Watch Prince Harry Open Up About Mental Health in the Trailer for His New Documentary with Oprah
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Prince Harry and Oprah are teaming up for another television event—but this time it isn't a tell-all interview. In 2019, Kensington Palace announced that Prince Harry was partnering with Oprah Winfrey on a documentary series about mental health on which they will both serve as co-creators and executive producers.
According to a statement released by the Palace in April 2019, "The multi-part documentary series will focus on both mental illness and mental wellness, inspiring viewers to have an honest conversation about the challenges each of us faces, and how to equip ourselves with the tools to thrive, rather than to simply survive."
The series is part of Prince Harry's larger focus on mental health, both in supporting programs that assist with mental health concerns and in helping to reducing the stigma surrounding the issue.
“I truly believe that good mental health – mental fitness – is the key to powerful leadership, productive communities and a purpose-driven self. It is a huge responsibility to get this right as we bring you the facts, the science and the awareness of a subject that is so relevant during these times," Prince Harry said of launching this initiative.
"Our hope is that this series will be positive, enlightening and inclusive – sharing global stories of unparalleled human spirit fighting back from the darkest places, and the opportunity for us to understand ourselves and those around us better. I am incredibly proud to be working alongside Oprah on this vital series which we have been developing together for several months."
Here's what we know about the project.
It will premiere in May 2021.
During an appearance on Drew Barrymore's talkshow, Oprah revealed that the series will premiere on AppleTV+ in May 2021. "I wanna just say that Dr. Perry and I have been also, for the past two years, along with Prince Harry and Apple, we've been working on this mental health series that's coming out in May on Apple," she said. Watch the clip below.
Later, Apple confirmed it would launch May 21.
“Now more than ever, there is an immediate need to replace the shame surrounding mental health with wisdom, compassion, and honesty,” Oprah Winfrey said in a statement. “Our series aims to spark that global conversation.”
Harry also issued a statement, sharing why this show is important now, as we recover from the pandemic.
“We are born into different lives, brought up in different environments, and as a result are exposed to different experiences. But our shared experience is that we are all human,” he said. “The majority of us carry some form of unresolved trauma, loss, or grief, which feels—and is—very personal. Yet the last year has shown us that we are all in this together, and my hope is that this series will show there is power in vulnerability, connection in empathy, and strength in honesty.”
Watch the trailer for the series, which includes emotional conversations with Lady Gaga, Oprah, Harry, and more, above.
Mental health experts are involved in the production.
Prince Harry has said the project will show examples of the “human spirit fighting back from the darkest places.”
“We are assembling subject matter experts as an advisory board to the series, the main reason being we appreciate this is a multi-faceted subject – and we have a huge responsibility to get this right," he told the Telegraph.
“In this process, I’ve already learned just how many studies have been done, and how much information is out there which isn’t reaching the general public. The facts and science exist, and we deserve to know it all.”
It will be directed and executive produced by Emmy Award and Spirit Award nominee Dawn Porter (Gideon’s Army, John Lewis: Good Trouble), and Academy Award and four-time BAFTA Award-winning Asif Kapadia (Amy).
Oprah has been friends with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for some time now.
She famously attended their royal wedding in May of 2018, and said of the event: "I can't wait to see the goodness that will come from their union. Goodness that I know for sure will help change the way the world thinks about what is possible, even more than it already has."
When Harry and Meghan moved to California, they purchased a home near Oprah, and of course, they reunited in a TV special in 2021, in which Meghan and Harry spoke about their decision to step away from their senior positions in the royal family.
More about Oprah's connection to the Sussexes, here.
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