#SmallScreenScenes @lifetimetvpr @lifetimetv LIFETIME ANNOUNCES CAST AND RELEASES FIRST PHOTO FROM HARRY & MEGHAN: ESCAPING THE PALACE
LIFETIME SAYS ‘HAPPY ANNIVERSARY’
TO HARRY & MEGHAN WITH THE CASTING OF
SYDNEY MORTON AND JORDAN DEAN
TO STAR AS THE ESTRANGED ROYALS IN
HARRY & MEGHAN: ESCAPING THE PALACE
(L to R) Jordan Dean as Harry and Sydney Morton as Meghan
Lifetime is ready to spill the tea! Three years ago today, the world witnessed the nuptials of Prince Harry to actress Meghan Markle while Lifetime has documented their whirlwind, fairytale romance in films Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance and Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal. For the third installment of the franchise Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace, Jordan Dean (The Punisher) and Sydney Morton (She’s Gotta Have It) take on the crowns for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which began production this week in Vancouver for a fall 2021 debut. Dean and Morton will fill the royal shoes vacated by Parisa Fitz-Henley and Murray Fraser in 2018’s hit film Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance, followed by Tiffany Smith and Charlie Field for the second installment Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal in 2019.
Returning cast members include Jordan Whalen as Prince William, Laura Mitchell as Kate Middleton, Steve Coulter as Prince Charles, Maggie Sullivun as Queen Elizabeth II, Melanie Nicholls-King as Doria Ragland, Bonnie Soper as Princess Diana, Deborah Ramsay as Camilla and James Dreyfus as palace insider Leonard. Executive producers Merideth Finn and Michele Weiss, director Menhaj Huda and writer Scarlett Lacey also return for the third installment.
Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace explores what really happened inside the palace that drove Harry (Dean) and Meghan (Morton) to leave everything behind in order to make a future for themselves and their son Archie. The movie will detail Meghan's growing isolation and sadness, their disappointment that "The Firm" was not defending them against the press's attacks and Harry’s fear that history would repeat itself and he would not be able to protect his wife and son from the same forces that may have contributed to his mother’s untimely death. Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace will examine the dynamics between Will (Whalen) and Harry, Kate (Mitchell) and Meghan, and Harry with Will and Charles (Coulter), that lead to the ultimate break from the royal ties.
Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace is executive produced by Merideth Finn and Michele Weiss. Menhaj Huda will direct from a script by Scarlett Lacey.
A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights to the three-film Harry & Meghan franchise.
BIOS
Jordan Dean recurred as “Jake Campbell” in the second and final season of Marvel’s The Punisher on Netflix and recurred as “Ludlow Fowler” in Amazon’s period drama series Z: The Beginning of Everything. His additional television work includes HBO’s High Maintenance, USA’s Golden Globe nominated series The Sinner, CBS’s Bull, and USA’s Royal Pains. His recent Broadway stage work includes Macbeth, directed by Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh, American Psycho (with his ‘Harry & Meghan’ co-star Sydney Morton) directed by Rupert Goold and Shows for Days where he worked opposite Patti Lupone and Michael Urie. He is repped by Buchwald and Untitled Entertainment.
Sydney Morton’s television appearances include two seasons of Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, she also co-starred opposite Octavia Spencer in Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker both on Netflix and recently began recurring as “Alex” on NBC's Manifest. On Broadway she has appeared in the original companies of Memphis, Evita, Motown the Musical, The Secret of My Success (pre-Broadway), American Psycho (with her Harry & Meghan co-star Jordan Dean), as well as the National Tour of Flashdance. She is repped by BRS-Gage and Steve Maihack at 44 West Entertainment.
ABOUT LIFETIME
Celebrating 35 years of entertaining audiences, Lifetime is a premier entertainment destination for women dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning award-winning movies, high-quality scripted series and breakout non-fiction series. Lifetime has an impressive legacy in public affairs, bringing attention to social issues that women care about with initiatives such as the long running Stop Breast Cancer for Life now in its 25th year, Stop Violence Against Women which relaunched in 2018, and Broader Focus, a major global initiative dedicated to supporting and hiring female directors, writers and producers, including women of color, to make its content. Lifetime Television®, LMN®, Lifetime Real Women® and Lifetime Digital™ are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.
