David Farnor | On 14, Dec 2022

Harry & Meghan has become Netflix’s biggest documentary to date, with a record-breaking debut over its first week on the service.

The six-episode series sees the Duke and Duchess of Sussex share the other side of their high-profile love story. It explores the clandestine days of their early courtship and the challenges that led to them feeling forced to step back from their full-time roles in the royal family. Directed by Liz Garbus (Love, Marilyn, What Happened, Miss Simone?), the series includes commentary from friends and family, most of whom have never spoken publicly before about what they witnessed, and historians who discuss the state of the British Commonwealth today and the royal family’s relationship with the press.

Part 1 (comprising three episodes) premiered on 8th December and has already racked up 81.5 million hours of viewing time, the most for any Netflix documentary title in its first week.

To put that in context, it’s still not as popular as Wednesday, Netflix’s breakout Addams Family-inspired series, which has already crossed 1 billion hours viewed since its 23rd November debut – the third Netflix series to break that barrier in its first 28 days, after Squid Game and Stranger Things Season 4.

And, to put that further in context, Netflix counts the number of accounts that choose to watch a title for“at least 2 minutes, which it deems as “long enough to indicate the choice was intentional”, as opposed to an accidental click.

“It has been a privilege to be able to work with Harry and Meghan, who bravely allowed themselves to be vulnerable by sharing their personal stories and archive,” said Garbus. “I hope that when Netflix viewers press play, whatever preconceptions people have, they will be open to the discovery of what we’ve shared in this documentary series. It’s an incredible love story set against the context of huge stakes and their journey is a historical event that will be examined for a long time to come.”

Part 2, comprising the final three episodes, will be released on 15th December.

 

Trailer: Netflix announces Harry & Meghan documentary series

1st December 2022

“No one sees what’s happening behind closed doors.” Those are the words of Prince Harry in Harry & Meghan – and a new trailer gives us a first look at Netflix’s new documentary.

The series sees the Duke and Duchess of Sussex share the other side of their high-profile love story. Across six episodes, it explores the clandestine days of their early courtship and the challenges that led to them feeling forced to step back from their full-time roles in the royal family. Directed by Liz Garbus (Love, Marilyn, What Happened, Miss Simone?), the series includes commentary from friends and family, most of whom have never spoken publicly before about what they witnessed, and historians who discuss the state of the British Commonwealth today and the royal family’s relationship with the press.

“When the stakes are this high, doesn’t it make sense to hear our story from us?” asks Meghan in the trailer. Find out when the series premiered at a yet-to-be-confirmed date. In the meantime, here’s the video:

 

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