Netflix cancels Meghan Markle's animated series 'Pearl'

Streaming platform drops the show in a move to save money

Meghan Markle's series was set to centre on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl inspired by influential women from history. AP Photo

Netflix has cancelled Meghan Markle's animated series Pearl in a cost-cutting move.

The show is among several being dropped by the streaming platform as it looks to save money amid a decrease in subscribers and influx of competitors.

Archewell Productions, the company formed by Markle and husband Prince Harry, announced last year that Markle would executive produce the project.

The children's series was to centre on a 12-year-old girl inspired by influential women throughout history.

Netflix did confirm, however, that it would continue working on other Archewell Productions projects, such as documentary series Heart of Invictus, which will focus on athletes competing in the Duke of Sussex's Invictus Games for injured veterans in 2022.

The streaming platform also announced its decision to drop two other animated children's series called Dino Daycare and Boons and Curses.

Last month, Netflix had revealed its total number of users had dropped by 200,000 from January to March, and said about two million more were likely to cancel subscriptions by July.

Prince Harry and Meghan, who moved to the US in 2020 after announcing they were stepping down as working members of the British royal family, signed a multi-year production deal with Netflix that same year.

The value of the deal was not disclosed, but estimates put it at anywhere between $100 million and $150m.

Last month, Spotify announced Markle's new podcast, Archetypes, would appear on the platform by summer.

The series will "investigate the labels that try to hold women back", Spotify said, revealing that Meghan will "uncover the origin of these stereotypes and have uncensored conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape narratives".

In a teaser for the show, Meghan says: "This is how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us... but where do these stereotypes come from?

"And how do they keep showing up and defining our lives?"

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