Harry and Meghan’s $20m podcast deal with Spotify is ending after just 12 episodes in two years. Could it be that the Sussexes’ undoing was not laziness or “grifting”, but rather that they’ve simply run out of things to say?
It would be nice, if only for a brief moment, if the curious case of Harry and Meghan could be heard without an overwhelmingly biased jury. So much of what is written and said about the pair exists, from conception, to fall firmly one side of a binary, polarised aisle. To claim this article is wholly objective would be disingenuous (I’ll admit now: I don’t awfully like ‘em), but I think it’s worth trying to accurately appraise – post-Meghxit, post-Netflix, post-Spare and now post-Spotify – where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex go from here.
Since it became evident they wanted to continue in the public eye, here is a destination they were always going to get to. Some might have envisioned they’d get here sooner, some later, but there would always come a time for Harry and Meghan to fly the nest and produce their own, un-royal-related ‘content’. That’s here.
Credit: Netflix
I suppose we got a glimpse with Archetypes, the only podcast the pair released with Spotify. The 12 episodes were a who’s-who series of interviews; Serena Williams, Trevor Noah, Mariah Carey just some of the big names to parle avec Meghan. While not much of a critical success, Archetypes was nonetheless a hit for Spotify, topping a series of charts and winning a People’s Choice Award. Just how many of Meghan’s Hollywood contacts it had already burned through, or how much more appetite there was for these kinds of manicured conversations, however, is tough to say. The fact Spotify actively chose not to renew the series, according to the Hollywood Reporter, is perhaps the most concrete evidence of the direction Archetypes was heading.
What other podcast ideas could they have had? A cursory glance of the Archewell Audio mission statement does not reveal much. Still highlighting the exclusive agreement with the Spotify, it says they hope “to spotlight diverse perspectives and voices” and “produce podcasts and shows that build community through shared experiences, powerful narratives, and universal values.”
If a little vague, there is certainly some appeal for this kind of storytelling, if done well. Where Harry and Meghan may run into a spot of bother, now they’re here, is that their “shared experiences” are shrinking, their “universal values” are palpably non-universal and the voices and narratives they want to amplify have been amplified by people better-suited to amplifying them. Further still, these podcasts are a luxury, they exist as entertainment; we’re yet to see the Sussexes really demonstrate the natural charisma needed to entertain through their storytelling alone.
So, what does that leave?
For Harry’s part, his main, commercial pull is the bloodline. When a prominent figure draws back the curtain on The Firm – as the couple like to call the Windsor clan – people will want to listen. The first question becomes, now he’s released the alarmingly revealing memoir Spare, what more does Harry have to say? And, secondly, from that amorphous pool of secrets, how much is Harry willing to share? The answer to both of those questions will invariably change over time. As generations of the royal family come and go, and Harry continues to himself mature in Montecito, what he can and wants to say will change.
For Meghan’s part, her main commercial pull is her connection the bloodline. She had a successful career before meeting her prince, and is clearly capable, but marrying Harry is what promoted her from semi-famous actress, to one of the world’s most recognised faces. She’s already cashed in on the love-story: if not as earth-shatteringly romantic as the pair might think, people love a fairy tale, and on Netflix we saw the acoustic guitars, the fedoras and the proposal. There was the racial aspect of Meghan joining the royal family and dealing with the British tabloid press. People wanted to hear about this stuff. Now, in considerable part, at least, they have.
Having all of this already out there strands Harry and Meghan in something of a semi-even playing field. They are still a massive pull, of course, and anything they attach their name to will attract interest, but their podcasts, television shows, movies and books will have to start speaking for themselves.
Speculating, entirely, I don’t think Harry and Meghan suffered from laziness. Contrary to Bill Simmons’ heated remarks, I wouldn’t brand them “f****** grifters”. It’s possible they were arrogant, and likely they were entitled, but I wouldn’t for a second question their ambition nor their fondness for the limelight. That’s not a criticism. I’d suggest the same is true for lots of people, especially in celebrity circles.
Where Harry and Meghan are more unique in this A-list tier – those few able to fetch $20m podcast deals – is actually in the scope of what they can say. I won’t say they’re less talented, but they’ve indisputably only reached this plane of stratospheric fame due to who and what they were, rather than where they are now.
Unless they can find original, new things to say, here might be the end of the road. They could prove me wrong. If not, raising a young family away of media intrusion, in a beautiful home in California… Well, that sounds pretty good to me.
