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Reviews are out for Prince Harry and Meghan’s latest Netflix project, Polo, the latest installment of their £80million deal with the streaming service.
But despite likely high hopes of it joining the ranks of great sports documentaries such as Disney+’s Welcome to Wrexham and 2020’s The Last Dance, the series has come under fire.
Receiving two stars or less out of five across the board, the five-part program has been labeled “a tedious look inside posh polo” and a “mostly boring look at a sport in which very few people outside of the elite circles have something in particular. interest in’.
For the guardian Stuart Heritage, who awarded the series only two stars, “Polo seems destined to fall into darkness through submenus at the speed of light.”
He telegraph Meanwhile, Ed Power noted that “there weren’t enough Sussexes to make this anything more than a boring indulgence about a rich person’s quest.”
After the Duke of Sussex caused a storm with his explosive Netflix documentary released in December 2022 that took aim at his own family, he cuts a surprisingly low-key figure on the show, which premiered on Monday.
The Prince, 40, only appears a handful of times across the five episodes, and his wife Meghan, 43, appears even less, even though they are both executive producers of the series.
Harry appears in the show’s opening credits, but does not appear again until episode four, when he is only part of a conversation with the other players.
Reviews are out for Prince Harry and Meghan’s latest Netflix project, Polo (pictured), the latest installment of their £80million deal with the streaming service.
But despite likely high hopes that this will join the ranks of great sports documentaries like Disney+’s Welcome to Wrexham and 2020’s The Last Dance, the series has come under fire.
Instead, the series focuses mainly on Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso, Louis Devaleix, Timmy Dutta, Nacho Figueras, Keko Magrini, who overshadow Harry, and the preparations for the US Open.
THE TELEGRAPH
He telegraph Ed Power noted in his two-star review of Polo, the The Prince’s “disconcertingly small” appearance in his own series.
“Netflix and Archewell team up for a tedious look inside the posh polo and, for once, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex don’t hog the spotlight,” the reviewer said.
He concluded: “There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears in the series, but not enough of the Sussexes to make this anything more than a boring caper about a rich person’s pursuit.”
DECISION MAKER
Meanwhile, Decider urged viewers to “skip” the series in its review, stating: “Polo is a mostly boring look at a sport in which very few people outside elite circles have any particular interest.”
Critic Joel Keller insisted: “It was hard to connect with the first episode, because it presents a world that is not only not very relatable to most people, but is also boring.”
However, the writer admitted that “if you want to know the basics of the game of polo, then Polo should be an interesting watch.”
THE GUARDIAN
The Guardian called polo “the stupidest, most disgusting sport known to mankind” and a “playground of the rich.”
In one scene, Harry and Meghan share a sweet kiss, but the event in Florida was already photographed back in April.
The Guardian called polo “the stupidest, most disgusting sport known to mankind” and a “playground of the rich.”
Reviewer Stuart Heritage said: “Mainly, though, Polo seems destined to tumble into obscurity through submenus at the speed of light. And rightly so.
“It’s loud and specific, and feels like a mockumentary designed to play on screens in the background of Succession episodes.
“The finale of last season does everything it can to set up a sequel, but I really don’t think any of us deserve that.”
The program goes behind the scenes of professional polo and offers an “unprecedented look into the lives of players on and off the field.”
talking to People Magazine Previously, Harry said: “This series offers audiences an unprecedented look behind the scenes at the passion and determination that drives some of the world’s elite polo players, revealing the value behind the glamour.”
“We are proud to show the true depth and spirit of the sport and the intensity of its high-risk moments.”
Polo, the Netflix series of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: THE JANE FRYER VERDICT
Pole
Another Christmas, another creative offering from Harry and Meghan, those titans of television, who always work in their Montecito mansion.
Two years ago, we had Harry and Meghan’s six-episode miniseries, the first show in their $100 million deal with Netflix under which they promised to produce “content that informs but also gives hope” through a “truthful lens.” and identifiable.”
Since then, we’ve had a decent documentary about Harry’s Invictus Games and another, less good one, about leadership.
His $20 million Spotify Archetypes podcast was scrapped in 2023 after just 13 episodes. And even though there’s a lot of talk about a Meghan cooking show, there’s still no show.
But none of that has dampened his spirits. Because now they bring us Polo.
Sadly, it’s not the next series of Dame Jilly Cooper’s brilliant and mischievous adaptation of Rutshire game marathon, courtesy of Disney+. But, instead, a five-part documentary series about the impressive elite world of polo, which will “pull back the curtain on the courage and passion of this sport.”
To be fair, in the first moments it shows a lot of promise.
Harry and Meghan’s Polo Flash appearance comes at the beginning of episode five, when Harry plays a charity polo match for his non-profit organization Sentebale.
That we are going to enjoy ‘one of the most exciting sports you can imagine’. Full of ‘dirty, sweaty, sexy guys – riding…’, lots of drama and tension, and a man in a fuchsia pink polo shirt smashing a cooler with his polo stick in anger.
Perfect for a rainy Wednesday in London. You would think.
The ‘drama’ focuses on the preparations for the World Cup in Florida, where many very thin women with very smooth faces and less smooth necks will cheer on muscular men who take everything very seriously.
“Our lives are in danger every time we go out,” says one polo player, as if he were a firefighter or a sailor, or perhaps a disaster relief worker.
‘Polo is not just a sport. Polo is a lifestyle. We eat, we breathe, we sleep polo!’ cries another.
And they clearly work hard at it, because they are all wonderfully muscular and muscular, with strikingly white teeth, strong forearms, very expensive watches, Louis Vuitton holdalls, and chests like brick walls.
We see them lifting weights, skydiving, deep-sea fishing, and driving expensive cars with beautiful leather interiors while dramatic music swirls.
And we learn that 22-year-old Tim Dutta is a sweet kid financed by his overbearing father, who always shouts “we’re here for one thing and that’s to win,” and pampered by his mother. But at least he seems to love his horses a lot.
Nacho Figueras and Delfina Blaquier with Meghan and Harry at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge to benefit Sentebale in April
That Adolfo Cambiaso, from Argentina, is the ‘Michael Jordan of Polo’.
And that Louis Devaleix, the disgusting boss and player of a team called La Fe, is a brilliant box-breaker, and also has biceps as big as hams, a bad temper, a pregnant wife and doesn’t seem to care much about his ponies. .
‘I don’t even know what my damn horses are called!’ he says.
It seems strange that executive producers Harry and Meghan were so desperate to share this gruesome world with the rest of us.
But despite criticism that the sport is fiercely elitist, a carbon disaster and not always very nice for the poor ponies (don’t get Peta talking, for God’s sake), Meghan is said to love the whole sport scene. pole.
And according to his best friend and fellow polo player, Nacho Figueras, Harry’s “dream and passion has always been to share with the world what it takes to be a truly competitive polo player.”
Although, unfortunately, not in person.
Because while they were “heavily involved” in the making, they’re not actually involved, aside from Harry’s five-second cameo in the third minute and a brief joint appearance in Episode Five.
But his ridiculous polo friends do everything they can to make up for that, explaining to us newbies that there are four on a team, six seven-and-a-half-minute chukkas (periods of play) per match, and that riders change horses ‘like Formula One drivers.
And strutting around in tight pants, popping confetti-filled balloons to choose matches, showing off their bare breasts and making ridiculous comments like ‘polo gives me hope that I can achieve something’ and ‘I was made by God to play polo.’ ‘.
As horrible as it all is, I wonder if, in the right hands, it could have been fun, guilty-pleasure television: a sort of brilliant mix of Rivals, Selling Sunset and Made in Wrexham, which had us screaming in horror at the telly. happiness.
Instead, somehow, it’s flat, plodding, and pretty boring. And if you tried, you couldn’t be further from “content that informs but also gives hope.”