On the menu: Meghan Markle to star in Netflix cooking show (and Harry will cameo in polo series)
· New York PostMeghan Markle and Prince Harry are branching out and expanding their roles at Netflix.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have two new nonfiction projects with the streamer — one a cooking show and the other a series about polo.
Both programs fall under the deal they signed with Netflix under their Archewell Productions company.
The first series will feature Markle and “celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining and friendship,” according to Deadline. It will be produced by an arm 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 Hariton (“Selena & Chef“) and the series will be directed by Michael Steed (“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown”). The “Suits” alum will be one of its executive producers.
The new deal comes after Markle launched her new venture, American Riviera Orchard.
The second show will follow the world of professional polo and will be shot mostly at the US Open Polo Championship 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 all it takes to compete at the highest level.”
Harry plays polo and is a huge fan of the sport. According to Page Six, he is expected to make cameos on the project.
That series will be produced by Boardwalk Pictures (“Chef’s Table,” “Pepsi,” “Sex, Love & Goop”). Its showrunner will be Milos Balac (FX’s “Welcome to Wrexham“) and Harry and Meghan will be among the executive producers.
Meghan and Harry have a history with Netflix; in 2022 they launched their six-episode docuseries “Harry & Meghan” and also made the interview series “Live to Lead,” which included chats with Greta Thunberg and Gloria Steinem, among others.
Last year, Harry launched his docuseries “Heart of Invictus.”
The pair also bought the screen rights to Carley Fortune’s book “Meet Me at the Lake” — hoping to turn it into a movie. It’s about a couple who meet in their 30s and “deals with themes of childhood trauma, including losing a parent in a car crash, mental health challenges and post-natal depression,” per Deadline.
Additionally, Markle signed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media in February, in which she will launch a new podcast series, with Lemonada distributing her Spotify series “Archetypes.”