Hollywood experts claim the Meghan Markle has left them “dumbfounded” by apparently turning down a “golden opportunity” to earn millions more dollars.
They believe Meghan is letting a fortune slip through her fingers by refusing to return to acting in a new, big-budget spin-off of her hugely successful TV series Suits.
LA-based media finance analyst Mike Raia warned: “This could become the costliest decision of her life and one that she may bitterly regret in years to come.”
Meghan, 42, was a fast-rising star earning $50,000 per episode in the original Suits series before she became engaged to Prince Harry and quit the legal drama in 2018 after appearing in 108 episodes over seven seasons.
But her character Rachel Zane has unexpectedly acquired tens of millions of new fans worldwide since re-runs of the show began airing on streaming giant Netflix last year, turning it into the most-downloaded programme in America.
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With an astonishing 57.7 billion viewing minutes – more than the combined figures of long-established syndication hits like Friends and The Big Bang Theory – Suits is set to become a major franchise with the first spin-off, Suits: LA set to start shooting by spring.
The show has been written by Meghan’s friend and original Suits creator Aaron Korsh and owners NBC last week announced that Canadian actor Stephen Amell, also 42, will be the male lead.
Mr. Raia added: “The female lead character, a campaigning, hotshot lawyer named Erica, was written with Meghan specifically in mind and there is little doubt she would have been paid many times her original salary.
“There had been industry talk that she could command as much as half-a-million dollars per episode. That’s the kind of golden shot that even established stars dream of. But she’s left everyone dumbfounded by brushing aside what would have been a huge opportunity.”
Meghan was reportedly interested in getting involved, through her and Prince Harry’s production company Archewell, as an executive producer of the new show but bosses at NBC killed that idea and are still hoping she may return on-screen at some stage as a guest star.
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A senior studio production source told the Daily Express US: “It beggars belief that she would dismiss such an opportunity to keep big bucks rolling in on a regular basis, especially given her and Harry’s less-than-stellar options for the future.”
Speculation is mounting that their company Archewell’s $100 million five-year deal with Netflix will not be renewed next year, having already lost their Spotify podcast contract last year.
The couple announced their controversial new Sussex.com website last week and that they have signed a fresh podcast deal with fledgling US company Lemonada Media.
But financial expert Mr. Raia said: “I can understand them wanting to move on in their effort to become real players in Hollywood. But pride often comes before a fall and Meghan’s refusal to return to acting could prove very costly indeed.”