Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s £80 million Netflix deal and projects are thrown into chaos amid Hollywood writers’ strike

Production on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s future Netflix projects has become “difficult” due to the Hollywood writers’ strike, according to a source close to the couple.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a six-part documentary called ‘Harry and Meghan’ last December – the first project to emerge from the £80 million deal they signed with the network in 2020, shortly after stepping down as working royals.

Three weeks later, on New Year’s Eve, they released their second Netflix production ‘Live to Lead’, which was about world leaders who have fought for social justice.

Now the couple is said to be in talks for a third Netflix documentary about humanitarian issues in South Africa, in which they will meet local communities.

But that’s what a source close to the Sussexes told me The Daily Telegraph that it was “difficult” to move forward with Netflix projects because of the ongoing US writers’ strike.

Hilary Duff, Bob Odenkirk and Kevin Bacon are among the stars who have joined fellow actors on the picket lines during the biggest industrial strike in 60 years.

Strikes took place outside major Los Angeles studios yesterday, including Netflix, Warner Bros., Disney and Paramount, but two were cut short due to the heat.

The action began Friday after contract negotiations between actors’ union Sag-Aftra (Screen Actor’s Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) fell through.

About 160,000 actors are now on strike across the US, along with the 11,500 Writers Guild of America (WGA) members who walked out on May 2.

It is the first time that both unions have gone on strike since 1960, when Sag-Aftra was led by former US President Ronald Reagan.

Now the ongoing strike is also affecting plans for Harry and Meghan’s next Netflix documentary, which will see them visit South Africa – with the action meaning they can’t move forward with production just yet.

No official announcement has yet been made as to what the new program will be about, but the Sunday mirror reported last month that the pair could be shown helping to build homes in villages they visit.

A source told the newspaper that cameras will follow the Sussexes “as they visit connections and share medical education,” with the production being a combined project between Netflix and the couple’s Archewell Foundation.

The source added: “Meghan especially wants to share information about safe childbirth with the women she meets.”

Got a notification Page six claimed it could be a solo production for Harry, following in the footsteps of his mother Princess Diana, who also went to Africa to raise awareness of landmines.

And it would come after Harry and Meghan went on a royal tour to South Africa in 2019 when they were still working royals, meeting community members in townships around Cape Town while traveling with Archie.

While production of the new show is being planned, it has also emerged that the couple’s ‘Harry and Meghan’ series has been nominated for a Hollywood award.

During the show, they handed over a wealth of photos and videos of their relationship, including the moment Harry proposed.

The first three episodes feature a series of swipes at royalty, including Harry’s claim that he was “literally raised” by a “second family” in Africa, where he chose to spend three months in his late teens and twenties when he came to cope with the death of his mother.

It also claimed that the UK is more obsessed with race than the US, with Meghan stating that she “wasn’t really treated like a black woman” until she got here.

Harry and Meghan, directed by Liz Garbus, has been nominated for a Hollywood Critics Award in the Best Streaming Nonfiction category.

It takes on Prehistoric Planet 2; Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss; nerves; The 1619 Project and The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy.

The nomination comes after Harry and Meghan’s £18 million Spotify deal ended early, though the couple also still have Duke’s £29 million four-book deal.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood strike is still ongoing, meaning actors won’t be filming new projects or promoting their movies at junkets, premieres, awards shows or conventions, including the 2023 San Diego Comic Con, which kicks off Thursday.

The world premiere of new Disney film Haunted Mansion took place on Saturday at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, but without stars Owen Wilson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Tiffany Haddish.

The cast of Christopher Nolan’s new film Oppenheimer walked out of its London premiere last week as news of the impending strike broke, and scheduled movie junkets, including Barbie, have also been hit.

Independent film producers can get a waiver to continue filming despite the strike, as long as they operate outside the studio system.

Marvel star Mark Ruffalo was one of the high-profile actors to voice support for such waivers and potential profit sharing from successful independent films.

The contract between the union and the AMPTP, which represents major movie studios, TV networks and streaming giants, expired after negotiators failed to reach agreement on a number of issues, including pay and the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

The union said actors face an “existential threat to their livelihoods” with the rise of generative AI technology and the threat of unregulated use.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for Sag-Aftra, said studios had asked for the ability to scan background artists’ faces for a day’s work, then own their likeness and use it on future projects without permission or compensation.

The issue of pay has also been an important part of the negotiations as the advent of streaming has changed the way actors are compensated for their work.

In the past, they made money from residuals, where they would be paid based on reruns of their shows and movies, but streaming has seriously compromised this, with actors and writers saying their residuals have plummeted.

The union says members are striking for a fairer distribution of profits, but the AMPTP says negotiators chose to forego “the highest percentage increase in minimums in 35 years” in favor of a strike.

MailOnline has contacted representatives of the Sussexes today for comment.