Chanel Pysnik, one of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s earliest hires at Archewell Productions, is leaving after five and a half years. The company’s head of nonfiction, film and television is departing without an immediately announced successor, according to Deadline‘s November 3 report.
The couple credited Pysnik with shaping their unscripted programming and praised her approach to storytelling. “We are both championing her as she embarks on this next chapter,” they said in a joint statement.
Pysnik thanked Harry and Meghan for their trust and said she was proud of the business they had built, both creatively and commercially. She has not announced her next role.
Archewell continues to operate under the multiyear first-look agreement with Netflix announced on August 11, 2025. The arrangement replaced the original 2020 overall deal and gives the streamer the first opportunity to consider the company’s film and television projects.
Her Archewell Credits Include Harry & Meghan and Sports Documentaries
Pysnik joined Archewell in May 2021 after nonfiction roles at Disney+ and CNN. She went on to executive-produce Harry & Meghan, the six-part series tracing the couple’s relationship and departure from royal duties. Pysnik brought director Liz Garbus onto the series in 2021, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The documentary debuted in December 2022. In its partnership announcement, Netflix credited it with 23.4 million views in its first four days, making it the streamer’s largest documentary debut at the time. It also reached the English-language television Top 10 in 85 countries.
Her other credits include Heart of Invictus, Polo, Live to Lead and With Love, Meghan, which received a Daytime Emmy nomination this year. Netflix also lists her among the producers of Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within, a short documentary about a Ugandan children’s community and its dance performances.
Cookie Queens Took Her Documentary Work Beyond Netflix
Archewell’s first feature documentary, Cookie Queens, had Pysnik, Harry and Meghan among its executive producers. Directed by Alysa Nahmias, the film follows four Girl Scouts through cookie-selling season, including the long hours, ambitious targets and family expectations that accompany their efforts.
The project originated with producers Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, who approached Nahmias to direct, according to Dweck‘s account of the production. Jennifer Sims joined the three filmmakers on the producing team. The documentary premiered at Sundance in January 2026, with Pysnik and the Sussexes attending the festival.
It subsequently won the Festival Favorite audience award at SXSW, as the Sundance Institute records. Roadside Attractions released it in theaters on August 7, taking an Archewell-backed project to audiences outside the Netflix arrangement.
Two Netflix Romance Adaptations Remain in Development
Archewell’s scripted slate includes Meet Me at the Lake and The Wedding Date, neither of which has an announced release date. A November 4 Page Six report questioned their progress, although an industry source quoted in the same story cautioned that lengthy development periods are common.
Carley Fortune, whose novel Meet Me at the Lake was announced for adaptation in August 2023, offered an update during the June 18 episode of Jenna Bush Hager’s Open Book podcast. “We have a director attached, and the script is still being revised,” she said, according to Us Weekly.
The novel follows Fern and Will, who promise to meet again after a day together in Toronto; he returns nine years late. Fortune recalled discussing the story with Meghan and producer Tracy Ryerson before agreeing to the adaptation. Their conversation covered the mother-daughter relationship, parenthood, grief and mental health woven into the romance, and she said she felt they understood what mattered about the book.
The Wedding Date was announced in December 2025 with Girls Trip screenwriter Tracy Oliver attached to adapt Jasmine Guillory’s novel, as Kirkus Reviews reported from Deadline’s announcement. The story begins with an elevator encounter that leads a woman to pose as a stranger’s date at a wedding.
Netflix Disputed Claims Its Executives Had Lost Confidence
The partnership had already faced scrutiny in March, when Variety reported dissatisfaction among unnamed insiders. A Netflix spokesperson rejected claims that executives Ted Sarandos and Bela Bajaria had lost faith in the couple, calling that account “absolutely inaccurate.”
Separate staffing reductions reported in October concerned crews hired for individual productions rather than full-time Archewell employees, as Wealth of Geeks previously reported.
Netflix also ended its involvement in Meghan’s As Ever lifestyle brand in March. Although With Love, Meghan was not renewed for a full third season, a Sussex spokesperson told Variety that month that it would continue through seasonal specials.