Professional reviewers have raced to give Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new show about the horseback sport of polo a kicking on the day of its release.
British newspapers are first out of the blocks, publishing unflattering reviews of Polo, which was executive produced by Harry and Meghan, within hours of it dropping on Netflix Tuesday.
The Telegraph gave the “tedious inside-look” at the game two stars and its reviewer concluded: “There’s lots of blood, sweat, and tears in the series—but not enough of the Sussexes to make this anything other than a dull indulgence about a rich person’s pursuit. This horsey hiccup is another bad neigh day for the Sussexes and their media ambitions.”
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The U.K. Guardian contrasts the game of polo, which it describes as “the stupidest, most obnoxious sport known to humanity” with the Sussex’s lofty mission statement on signing their reputed $100 million deal with Netflix when the couple airily declared, they wanted to create “content that informs but also gives hope” utilizing “powerful storytelling” through a “truthful and relatable lens.”
Its verdict on the series? “Polo looks destined to fall through the submenus into obscurity at the speed of light. And rightly so. It’s clattering and niche, and feels like a spoof documentary designed to play on screens in the background of episodes of Succession.”
Referring to Meghan’s forthcoming home and entertaining show, the reviewer cracks: “Here’s hoping the cookery show does better.”
Harry and Meghan only make a brief appearance in the final episode but, showrunner Miloš Balać told Variety that Harry “definitely had a vision,” for the show, adding, “He was very involved from the start in terms of suggesting where we might want to look for storylines. And then in the edit he was incredibly helpful…he was giving so many ideas of like, “Hey, you know what I love so much about polo is that feeling when you’re on the horse and you just feel the speed and you feel the excitement and you feel the roar.”
Former friends of Harry have already given their reviews to the Daily Beast, telling us they were left in “appalled hysterics” when the trailer dropped.
