Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's animated series Pearl dropped by Netflix
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's upcoming animated series, Pearl, has been dropped by Netflix.
According to Deadline, the royal's project, which was in the development stage, was "quietly dropped" by executives at the streaming service following its loss in subscribers and fall in stock price.
Meghan served as an executive producer on the series alongside David Furnish, under the Archewell Productions banner she shares with Prince Harry. It was to be Archewell's first animated series.
Pearl, which was announced last summer, was expected to follow the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who finds inspiration from influential women throughout history.
The subscriber loss prompted the streaming service to cancel a number of projects in development. It cancelled two other in-production children's animated shows - Dino Daycare and Boons And Curses - last week.
Archewell Productions and Netflix announced a multi-year production deal in February 2021. While Pearl has been axed, it is believed their upcoming documentary series, Heart of Invictus, about Harry's Invictus Games, is still going ahead.
Reacting to the cancellation, Pearl executive producer and showrunner Amanda Rynda tweeted, "It's so sad when companies face hard times, it's these types of projects that get cut. This series was heartwarming & funny. It would have inspired young girls and spoke to the underrepresented. It would have been so meaningful to our audience.
"I'm feeling for our team & everyone who helped along the way. It was an honor to lead such a talented team from around the world. You brought an abundance of passion to Pearl and I'm SO proud of what we were able to accomplish & very grateful to have worked with each of you."
