Challenges aside, the production of the Netflix series Harry and Meghan turned out to be exceptionally satisfying for executive producers and creative partners Liz Garbus and Chanel Pisnik. And it’s not just because the show earned the streamer’s record as the most-watched documentary debut.

Series director Garbus has two Oscar nominations and seven Emmy nominations (won Best Producer for the documentaries The Ghost of Abu Ghraib and What Happened, Miss Simone?), 2021 In 1998, Pisnik was drawn into the project. He had just recently started working as the head of unscripted productions at Archwell Productions for the Duke and Duchess.

Garbus said he had previously worked with Markle on a children’s show Meghan was producing and felt they “work very well together.” This paved the way for Garbus and her film and television company, Story her syndicate, to be hired by .Harry & Duchess Meghan(It also produces a third company, Diamond Docs.)

Garbus and Pisnik met with Envelope on a joint Zoom to discuss getting to know the Duke and Duchess, documenting their tumultuous but loving journey and issues of trust.

Liz, what made you decide to take part in this project?

Garbus: When I go into making a documentary, I want to know if the people I work with want to share that they are games.i had [already] I got to know Meghan Markle, but I also wanted to know Prince Harry’s perspective.

I was on Zoom with both of them and … just hearing the story he had to tell, his desire to be open, purposeful people and theirs without the mediation of the British. We just heard of his desire to bring the story of the last few years of his life out into the world. Looking at the clickbait agenda of the tabloids, I was like, “Wow, this is clearly a story that the whole world is fascinated by.” And it can really work on a deep historical and cultural level as well.

Given the inherent limitations and sensitivities, what was your approach to filming the series?

Garbus: When you make a film about people, they always have agency because they can share what they want to share and retain what they want to keep.i don’t understand something [Harry and Meghan] Didn’t share, but that’s their right. As with other projects, we will build a relationship of trust with the target audience.

I wasn’t interested in reality shows. I wasn’t interested in being there in the morning when they got up and had coffee. I was interested in talking to them and getting them to be as open and transparent as possible and making connections with the larger organization. [thematic] Framework.

Pisnik: What was so unique about this project was that I had to be very careful with my personal archives.some things [Harry and Meghan] We needed to protect the archives to build trust and maintain respect for the project.so there were a lot [security] I think it introduced a protocol that went far beyond what other projects would probably do.

Have there been any attempts to get input from the British press? To hear their side?

Garbus: We were trying to keep this project very discreet and secret until Netflix chose to announce it to the world, which was announced just before we aired it. rice field. So the idea of ​​being in the British tabloids was kind of a no-brainer.

What surprised you about being Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as human beings?

Pisnik: For me, it was their relationship itself, how they looked at and interacted with each other. As we arc through the series, given how beautiful it is to see them together when they’re just at home, on Zoom, or sitting on the couch, as a throughline ‘s love story elements felt authentic and correct.

Garbus: I had already established a basic relationship with Meghan the previous year. I wasn’t a royal watcher… I had no such preconceptions. [Though] Perhaps I had visions of a family member with a stiff upper lip. As we all know from our docs, Harry is actually very talkative, very communicative, emotionally intelligent, and able to come to terms with his past and become a woman of color in America. I put a lot of effort into myself in terms of facing being a married man. It definitely surprised me.

Did this series help Harry and What is Meghan’s position with British naysayers and the media?

Garbus: One of the things I explored in the show is that in many ways this was Harry’s journey. That Prince Harry had this very fundamental trauma at an early age and felt very clearly that the royal family had failed to protect his mother. And as a child who lost his mother, there are some things I can’t forgive.

And I think Meghan would have been on this journey with Harry instead of dragging him out of where he would have stayed without her. Meghan actually took the blame for “destroying” something the British public felt was very important to them.after that [add] The way women have been placed in these kinds of stories is to throw in all sorts of misogyny and racist tropes, as they have historically been.

Pisnik: I also usually take note of how Liz and the team beautifully weave this whole story together, including the suspense, the ticking clock, and the socio-cultural context, far beyond the changed minds of the naysayers. I think it really captivated a non-existent audience. To have an opinion on this kind of subject.