Meghan Markle’s Animated Series ‘Pearl’ Axed by Netflix

Meghan Markle‘s animated series Pearl is the latest victim of Netflix‘s cutbacks as the streamer aims to rebuild after a drop in stock and subscribers.

The series was announced last year as the first animated project from Archewell Productions — the company set up at Netflix by the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry to create scripted series, docuseries, documentaries, features, and children’s programming. Markle was to serve as executive producer alongside filmmaker David Furnish.

“Like many girls her age, our heroine Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to overcome life’s daily challenges,” former Suits star Markle said of the series, which was to revolve around a 12-year-old girl who finds inspiration in a variety of influential women throughout history.

“I’m thrilled that Archewell Productions, partnered with the powerhouse platform of Netflix and these incredible producers, will together bring you this new animated series, which celebrates extraordinary women throughout history,” Markle continued.

According to Deadline, the streamer remains optimistic in regards to other projects in the works from Archewell, including the upcoming documentary series Heart of Invictus. The multi-episode docuseries will spotlight a group of extraordinary Invictus Games competitors from around the globe, showcasing powerful stories of resilience and hope.

The news comes a week after Netflix dropped two other children’s animated series that were in production. Chris Nee’s (Ada Twist, Scientist) Dino Daycare and Jaydeep Hasrajani’s (The Fungies!) action-adventure series Boons and Curses were both given the chop.

Last month, Netflix revealed that it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of this year and projected some two million more users to drop the service over the next three months. This sent the streamer’s stock plummetting, with $50bn wiped off the company’s market value. A series of staff cutbacks followed as Netflix continues rebuild.