Netflix cancels Meghan Markle animated series ‘Pearl’

Netflix is tightening its purse strings after a drop in subscribers. Deadline reported that the streaming platform canceled production on Pearl, an animated series created by Meghan Markle, before it was even finished. The project was a part of a multi-year production deal that Markle and Prince Harry signed with Netflix back in 2020. The animated family series followed a 12-year girl as she learned about influential women throughout history. The show is only the latest casualty in a recent series of cost-saving measures by the streamer, including firing most of the writing staff for its fan site project and canceling the show Space Force. It also axed two other animated children’s series, Dino Daycare and Boons and Curses, reported People.

Netflix confirmed to CNBC that the cancellation of Pearl is a part of strategic decisions it is making around animated series. The platform has invested heavily in animation since 2018, and was projected by Loup Ventures to spend $5 billion on original animated content this year. But the company’s boomtown mentality appears to have shifted, at least for now.

The company’s market value dropped a staggering $60 billion after a disappointing first-quarter earnings call last month. The streamer lost roughly 200,000 subscribers in the first few months of 2022, its first decline in nearly a decade. A number of factors led to the drop, including competition from rival platforms like Disney+ and Hulu, halting service to Russia and widespread password sharing.

Deadline reported that a number of projects through Archwell Productions — the production company owned by Markle and Prince Harry — are still in the works, including a docuseries on the Invictus Games.