Prince Harry and Meghan’s fresh release on Netflix, a documentary titled ‘Polo’, is not winning over all Royal commentators. The new series takes a deep dive into the exclusive realm of polo, a sport Prince Harry is well-acquainted with from his years of participation.
Since their headline-grabbing departure from Royal duties in 2020, the Sussexes have inked a lucrative deal with Netflix, and ‘Polo’ marks the couple’s fourth engagement with the streaming giant. Although their presence in the docu-series is limited, an insider shares that Harry and Meghan were eager to “grow the audience of polo”, typically viewed as a high-ticket activity due to its exorbitant costs.
Whether they’ll succeed in drawing wider public interest remains to be seen.
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The topic has stirred varied reactions. One pithy assessment came from a Royal pundit who labelled the sport “boring” and cast doubts on the show’s capacity to bring new blood into the sport’s fold.
“Polo is a very niche sport. It’s very much a sport for very wealthy people. The average person can’t afford a polo mallet or stick let alone a horse or a horse box. I don’t think it’s going to attract many new players,” said Royal expert Phil Dampier while conversing with The Sun. The sporadic appearance by the Duke and Duchess in the series also levied scepticism on its potential impact in garnering interest for the elite sport, reports the Mirror US.
“The main problem for Netflix is that Harry and Meghan are hardly in this program… I think for the amount of money they’re paying them reputed to be upwards of 80 to 100 million dollars. I don’t think they’re getting a great deal of Harry and Meghan… not getting much bang for their buck. I’m not quite sure why Netflix have done this,” he added.
The five-episode series follows some of the players taking part in the Polo US Open and explores the gargantuan costs associated with the sport – both financial and the personal sacrifices made by players to perform at the highest level.
The impacts of these sacrifices on the players’ family relationships and personal lives are also explored in the series, in which Harry and Meghan only appear briefly in the final episode. Previously, Harry and Meghan have released three titles as part of their Netflix deal: Live to Lead, Heart of Invictus, and their self-titled documentary series that explored their love story and Royal exit – whilst breaking viewership records for the streaming giant’s documentary offerings.
Meghan is set to star in a cooking show for Netflix, although no release date for this project has been announced yet – it is reported to be tied into the lifestyle brand America Riviera Orchard that the Duchess launched earlier in the year. All episodes of Polo are available to watch now on Netflix.