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Meghan Markle is reportedly negotiating a new deal with streaming giant Netflix to extend their partnership.
The Duchess of Sussex and her husband, Prince Harry, joined the company in 2020, signing a $100 million deal months after they stepped down from their roles as senior working royals.
Since then, the royal couple has dropped multiple projects with Netflix, including their highly successful documentary "Harry & Meghan" and, most recently, Meghan's cooking show, "With Love, Meghan."
As Meghan's deal with Netflix comes to an end in September, speculation has been mounting about whether the streaming giant will keep her on with a new contract.
Some reports had claimed that Netflix intended to drop the former actress and her husband, Prince Harry, seemingly due to the performance of some of their projects following the highly successful documentary that marked the first release under their arrangement.
Now, a source has informed the Daily Mail that Netflix isn't done with Meghan and that talks are underway to negotiate a new contract.
"Make no mistake—a deal is being worked through as we speak," an insider told the outlet.
The insider also hinted that Meghan's recent high-profile project, despite being panned by critics yet drawing 5.3 million views in the first half of this year, has helped convince the streaming giant to pursue a new deal.
"If you're in the top third of Netflix, you're getting another deal," added the source.
In the meantime, Netflix and Meghan have been mum about whether a deal is in the works. According to an insider, the silence is due to them being held back by legal restrictions.
"What happens at the end of the contract is that people renegotiate. But when doing any kind of commercial negotiation, both sides are not allowed to talk about it," the insider said.
The individual also claimed that, given Netflix's involvement in Meghan's lifestyle brand As Ever, "it would be like punching yourself in the face not to sign a new deal" if the streaming giant chose to drop her.
"Netflix is a listed company, so they can't say anything or confirm officially yet that a new deal is happening, but that deal is not dead. Netflix is an equity partner in As Ever, so they were unlikely to drop Meghan," the source also shared.
For the previous deal, all projects fell under Archewell Productions, jointly owned by Meghan and Harry.
However, Harry appeared to have a more visible creative role, particularly with his polo series and the "Heart of Invictus" docuseries.
In contrast, the new deal is expected to focus more on Meghan, whose lifestyle-centric solo series, "With Love, Meghan," performed well on the streaming platform.
This is likely due to Harry's "Polo" series and other shows he was more involved in, receiving only moderate responses from viewers.
It is also possible that the Duke of Sussex's decision to increasingly focus on his charity work has influenced this shift.
Ultimately, all these changes have led to the expectation that the financial terms of the new deal will differ significantly from the $100m contract Netflix gave Meghan and Harry in 2020.
The second series of "With Love, Meghan" is expected to be the first show to debut under the new deal with Netflix.
The first installment premiered in March, and three days later, the second season was given the green light.
At the time, it was revealed that season 2 had already been filmed ahead of its release this autumn.
Many of Meghan's As Ever products are likely to be promoted on the series after they proved successful following the launch of the lifestyle brand in April.
Last month, Meghan restocked her popular products, bringing back all of her favorites, such as her Raspberry spread, alongside "some delicious surprises."
These surprises turned out to be two new flavors of her flagship jam: apricot spread and orange blossom honey.
The "Suits" star also released another product, rosé wine, which was described as having notes of stone fruit with gentle minerality.
Other products that returned to the shelves and swiftly sold out include three different herbal teas (hibiscus, lemon ginger, and peppermint), flower sprinkles, crepe baking mix, and shortbread cookie mix.
