themselves from the project, which might be a smart move given the ice-cold reception polo Received so far.
‘Polo’ staggered out of the gate
As a glorified reality show (the “docuseries” label is a bit of a stretch here), the show has been mostly ignored by critics.
In fact, only one review – two out of five ratings Guardian – Linked to Rotten Tomatoes.
“It’s cheesy and niche, and feels like a spoof documentary designed to play on the screen in the background of the episode inheritance” writes the outlet’s Stuart Heritage. Ouch.
“Critics everywhere have slammed the show. Harry and Meghan are box office poison. “Certainly everyone is running in every direction from this to avoid stinking up this giant bomb,” marketing expert Tony Case tells The Daily Beast.
“From a brand perspective, I’m not really sure anything can be done at this point to overcome consumers’ apparent indifference toward the Sussexes,” Case says.
“They set out to conquer America, only to discover that no one here found them or what they were claiming to be particularly compelling.”
outlet describes polo “A reality TV-style comparison has been made on polo.” selling sunset and this real housewives Franchise, without ratings.”
Harry and Meghan’s latest mistake
This is the latest in a long series of PR setbacks for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Signs of a decline in the couple’s popularity Stateside came earlier this year when Meghan’s Spotify podcast was canceled after just one season.
A source tells close to The magazine wrote that Harry and Meghan lost control of their latest project due to Netflix bosses, who wanted a serialized reality show, not a thought-provoking doc about a little-understood subculture.
“Harry and Meghan are putting on a brave face and saying it’s all good fun and ultimately nothing to get upset about,” the insider says.
“As far as they are concerned it is very unfair that they are blowing the matter out, they take issue with people who roll their eyes and call them reality TV sellouts.
The source added, “Meghan knows that no matter how she and Harry feel about this, perception is everything and now people are making fun of her in online forums.”
He added, “The truth is that it was largely out of their control.” “The owners wanted the series to appeal to the public and they pushed this reality TV inclination, so it’s not entirely their fault.”
The Beast also noted that Prince William may have subtly trolled Harry and Meghan by revealing that he is addicted to a different Netflix show – the Keira Knightley spy thriller. black pigeon,
This is the worst-case scenario for Harry and Meghan, who desperately needed a hit after a year of bad press and failed projects.
Now more than ever, Meghan will need to give her lifestyle brand a shot at moving into 2025.