Good news, Harry and Meghan fans with a Netflix subscription! The latest streaming series to come from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Productions company is here. After their tell-all documentary released in 2022, the couple have taken a different tack with their subsequent offerings for Netflix, and the latest is a passion project for Prince Harry all about his favorite sport. Although whether that passion will translate to viewers is in doubt.
Released on Dec. 10, POLO is a five-part documentary all about the world of the horse-riding sport, a popular past-time of those in high-society that a lot of average joes probably don’t know all that much about. For those looking to expand their knowledge, POLO has got them covered in spades, as it follows a range of the sport’s top stars — including Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso, Louis Devaleix, Timmy Dutta, Nacho Figueras, and Keko Magrini — as they prepare for the U.S. Open.
For anyone looking for their fix of Harry himself, however, they will likely leave disappointed. Guys, he’s hardly in it.
Prince Harry makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in the first episode of… his own Netflix show?
The unfortunate truth for those who might be bingeing POLO for fresh Harry content is that the duke barely appears in the show. Obviously, as it’s all about professional players, and Harry is only a keen amateur, he can’t necessarily feature in an organic way. Even so, many might feel short-changed to find out that Harry is included in just three out of the five episodes — he doesn’t turn up at all in the second and third installments.
In fact, some may be turned away after just the first ep because Harry only appears in the opening hour for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo that lasts all of *checks watch* five seconds. The duke features in a brief clip as part of an opening montage that teases what’s to come across the series. Like a Marvel movie saving its biggest characters for the final act, then, the show otherwise holds the prince back until its penultimate episode, with Meghan Markle finally appearing on screen alongside him in episode five.
Despite not showing his face much on screen, Harry apparently had a lot more to do behind the screen instead. Showrunner Miloš Balać (Welcome to Wrexham) stressed to Variety that Harry was involved in a “pretty incredible way” as he “definitely had a vision” for the series that helped shape it from the beginning. And apparently that vision included sparing himself from as much screentime as possible. In many ways, that was a magnanimous choice, as he no doubt wanted to showcase the talented professionals, but for a show marketed under his name some viewers might feel as if the Sussexes have swindled them out of what they signed up for. After all, that’s how Netflix execs are alleging feeling themselves.
The only thing that would’ve made up for it is if King Charles turned up like Samuel L. Jackson for a post-credits scene where he recruited Harry back into the Royal Family. Bonus points if he was wearing an eyepatch.
Published: Dec 10, 2024 02:11 pm