Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s latest Netflix venture, Polo, has ended the year with a thud, failing to capture the public’s attention in any meaningful way. Despite the couple’s names attached as executive producers, the series never made it into Netflix’s top ten in any regional market, signaling a significant misfire for their ambitious content. The show was meant to be a stylish exploration of the elite polo world, a sport associated with wealth, drama, and luxury. However, it ended up feeling like a niche project that lacked the passion and excitement to engage audiences.
Critics have been harsh, with Eric Schiffer, chair of Reputation Management Consultants, calling it a “pompous portrayal of privilege.” The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage described the series as “a spoof without realizing it’s a spoof.” The show’s dry sales pitch by Harry himself, which promised an “unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look” at the sport’s elite players, did little to stir excitement. The series, rather than delivering on the promise of grit and high-stakes drama, left audiences underwhelmed, with the Rotten Tomatoes audience score plummeting to a dismal 27 percent. Descriptors like “tedious” and “utterly unrelatable” dominated the reviews.
This failure adds to the growing list of stumbles in the Sussexes’ post-royal media empire, which has seen a mix of hits, like Harry & Meghan, and forgettable flops, such as Live to Lead and Heart of Invictus. Their $100 million Netflix deal, once seen as a promising opportunity, is now being questioned as they struggle to deliver the kind of content that justifies such a hefty investment.
Rumors of Meghan’s cooking show continue to swirl, but it remains little more than a dream. The Sussexes may have hoped to redefine the entertainment landscape, but it seems they’ve instead become experts in creating a lot of noise without much substance. With Polo’s failure, their next move will need to be much more compelling if they hope to salvage their media reputation.