Netflix's Harry and Meghan documentary gets poor IMDb rating 24 hours after release
The Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ Netflix documentary has attracted an average rating of just 3.2 out of ten on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
The first three episodes of Harry & Meghan were released on Thursday and reviews published on the film and TV aggregation site owned by Amazon, were less than complimentary.
“Somewhat boring, whiney, poor me pity party,” one said. “Hearing these super-duper privileged people whine for hours on end is absolutely unbearable,” said another.
The verdict offered by viewers within the first 24 hours of its release put it on a par with shows such as Kourtney & Kim take Miami.
The Duke and Duchess are said to have been paid around £100million in a multi-year deal to produce documentaries, docu-series, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming for Netflix.
Given that the deal was signed in 2020 and the six-part documentary - the second tranche of which will be released next week - is the couple’s first offering, Netflix executives were likely hoping for a more positive response.
The streaming giant branded the release a "global event".
The show currently has just over 2,000 ratings on the IMDb website. If the average verdict remains the same by the time it has amassed 5,000 ratings, it will find itself on a par with output such as gameshow The Bachelor, languishing in IMDB’s top 10 worst shows of all time, as voted by viewers.
Harry & Meghan received largely negative reviews on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the US, a critical market for Netflix, trade publication Variety said the couple showed “little interest in looking forward rather than back.”
Its review points to a “sort of narrative stuckness” adding: “There’s an air of duty about the entire enterprise of “Harry & Meghan,” as if they’re honour-bound to keep reciting their personal story until we eventually lose interest.”
The Duke and Duchess, it notes, are clearly at the mercy of their paymasters. We should pity them, it suggests, as “even after breaking free of Buckingham Palace, they’re still someone’s subjects.”
