The royal hype about the unprecedented documentaries by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle does not seem to be abating anytime soon. As a matter of fact, Harry & Megan that’s already broken Netflix record as the platform’s biggest documentary debut less than a week after its premiere.
Directed by Oscar-nominated director Liz Garbus, the show, the first three episodes of which were released last Thursday (8 December), follows the love story of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as told by them. It also sheds more light on their controversial decision to step down from their duties as working royals.
According to Netflix, the first three episodes of the documentaries were watched for 81.55 million hours, which is the record for the most hours watched in the premiere week of all other documentaries on the platform. After just four days, 28 million households tuned in to the royal gossip. It has also appeared in the streamer’s top 10 category in 85 countries, including #1 in the UK. No surprise.
So far, fans have seen Meghan explain her first meeting with the late Queen Elizabeth II – which she compared to Medieval Times – how Harry defeated “Royal Correspondents”, and also seen clips of Princess Diana’s infamous film panorama Interview. The couple even revealed new footage of their adorable children, and that’s just in the first series of episodes.
In a teaser released for the final three episodes, which will air on Thursday December 15, Harry can be heard saying: “You happily lied to protect my brother. They were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”
Assuming the rest of the pair’s bombastic statements match what we’ve already seen, there’s a good chance this series will only continue to attract more viewers.
Apart from Harry & Meghan, other titles are making numbers on the Netflix charts, including Wednesday, which has just surpassed 1 billion viewing hours – making it only the third series in the first 28 days. The show, directed by Jenna Ortega, even passed Ryan Murphy Monsters: The Story of Jeffrey Dahmer as Netflix’s second most popular English-language series.
Both shows are currently being honored at the 2023 Golden Globes.
