Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s latest Netflix project, Polo, has failed to crack the streaming giant’s top ten in any region, including the United States and the UK.
Polo struggles to find an audience
The five-part series, which premiered on December 10, was executive-produced by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Despite its royal backing, the documentary has been met with dismal reviews from both critics and audiences.
Harry and Meghan only appear briefly in the series, in footage shot at a charity polo tournament in Florida. The focus is on elite polo players competing in the US Open Polo Championship, with storylines revolving around on-field injuries and family rivalries.
Harsh reviews
Critics have widely panned the series:
- The Guardian called it an “unintentionally hilarious profile of the world’s stupidest sport,” adding that it feels like a spoof.
- The Times described it as “tedious” and “utterly unrelatable,” accusing Harry of making “a TV show only he would watch.”
- Reputation expert Eric Schiffer told Newsweek the series reeks of privilege, branding it “the new frontier of unrelatability.”
Audiences have been equally unimpressed, with Polo scoring just 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Another setback for the Sussexes
This marks another streaming disappointment for Harry and Meghan, whose Netflix projects have struggled to find consistent success. Their earlier documentaries Live to Lead and Heart of Invictus similarly failed to gain traction.
The one notable exception remains their 2022 docuseries Harry & Meghan, which became one of Netflix’s most successful documentaries with over 81.6 million hours viewed in its first four days.
Future projects in doubt
Uncertainty looms over whether Netflix will renew its lucrative deal with the couple, especially after Spotify dropped its multi-million-dollar contract with the Sussexes earlier this year.
Although Meghan is reportedly working on a cooking show, insiders hint that it may never be released. With Polo’s lackluster performance, questions about the couple’s streaming future are only intensifying.
