Netflix is expected to move away from “royal-linked vanity projects” under its new television chief, potentially making Meghan Markle a “casualty” of the streaming giant’s leadership shake-up, an insider has claimed amid the growing dispute surrounding The Gentlemen.
The controversy over the Duchess of Sussex’s reported connection to Guy Ritchie’s hit crime drama is said to have made her “very cautious” about taking on new scripts.
Industry figures have warned that the change could bring further uncertainty for Meghan and Prince Harry. Peter Rice, a veteran of 21st Century Fox and Disney, has replaced their reported “biggest champion”, Bela Bajaria, as Netflix’s chief content officer.
Bajaria played a key role in bringing Harry & Meghan and With Love, Meghan to Netflix. Staff at the company were reportedly stunned when she departed after a decade last week.
Rice, who was born and brought up in Britain, now oversees Netflix’s television and film slate. He is expected to introduce a notably different strategy at the streaming service.
“There will be major casualties. He is charged with finding the next Stranger Things or Emily in Paris, rather than some royal-linked vanity project,” a Netflix source said.
Meghan is reportedly keen to return to acting while continuing to develop her lifestyle brand, As Ever.
However, she is said to feel “used” by those involved with The Gentlemen after speculation emerged that she might join the cast. The rumours surfaced only four days before the Sussexes returned to the UK.
Guy Ritchie was reportedly involved in preliminary discussions with Meghan. Yet when asked about the possibility of the former Suits star appearing in the series, he allegedly responded: “Really?” and “Not a chance.”
A source close to the production insisted last night that the show had no need for “stunt casting”. The comments came after stars including Theo James and Ray Winstone reportedly appeared incredulous at suggestions Meghan might feature in a future season.
Meghan is said to have been upset by the episode and now intends to scrutinise scripts more carefully. Concerns have reportedly been raised that producers could use the possibility of her involvement as a publicity coup to attract attention.
Close friends of Meghan Markle have claimed she was “used” by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie’s hit series The Gentlemen (pictured in February in Los Angeles), although a source connected with the show later rejected the allegation
Maya Jama is filming the third season of The Gentlemen alongside Theo James
Ben Affleck and Meghan’s Netflix supporter Bela Bajaria pictured this month. Her departure from the streamer has caused surprise, with British-American executive and former Walt Disney Television chairman Peter Rice appointed as her replacement
Despite the shake-up, Netflix is still expected to compete for Harry’s reported documentary about his mother, Princess Diana, ahead of the 30th anniversary of her death next year.
Speculation over whether Meghan would return to acting began only days before she and Harry moved back to the UK with their children in late August.
People connected to Guy Ritchie’s hit series have denied that Netflix or the production used the Duchess of Sussex to promote its new season.
Sources close to Meghan accused the show’s team of publicising her possible involvement to create a media buzz. They claimed the experience had left her with a “sour taste” and less willing to consider new acting opportunities.
Those allegations, however, were firmly rejected by people with close links to The Gentlemen production.
“This is not a show in need of stunt casting,” a source close to the series told The Times.
On August 22, Tina Brown, the former editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, wrote on Substack: ‘I learned this morning that the casting of Meghan Markle in season 3 of Guy Ritchie’s series The Gentlemen has been withdrawn.
‘The backlash in the UK was so intense, it became untenable to go forward.’
Hollywood entertainment website Deadline also reported that Meghan had been in preliminary talks over a possible role in the third series of the Netflix crime drama.
The reports emerged just two days after it was revealed that she and Prince Harry were returning to Britain indefinitely with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
But less than a day after news of the talks emerged, they were reportedly abandoned amid a fierce ‘backlash’ from viewers.
In September, stars of The Gentlemen dismissed claims Meghan could join the cast, with Vinnie Jones insisting the show already boasts ‘a lot of pretty women’.
In his typically direct style, the British actor and former professional footballer said: ‘I think it’s hot air.’
He added: ‘We’ve got a lot of pretty women in this series, so I’m not sure there’s room for any more.’
Theo James, who plays drug baron Eddie Horniman, joked when asked about the Sussex rumours: ‘No. Prince Harry is playing one of my love interests. So that’s the Meghan Markle thing.’
He later said: ‘I think it’s a spurious rumour. She’d fit in well because she’s actually from the Royal Family, but I think the practicalities of that are impossible.’
Fellow Londoner Ray Winstone added: ‘It’s the first I’ve heard of it,’ but said she would be a ‘better-looking’ addition than him.
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Hugh Bonneville was equally dismissive, describing it as ‘a genius bit of marketing by the person who dreamt up that idea’, while new star Maya Jama said: ‘I’d be the last person to know.’
Guy Ritchie declined to give interviews on the red carpet where he could have quashed rumours that he had held preliminary talks with Meghan over a possible role in the hit’s third series.
But he is said to have responded with a simple ‘Really?’ when the Duchess’s name was first mentioned.
Asked if she had a realistic chance of appearing in the series, he reportedly responded: ‘Not a chance.’
Meghan’s Netflix deal lapsed last year after her lifestyle show, ‘With Love, Meghan’ was not renewed
Industry experts even claimed talk of Meghan being linked with a role in the show could have been leaked as a cynical PR tactic to create a buzz around her upcoming arrival in the UK.
Mark Borkowski, one of the UK’s leading PR gurus, said he felt ‘the timing of this has an ulterior motive to do what it’s doing, to generate as much attention as possible without saying anything at all’.
Addressing claims that it was a deliberate leak from the Sussex side, he told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s totally plausible because there’s not been a single quote from the production, so they’re enjoying all the publicity, it’s good for them.’
And now, two months after her involvement was first mooted, friends of the Duchess have broken cover to claim Meghan was ‘used to help promote’ season two of the show, which premiered last month and stars Theo James and Kaya Scodelario.
One source said Meghan was used to bolster publicity because Netflix knew the second series was not ‘as good as the first season’ and had ‘already commissioned a third’.
‘It’s the oldest marketing trick in the book: get a big name to read a script, then leak that you’re ‘in conversation’ with them when, in reality, nothing is particularly far along,’ the source told The Telegraph.
They also claimed the ordeal had ‘left a bit of a sour taste in the Sussex camp’s mouth’, adding that Netflix ultimately ‘got what it wanted’: publicity and higher viewing figures for the new season.
A show source said last night: ‘This is not a show in need of stunt casting,’ and denied Meghan was being used.
Audience figures showed official ratings for The Gentlemen fell by approximately 15 per cent from the debut of the first season, which was streamed by 3.5 million viewers in March 2024.
The first episode of season two had around three million British viewers in the week following its release on Netflix.
However, whether Meghan was ever seriously in the running for The Gentlemen has also been questioned.
Harry and Meghan also face the prospect of a radically different relationship with streaming giant Netflix following the departure of Bela Bajaria.
The Duchess previously had a longstanding relationship with Netflix, signing a $100million five-year deal with the service in 2020. However, the deal lapsed last year after her lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, received mixed reviews.
Its second series failed to make the top ten in either the UK or the US following its release.
A Netflix consultant who worked closely with Bajaria told The Times: ‘Effectively their biggest champion has gone and they are uncertain about who will be shouting for their cause in the future.
‘Teams at the company were well aware of how she was fiercely loyal to the couple and determined to prove they were a successful signing, even when the response from viewers was different.’
Before her marriage to Harry, the Duchess starred in the popular US legal drama Suits, playing lawyer Rachel Zane for seven seasons.
But after her final episode aired in 2018 and she joined the Royal Family, she stepped away from acting and has not taken a conventional acting role since.
Meghan is said to be keen to return to acting, both on screen and even on stage
In 2022, Meghan insisted she had no plans to return to acting, telling Variety: ‘I’m done. I guess never say never but my intention is to absolutely not.’
However, she has recently dabbled in a return to acting, taking a small part in the upcoming US film Close Personal Friends and making a cameo appearance as herself alongside Lily Collins and Brie Larson.
She also appeared as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia earlier this year, after filming the episode in Melbourne in April during a four-day tour of the country with Harry.
Another source said Meghan was now ‘very cautious’ about reading scripts for acting ventures because of the risk that her potential involvement could be leaked to the press.
They said whatever Meghan eventually stars in would ‘attract huge interest’.
‘The prospect of seeing her return to acting will drive big audiences,’ the source said. ‘And ultimately, someone – whether it’s Netflix, Amazon or another studio – is going to make a lot of money from it.’
The Duchess of Sussex declined to comment. Netflix has been approached for comment.