Netflix may have cancelled Meghan Markle's animated series Pearl

Netflix may have cancelled Meghan Markle’s animated series Pearl after receiving a legal letter from British author Mel Elliott, who claimed the show bore “striking similarities” to her children’s books. The author has now claimed that the letter could have influenced the streaming giant’s decision to drop the project, which was announced in 2021 as part of Markle and Prince Harry’s $100 million deal with Netflix. The show, which was set to follow a young girl inspired by influential women in history, was officially scrapped by Netflix in May 2022, a year after the initial announcement was made.


What Mel Elliott said about Meghan Markle’s animated show on Netflix

In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Elliott said: “Meghan is a feminist who sticks up for other women, so I was disappointed and confused to see how similar Netflix’s proposed show ‘Pearl’ was to my own Pearl Power, who had been created seven years earlier. Of course, I can’t know if anyone on her team had seen it and been inspired by it, but the similarities were too great for me to ignore. The world of arts and media are very competitive, and I’m afraid it’s quite common for powerful to people to rip off the work of less well-known creatives — although I’m not saying that’s what happened here.”

In 2021, Elliott’s legal team sent a letter to the Duchess of Sussex, raising concerns about “numerous and notable similarities” between Markle’s proposed animated series on Netflix and Elliott’s work, suggesting they were unlikely to be a coincidence.

In the letter (seen by Daily Mail), Elliott’s legal team wrote: “It also appears that there is a risk that your proposed series may infringe intellectual property rights belonging to my client and/or may give rise to a claim in passing off (or in the US, some form of unfair competition).”

Elliott found success with her children’s book series Pearl Power, centred on themes of female empowerment and equality in the 2010s. She released three books between 2014 and 2016, then pitched an animated adaptation in 2019 that aimed to include historical elements.

Elliott claimed that she planned for the main character to “present a project about one famous woman, such as Billie Jean King, Maya Angelou and Amelia Earhart” in each episode. She even allegedly shared a test animation online and posted her concept on a platform connecting creators with film and TV producers.

“In that listing, my client says: ‘I would love to turn Pearl Power into an animated series someday, educating children about inspirational women from modern history (as well as a few men),'” the legal letter further noted.

The letter added that Elliott had “been discussing this proposed series with her agent for more than two years” before Markle revealed her version.

Elliott mentioned that her legal team sent three letters to Markle and Netflix—first in mid-2021, then in October 2021, and again in February 2022—raising concerns about the show. However, the author claimed that she never received a reply. Elliott even claimed to have sent several personal letters to Markle without hearing back.

Netflix cancelled Pearl less than three months after the final letter, which the company claimed was due to “budget cuts”.

“I’m glad that Meghan’s ‘Pearl’ show was dropped,” Elliot added while hoping that she “had something to do with it.”