Taylor Swift rejected handwritten invitation from Meghan Markle to appear on podcast as Sussexes plot new Netflix show

25 June 2023, 07:35

Taylor Swift rejected a handwritten invitation from Meghan Markle to appear on her now-cancelled podcast series.

The Shake It Off singer had her representative turn the offer down.

Archetypes - which covered stereotypes women face - has been binned, with Spotify executives said to be "underwhelmed" by Harry and Meghan's productivity and failure to come up with strong ideas.

The pair reportedly agreed a £15m deal with the streamer but it has been claimed they have not met productivity requirements and that would have left them with a smaller sum.

Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bid to patent Archetypes brand rejected, in fresh blow after podcast axed

The podcast, which launched in August last year, hit the top of the charts but executives were frustrated with how long it took to make.

Each episode would take a while to conceptualise and Meghan would request late changes, while guests - including the attempt to bring on Taylor Swift - proved hard to get.

Archetypes was not renewed for a second series, with Meghan's talent agency WME saying: "Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform."

Harry also struggled to come up with good ideas, pitching shows about misinformation and his opinion on what it was like to become a resident of America.

Read more: Meghan Markle accused of 'faking' interviews with guests for £18 million Archetypes podcast dropped by Spotify

The Harry and Meghan documentary, released in December, did very well - and after the success of the duke's autobiography Spare, the pair have realised their personal experiences did well.

They are also putting together a show for Netflix inspired by Charles Dickens' Great Expectations.

It has been billed as a kind of prequel that focuses on Miss Havisham's life in a patriarchal society, but it is unknown if the show has been commissioned by Netflix.

After the failure of Archetypes to spawn a second season on Spotify, the Wall Street Journal said the Sussexes' time at Netflix could be described as "big ideas, subpar execution".

The pair signed an £80m deal with the streaming giant in 2020, having left their role as working royals and moving to California.

But they failed to live up to the success of the docu-series after their Live to Lead project about activists, which went live at the end of 2022, failed to hit the top ten most streamed shows on Netflix.

Executives also turned down ideas from the couple that were deemed to be too similar to existing titles.

One idea they pitched appeared very similar to Emily in Paris but was about a man instead.

They also suggested an idea about LGBTQ characters that was considered to be like Heartstopper.

And an idea about misinformation did not get far. Questions about whether Harry and Meghan would appear were raised but after the couple responded the idea was dropped.

Netflix also passed on an animated show about women in history called Pearl after it was decided children would not be influenced into watching the programme by Meghan.

However, a documentary about the Invictus Games is planned.