Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced that their first Netflix series will focus on the Invictus Games, a biannual international sports event for wounded veterans and service personnel, similar in style to the Paralympics.
Of course, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have a personal connection to the Invictus Games. Harry actually founded the competition back in 2014. Now, their company Archewell Productions is creating a Netflix docuseries that will let viewers follow the athletes’ journey as they prepare for the 2022 competition in The Hague, Netherlands. The working title of the series is Heart of Invictus.
“Since the very first Invictus Games back in 2014, we knew that each competitor would contribute in their own exceptional way to a mosaic of resilience, determination, and resolve,” Harry said in a statement. “This series will give communities around the world a window into the moving and uplifting stories of these competitors on their path to the Netherlands next year.”
Harry hopes that the series, like the Invictus Games themselves, will inspire “global healing, human potential and continued service.” To help bring this vision to life, the series will be led by producer Joanna Natasegara and director Orlando von Einsiedel, who both won an Oscar for their documentary short The White Helmets in 2017.
What will the actual episodes of this series be like? What we know so far is that we will see the athletes training while also learning more about their inspirational stories. But the focus is not limited to the athletes: the series will also highlight the various organizers that are helping to bring the Invictus Games to life in 2022, after the 2020 event was delayed by the pandemic.
And we now know that Prince Harry himself will show up in the series. While this is great news for Harry’s fans, chances are he will keep appearances to a minimum to better focus on the athletes.
While Heart of Invictus sounds exciting, it is really just the beginning for Harry and Meghan. Their multi-year Netflix deal will include a variety of documentaries and docuseries as well as children’s programs, feature films, and scripted shows.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Archewell Productions team are building an ambitious slate that reflects the values and causes they hold dear,” Netflix’s Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “From the moment I met them, it’s been clear that the Invictus Games hold a very special place in their hearts, and I couldn’t be happier that their first series for Netflix will showcase that for the world in a way never seen before.”