Prince Harry & Oprah’s ‘The Me You Can’t See’ will air on AppleTV on May 21

Prince Harry during the start of the new partnership between Booking.com, Ctrip, TripAdvisor and Visa

Back in April 2019, Prince Harry and Oprah signed on to work together on a mental health series for AppleTV. It was big news at the time on Salty White Folk Isle, because Harry was “Hollywood” and “how dare Meghan introduce Harry to Oprah” and “Oprah is Black, just like Meghan.” From there, we would get updates every so often, and I feel comfortable calling the series “long gestating” because I’m not sure people expected it take this long to put together a series with no special effects. The pandemic was definitely an issue, but I also think that both Harry and Oprah had a million other things going on as well. Anyway, the series is finally done and it will air very soon!

Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey have announced the debut of their new mental health series. Premiering on May 21 on Apple TV+, The Me You Can’t See will help “lift the veil on the current state of mental health and well-being,” according to a press release shared on Monday.

“We are born into different lives, brought up in different environments, and as a result are exposed to different experiences. But our shared experience is that we are all human,” said the Duke of Sussex. “The majority of us carry some form of unresolved trauma, loss, or grief, which feels — and is—very personal. Yet the last year has shown us that we are all in this together, and my hope is that this series will show there is power in vulnerability, connection in empathy and strength in honesty.”

Oprah added, “Now more than ever, there is an immediate need to replace the shame surrounding mental health with wisdom, compassion, and honesty. Our series aims to spark that global conversation.”

Harry, 36, who has spoken about his intense grief after losing his mother, Princess Diana 24 years ago — and the struggles he suffered in the aftermath — co-created the series with Winfrey. The pair will help curate discussions about mental health and emotional well-being while opening up about their own “mental health journeys and struggles,” the press release explained, as they hope to “destigmatize a highly misunderstood subject and give hope to viewers who learn that they are not alone.”

The series will also feature high-profile participants, including Lady Gaga. Glenn Close and NBA stars DeMar DeRozan and Langston Galloway. Mental Health advocate Zak Williams, Olympic Boxer Virginia “Ginny” Fuchs and celebrity chef Rashad Armstead are also listed as taking part.

[From People]

I am curious about the series and I’ll probably give it a shot and see if one or two episodes click with me. The thing is… I completely respect the work Harry has done with and around mental health, just as I respect the fact that Oprah wouldn’t slap her name on a series which was half-assed or stupid. But! I’m not sure how watchable it will be. If you’re not a mental health specialist or a therapist, will it be compelling? But as I said, I’ll give it a try and we’ll see.

173196PCN_HarryMeghanPHT029

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

27 Responses to “Prince Harry & Oprah’s ‘The Me You Can’t See’ will air on AppleTV on May 21”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. BayTampaBay says:

    I have never seen a HARPO production that I could not watch at least once.

  2. Cecilia says:

    I don’t think you would have to be a mental
    Health specialist to be able to watch this. I think the goal of the series was to resonate with the people ( as cheesy as that sounds). Actual mental health experts are also involved so im convinced we will see those explain certain concepts and phenomenons. Im surprised that they got entertainers involved tho. I thought they would maybe follow teenagers or single parents or you know everyday life people.

    • MrsRobinson says:

      Agreed, stories about mental health struggles and the complex and profound ways that professionals try to help is fascinating—gets to the core of our brain and humanity. I’m in.

  3. Lucylee says:

    I going to watch it. I was married into a family with so much trauma it is a miracle they have survived w/o therapy. Denial is a big thing. They are a work in progress. even in the 6th, 7th and 8th decades of their lives. It is the work of their children that has finally gotten them to talk about it.

  4. Seraphina says:

    I think that it is so important to focus on past trauma. Many of us have gone through something that has changed us and yes, it could be a trauma that we never even realized was actually trauma. I think this series will resonate with people and they may have their AH-HA moment: Yes, I too have a trauma. And it’s OK.
    Plus, as it was stated, Oprah would not slap her name on a half-ass production. Watch this be an award winning series which could be ground breaking – especially while the entire globe is dealing with a pandemic.

    • Nyro says:

      Yep. Harry could win an Emmy.

    • Becks1 says:

      It also ties in perfectly to Oprah’s book, “What Happened to You?” (I know, its almost like Oprah coordinated that.)

      I will watch this. I think it’s going to be excellent.

  5. My3cents says:

    It’s nice reading this after the Keenbridges piece on the launch of their YouTube channel.
    It’s pretty amazing how H&M with barley any social media at the moment are continually putting out all these serious and ambitious projects, while the other brother is talking about decreasing their work load, and petting sheep.
    They are just a powerhouse and their light just can’t be dimmed.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      Very true My3cents as everything that Harry and H&M have been involved with, they have always shot their participation out of the park. Harry and Oprah are very much alike in that scenario, nothing is half-ass or small projects. Every project that they put out has an impact of seriousness and issues that need to be addressed.

  6. equality says:

    Those struggling with issues or with family members struggling with mental health would most likely be interested also. It’s good to get other perspectives on struggles and to think you’re not alone in dealing with something. If even those who are rich and famous have problems, it takes some of the stigma away for others hopefully.

    • Cecilia says:

      I hope its not only rich and famous tho. I hope they include some first line responders and a plethora of people of all walks of life.

      • Seraphina says:

        Cecelia (love your name), I definitely see ordinary not famous people in this series. People who have suffered and are suffering through a pandemic, mass shootings – but to name two.

  7. Amy Bee says:

    I’m glad that Harry and Oprah have included discussions on mental illness. A major criticism of the work that he was doing with William and Kate was that they didn’t include people who had mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

  8. Legalease says:

    I think it will be compelling to anyone with mental health struggles. And that is, unfortunately, a great number of people.

  9. SarahCS says:

    I would love to see this, I hope it goes somewhere after Apple so that I can watch it as we have enough subscriptions already.

    I think people have become so much more aware of their own mental health particularly in the last year and the line-up of people involved here is interesting so I can see viewers coming from that angle.

    • Becks1 says:

      You can get a 7 day trial for Apple TV free. I think I read somewhere that the entire series is going to drop at once, so you could watch it in a few days if you wanted and then cancel.

      • heygingersnaps says:

        If you take advantage of the 7 day free trial, make sure you cancel on the 6th day because once you cancel then that subscription ends. I don’t think I would ever subscribe to apple tv as we have loads of subscriptions as well but fortunately I got a free year of it due to getting a new phone.

  10. BooyahB!tches says:

    In the 90s, the World Health Organisation said the greatest threat in the 21st century would be the alarming increase in people suffering mental health issues. I think this program will be an eye-opener, as so many people don’t realise what kind of mental health rut they are in, how to deal with it, how to get out of it…there is also a shame to mental health issues, and I believe programs like this will remove that stigma. People will watch because it’s Harry and Oprah: both of them have carried trauma with them since a young age, and I have nothing but admiration for Harry’s focus on mental health, and what he and Meghan are doing real-time (unlike the other brother and his DTBQ wifey (Desperate To Be Queen), the useless Kate. Seriously, what a waste of space her and Willy Wonka are.

  11. Lindalou says:

    I still find it odd that Harry couldn’t help Meghan or get her help when she suffered her breakdown. It’s a bit strange considering he is a big advocate and talker of mental health issues. Did he not notice, will he mention that he had no clue/people hide it? It just rings weird to me that part of their interview. It’s like your husband being a mechanic yet he doesn’t notice that your muffler is making noise and needs replacing lol!!

    • Legalease says:

      People have deliberately misinterpreted what she said. She never said that she wasn’t able to get ANY help for her depression. I’m sure she had some sort of therapy. What she said was that she wanted to go to a treatment facility and was told she couldn’t because it would look bad. The fact that she felt she needed to do this speaks volumes to how much she was struggling. For someone who is suicidal, seeing a therapy once a week often isn’t sufficient.

    • Becks1 says:

      I also think she hid how hard things were for her until she couldn’t hide it anymore. She said that he had had so much pain in his life, and she felt like she was adding to it by telling him what she was feeling (i.e. that she was suicidal.) So I think he knew things were rough but it wasn’t until she told him “you can’t leave me alone tonight” that he realized HOW bad things were for her, mentally.

      Also, consider the title of this series – “the me you can’t see” – so it sounds like it is going to touch on the ideas of putting on faces for the world, of hiding what you are going through, etc.

      Finally ditto @legalease – I don’t think its that she wasnt able to access ANY kind of help, Charles has gone to therapists, Diana went to therapists (didn’t she go to Charles’ therapist?), Harry has sought help – but she wanted to go to a treatment facility and stay and was told she could not do that.

      • Anon says:

        Totally agree, @BECKS1. Seeing their experience spelled out so starkly makes me shiver. It sounds absolutely horrific.

        I’m grateful they were willing to share such a low moment, because it shines light on a common depression MO and helps that many more people feel less alone. Rooting for them.

    • Carmen-JamRock says:

      I find it very odd that bad-faith actors persist in believing they can still successfully peddle a narrative that is diametrically opposite to the truth and expect decent folks to swallow the peddled lie, even when theres verifiable evidence to the contrary.

      Jeebus! Such barefaced caucasity!

      Back under your bridge, troll.

  12. Sumodo1 says:

    Go, Harry & Meg. Your projects are a win-win.

  13. Chelsea says:

    Honestly my response when Oprah first slipped and revealed this was coming out last week was to laugh because a few months ago the mugzits were saying this was cancelled and that their Netflix deal was over as part of their conspiracy that Harry was going to fail and be forced to come baxk. The past month must have been very hard for them lol

    As for the watchability: they have a few Emmy winninf documentarians om this so im sure it will be good. Im honestly not a docuseries person but really loved Rising Phoenix. Hopefully it will be compelling storytelling like that. Also: apparently Oprah’s new mental health about childhood trauma, What Happened To You, is really good too.

  14. BrainFog says:

    I am SO going to watch this.