One week ago, Variety dropped a pretty bonkers hit-piece on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Variety had unnamed “Netflix sources” screaming, crying and throwing up about Prince Harry and Meghan, mostly Meghan, because she sometimes turns off her Zoom camera and something something Ted Sarandos won’t even speak to Meghan without a lawyer present! Within the Variety piece, there were real-time, on-the-record denials, explanations and clarifications from Harry, Meghan and Netflix executives. The whole point of the piece was yet another attempt to make it sound like H&M’s relationship with Netflix was deeply strained, if not close to being over. I still wonder what the f–k was going on behind-the-scenes with Variety. Anyway, one week later, and DEADLINE is the trade paper getting this big Sussex exclusive:
After producing the 2024 Netflix docuseries Polo, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are revisiting the world in a scripted form. The streamer is developing a polo-themed drama, which the Sussexes are executive producing under their Netflix deal. It comes from the duo’s Archewell Productions and Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire.
Written by Francisca X. Hu (Peacock’s Teacup), the untitled project is an upstairs-downstairs drama set in the high-flying equestrian town of Wellington, Florida, which revolves around the messy dynamics between two rival teams and the families that lead them.
Hu executive produce alongside Archewell’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; and head of scripted content Tracy Ryerson; as well as Fake Empire’s Schwartz and Savage.
The drama is believed to stem from the docuseries Polo, which followed the teams competing at the U.S. Open Polo Championship held in Wellington, Florida, and the family dynasties involved. A passion project of Prince Harry, an avid polo player who has a lot of friends in that world, the docuseries did not draw a lot of eyeballs and ran for one season. The scripted show is widening the scope of what is considered an elitist, “sport of kings” beyond the rich owners and players.
The polo drama is one of a handful of projects Prince Harry and Markle have in development at Netflix under their deal, which was previously overall and is now first-look. They include features The Wedding Date, which, as Deadline revealed in December, Tracy Oliver has come on board to write based on Jasmine Guillory’s book, and an adaptation of Carley Fortune’s Meet Me At The Lake. A director is now being attached to the latter and is expected to do a rewrite, sources said.
Page Six mentioned the same thing about Meet Me At the Lake, that while it’s slow-going, there has been movement on that adaptation and the Sussexes are still attached. As for a scripted polo series… it could be good. The polo world is very moneyed and elite, so it has the potential to be a pretty glossy series in a “horsey soap opera” sort of way. It’s amazing that the Sussexes had this project locked in and ready to announce one week after Variety tried to convince everyone that Netflix and the Sussexes were over. Incidentally, Deadline was thrilled to get this exclusive, look at the nice image they posted:
EXCLUSIVE: After producing the 2024 Netflix docuseries Polo, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are revisiting the world in a scripted form. The streamer is developing a polo-themed drama, which the Sussexes are executive producing under their Netflix deal. It comes from the duo’s… pic.twitter.com/vy5kFypvEt
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 23, 2026
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images. Cover courtesy of Polo Lifestyles.
