Netflix cancels Meghan Markle's animated series

Netflix dropped Meghan Markle's animated series due to a wave of cutbacks caused by the streaming service's drop in subscribers. Pearl, the working title of the show created by Harry's wife, was canceled, Deadline confirmed.

The aforementioned animated saga of the American actress was one of the main projects of Archewell Productions. The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry launched the production company last year to create docuseries, documentaries, feature films, and children's 

Pearl, which was announced mid-last year, was to be a family series focusing on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl. The main theme was about finding inspiration from a variety of influential women throughout history.

"Like many girls her age, our heroine Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to overcome life's daily challenges. I am thrilled that Archewell Productions, in partnership with Netflix's powerful platform and these incredible producers, is bringing you this new animated series, which celebrates extraordinary women throughout history," Markle said when the series was announced.

The brainchild of Markle and David Furnish, Elton John’s husband, the show was still in the production stage and was part of a $100 million multi-year deal the Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed with Netflix in September 2020. This creative gift came shortly after leaving behind their duties as members of the British royal family.

Although Netflix canceled this celebrity project, the platform is still working with Prince Harry and his wife on the documentary series Heart of Invictus, which follows the recent Invictus Games, the games for war veterans that Harry founded in 2014. Princess Diana's son is executive producing the program, which will be directed by Oscar-winner Orlando von Einsiedel and producer Joanna Natasegara.

Netflix also canceled two other animated series for kids last week that were in production.