According to a report, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle clashed with the original director of their Netflix docuseries, causing her to leave the project.
Before hiring Liz Garbus, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex hired a different Oscar-nominated director to direct their highly anticipated docuseries. The royal couple initially approached Garrett Bradley, but they disagreed with her about the project’s vision, according to multiple unnamed sources.
Bradley directed “Naomi Osaka,” the critically acclaimed Netflix series about the young tennis sensation. She told Variety last year that Netflix executives approached her for the Osaka series. Still, it’s unclear if the streaming platform also introduced her to the Sussexes, according to Page Six.
According to insiders, Bradley and the royal couple couldn’t agree on the tone of the docuseries.
One source told Page Six:
“Garrett wanted Harry and Meghan to film at home and they were not comfortable doing that. There were a few sticky moments between them, and Garrett left the project. Harry and Meghan’s own production company captured as much footage as they could before Liz Garbus was hired.”
Another source told the outlet that Prince Harry and Markle were seen with two film crews on their two trips to New York City last year. Garbus’ team reportedly accompanied them on their second trip.
Even after changing directors, the Sussexes reportedly did not have a smooth working relationship with Netflix executives and Garbus. According to Page Six, they fought over the series’ content because Prince Harry and Markle wanted it heavily edited.
Markle appeared to allude to their misunderstandings in a Variety interview published last month. The duchess was featured on the cover as one of the 2022 Power of Women honorees for her philanthropic and creative work, including her podcast “Archetypes.”
Markle said:
“It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story — a seasoned director whose work I’ve long admired — even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it. But that’s not why we’re telling it. We’re trusting our story to someone else, and that means it will go through their lens.”
According to reports, Prince Harry and Meghan wanted to postpone the project until next year. However, Netflix reportedly refused and plans to continue airing their show early next month.
An insider told Page Six.
“As far as I am aware, the docuseries is still going ahead later this year.”
Netflix has not yet announced an official release date for the project.