In the past week, Netflix has laid off about 1,000 employees. Interestingly, Netflix’s C-suite is in shambles as well, with major figures like Dan Lin and Bela Bajaria getting abruptly sh-tcanned. Ted Sarandos made an internal statement about the executive purge, basically saying that all of this is for the good of the company. Netflix is going through a major (and, some would argue, a much-needed) upheaval. Obviously, the British press can only ask “but what about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex?” This is because the British press have believed that Prince Harry and Meghan are the only ones working for Netflix for the past six years. Well, the Daily Mail’s Netflix sources are predicting DOOM for Meghan especially.

Netflix will shun ‘royal-linked vanity projects’ under its new TV boss, with Meghan Markle potentially becoming a ‘casualty’ of the shake-up, an insider has claimed amid the escalating war of words over The Gentlemen. The row over the Duchess of Sussex’s rumoured involvement in Guy Ritchie’s hit series is said to have left her ‘very cautious’ about considering further scripts.

And in what industry experts have suggested could spell further bad news for Meghan and Harry, 21st Century Fox and Disney veteran Peter Rice has taken over from their ‘biggest champion’, Bela Bajaria, as Netflix’s chief content officer. Bajaria was instrumental in bringing Harry & Meghan and With Love, Meghan to the screen, but Netflix staff are said to have been shocked when she was ousted after a decade last week.

Rice, who was born and raised in the UK, is now in charge of the streaming giant’s TV and film output and is expected to take a markedly different approach.

‘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 determined to return to acting while continuing to run her As Ever business. But she is said to feel ‘used’ by those behind The Gentlemen following speculation that she could join the cast, with the rumour emerging just four days before the Sussexes moved back to the UK.

Guy Ritchie was said to have held preliminary talks with Meghan, although he apparently responded ‘really?’ and ‘not a chance’ when asked about the prospect of the former Suits actress appearing in the show. Meghan is said to have been hurt by the episode and now plans to be more selective about scripts amid concerns that producers could use the prospect of her involvement as a PR coup to generate interest.

However, Netflix is still expected to want to bid for Harry’s rumoured documentary about his mother, Princess Diana, ahead of the 30th anniversary of her death next year.

The will-she-won’t-she speculation over Meghan’s potential acting comeback began just days before she and Harry moved back to the UK with their children in late August. Insiders on Guy Ritchie’s hit series have dismissed claims that Netflix ‘used’ the Duchess of Sussex to promote its new season. Sources close to Meghan accused those behind the show of revealing her potential involvement in the crime drama to generate publicity, claiming the episode had left her with a ‘sour taste’ and reluctant to consider further scripts. But that claim was rejected out of hand by those with close ties to The Gentlemen production team.

‘This is not a show in need of stunt casting,’ a show insider told The Times.

[From The Daily Mail]

Re: The Gentlemen, the “show insider” should probably be informed that no one said that the show “needed stunt casting.” Many simply pointed out that Guy Ritchie’s team seemingly used Meghan’s name to promote their second season and push Netflix to greenlight a third season. That’s not stunt-casting, it’s stunt-PR. As for the Netflix shambles, I also think that the incoming executives are going to be less likely to see much value in Archewell productions. But it doesn’t really matter because A) the Sussexes have a first-look deal which doesn’t cost Netflix any money upfront and B) Archewell Productions doesn’t have much in the pipeline anyway. Reportedly, their production company has been downsized significantly too. That’s part and parcel of the Sussexes’ UK move – it feels like they’re not going to do much producing anymore.

Photos courtesy of Netflix.