Netflix is tightening its wallet after a drop in subscribers. Deadline reported that the streaming platform has canceled production On Pearl, an animated series created by Meghan Markle, before it was even finished. The project was part of a multi-year production deal that Markle and Prince Harry signed with Netflix in 2020. The animated family series followed a 12-year-old girl as she learned about influential women throughout history. The show is just the latest casualty in a recent series of cost-cutting measures by the streamer, including firing most of the writing staff for its fansite project and canceling the show. space power† It also stopped two other children’s animated series, Dino shelter and blessings and curses† reported People†
Netflix confirmed until CNBC that the cancellation of Pearl is part of the strategic decisions it makes around animated series. The platform has invested heavily in animation since 2018 and was projected to spend by Loup Ventures $5 billion on original animated content this year. But the company’s boomtown mentality seems to have changed, at least for now.
The company’s market value fell by a whopping $60 billion after a disappointing first-quarter earnings call last month. The streamer lost about 200,000 subscribers in the first few months of 2022, the first reject in nearly a decade. A number of factors led to the decline, including competition from rival platforms such as Disney+ and Hulu, discontinuation of service to Russia and widespread password sharing†
Deadline reported that a number of projects through Archwell Productions – the production company of Markle and Prince Harry – are still in the works, including a docuseries at the Invictus Games.
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