Meghan Markle’s ‘Archetypes’ podcast on Spotify won’t be renewed after one season: report

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Meghan Markle’s "Archetypes" Spotify podcast won’t be renewed for a second season, according to sources familiar with the matter, a casualty of the audio company’s overhaul of its approach to podcasting.

Producers of the show, which explored labels that hold women back, have been told a second season won’t move forward after discussions months ago about the possibility another season, the sources said.

Markle’s podcast is the only project she and her husband, Prince Harry, completed for Spotify Technology after signing a roughly $20 million deal with the company in late 2020. The couple hasn’t met the productivity benchmarks required to receive the full payout from the deal, sources familiar with the matter said.

The cancellation is a sign of the continuing changes in the podcast market, a format popular among listeners, but one that has proven difficult to profit from for Spotify and many of its rivals.

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Meghan Markle's podcast "Archetypes" has reportedly been canceled. (Karwai Tang/WireImage / Getty Images)

"The team behind ‘Archetypes’ remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify. Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the ‘Archetypes’ audience on another platform," a spokeswoman for the couple’s Archewell Productions media company said.

Markle recently signed with talent agency WME. Conversations are ongoing for other homes for Archewell content, a person familiar with those discussions said.

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Spotify last week laid off 200 employees, including many audio engineers. The company announced a revamped approach to podcasting that includes making shows available on platforms outside Spotify and a shift to focus on offering creator tools to podcasters rather than making original content.

Meghan Markle's "Archetypes" podcast premiered last year. (Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

"Archetypes" launched to the top of Spotify’s charts of most listened-to podcasts in its premier week in August and included celebrity guests from comedians Trevor Noah and Mindy Kaling to singer Mariah Carey, tennis player Serena Williams and media personality Paris Hilton.

Spotify and Archewell executives had discussed a second season of "Archetypes" given the first season’s success, some of the sources said, but discussions stalled for months. Spotify told the team working on "Archetypes" in recent weeks a second season wouldn’t be produced.

Archewell Productions told The Wall Street Journal Markle is developing more content for the "Archewell" audience on other platforms. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Stepping back from working roles in the royal family and moving to the U.S. in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed content deals with Spotify and Netflix. The video streaming giant late last year released the docuseries "Harry & Meghan" in which the couple told the story of their relationship and the events that led them to split with the royal family.

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Harry earlier this year released his memoir, "Spare," which revealed details of the prince’s life in the royal family, including learning about his mother’s death and terse exchanges with his father and brother over how his wife was treated in the press.