Netflix isn’t in everybody’s good books right now, following the news that the streaming service is looking to crack down on password sharing as well as other challenges for the company.
It seems that Netflix isn’t even entirely in its own good books either, given its subscriber loss, massive market value knock, and cuts in the company’s labour force.
Joining those getting snipped by the entertainment platform is Meghan Markle’s Pearl, which was set to be an animated series exploring influential and iconic women throughout history, as told through the adventures of a 12-year-old girl as the BBC reports.
The cut of the Duchess of Sussex’s imaginings as executive producer is being called a “quiet cancellation”. According to reports, it’s one of a few projects that have been given the boot amidst Netflix’s survival march. Pearl alone was projected to be a $100 million deal.
However, it’s reportedly not the end of Netflix and Archwell Productions’ (Meghan and Harry’s company) relationship, as Netflix indicates that they will work together in the future.
How did Netflix get here?
The world of entertainment today is a far cry from consistency, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt. As Time recently investigated, Netflix’s current situation would’ve been near impossible to avoid. Something of a peak was reached during the pandemic, but the cost of living has skyrocketed and short-format content continues to dominate the attention span of younger generations.
However, especially when it comes to platforms like YouTube and TikTok as Netflix’s fierce competitors for attention, the situation almost reads like ‘video killing the radio star’.
Almost? Well, that’s because the radio star, like other forms of content people believed, were done for (like films) found a new home in podcasts for one.
Perhaps it’s not the end of Netflix at all, but rather the beginning of a new Netflix (that hopefully still lets us share passwords).
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Picture: @meghanmarkle_official