Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hope to stomp out stereotypes about polo with their new Netflix show, according to the docuseries’ showrunner, Miloš Balać.
Balać spoke to The Post on Monday before Tuesday’s release of Harry and Meghan’s five-episode documentary series, “Polo,” and revealed that the couple wants viewers to know that the sport isn’t just about rosé and royalty.
Set at the 2024 US Open Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida, “Polo” goes behind the scenes of the tournament and follows some of the sport’s biggest players and the sacrifices they make for the game they love.
“Both Prince Harry and Meghan were just amazing collaborators from the start,” said Balać, who also produced Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s soccer docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham.”
“They have so much knowledge about the sport, but also an understanding that we’re trying to bring new people into this world.”
In Balać’s eyes, Harry and Meghan brought distinct perspectives to the project.
“Harry comes at it as an athlete himself who’s grown up in this world and is just a pro – expert, expert expert,” the producer explained.
“And then Meghan comes at it more like me,” Balać added, noting that he knew nothing about the sport before working on the series.
Meghan, who started dating Harry in 2016, is now well-versed in all aspects of the game; however, the Duchess of Sussex can relate to how many “Polo” viewers will see the sport.
“And so then it was about sort of taking from each of those perspectives and building out the world the way we did,” Balać shared.
Asked whether Harry and Meghan had their own takes on the project, Balać replied, “I think the collective intention was definitely, definitely to grow the audience of polo.”
“I think the difference in approach was that Harry, you know, is really seeing it as ‘look at how incredible these athletes are. Look how incredible these animals are’ which Meghan sees and says the same,” he continued.
“But I think for her, it’s also like, ‘Look at how incredible this community is.’”
He explained, “You know, she’s the one who’s sitting watching from the side of the field and she was there, and we wanted to showcase that part of the world as well, where it really does feel like one big family. I think that was really the feeling we were going for from the start.”
“But the intention was very unified: this is a sport that we think a lot more people will love once they see beyond the stereotypes,” he added of the Duke and Duchess’ motivation in making the show.
“It’s not ‘Pretty Woman.’ It’s not just about [the] rich and glamorous life on a Sunday. That definitely is part of the appeal. You know, that’s undeniable. But that’s on a Sunday, one match a week. The rest of the week is a lot of hard work, a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”
The sport also has “a lot of casual fun,” Balać said. “A lot of people pulling up in their pickup trucks, tailgating, watching a sport they love with their family, with their dogs, taking care of their horses — it really is a lifestyle that I think more people can maybe embrace than they might think.”
Before the show’s release, many wondered if Harry would appear in the show. To his fan’s delight, the royal is featured heavily in the series’ fifth and final episode, playing in a match benefitting his charity, Sentebale, which he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.
The organization helps vulnerable children in Lesotho and Botswana, including those living with HIV/AIDS and mental health challenges. It draws a significant amount of funding from its annual polo match —The Sentebale Polo Cup.
However, Harry wasn’t originally supposed to be featured as prominently on the show, with his appearance resulting from a serendipitous scheduling overlap.
“The premise of the series was always really to capture polo at its highest level in the US,” Balać told The Post. “It was about these athletes and their families.”
But as it turns out, this year’s Sentebale Polo Cup was slated in Wellington, Florida, at the same time the US Open was taking place.
“I think we were all very frankly, pleasantly surprised at the serendipity that the Sentebale charity match this year was scheduled for Wellington, which really was by chance. And so we got to feature the Duke in the project,” Balać said.
“But otherwise I think we all would have been perfectly happy if he, you know, if it was just about the US Open, because that was always what we thought it would be.”
All five episodes of “Polo” are available to stream now on Netflix.
