Britain’s Prince Harry has announced that he is partnering with Oprah Winfrey on a mental health series for Apple TV+. The prince, who is also known as the Duke of Sussex, announced the partnership Wednesday on his official Instagram account. The show, which will launch on Apple in 2020, is co-created and executive produced by the Duke of Sussex and Winfrey.
The announcement said the pair had been developing the multi-part documentary series for several months. The as-yet-untitled series was first announced as part of Apple TV+’s upcoming slate at an event last month. It forms part of a multi-year content deal with Winfrey.
The series will focus on both mental illness and mental wellbeing with the intention to inspire its audience to engage in honest conversation about the challenges each of us faces and how to deal with them.
A statement from Prince Harry said it was his hope was that the series would be positive, enlightening and inclusive, sharing “global stories of unparalleled human spirit fighting back from the darkest places, and the opportunity for us to understand ourselves and those around us better.”
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“I truly believe that good mental health – mental fitness – is the key to powerful leadership, productive communities and a purpose-driven self,” read the statement. “It is a huge responsibility to get this right as we bring you the facts, the science and the awareness of a subject that is so relevant during these times. I am incredibly proud to be working alongside Oprah on this vital series.”
Prince Harry has long campaigned around the issue of mental health in the past, seeking to break the stigma around mental illness. He drew praise in 2017 after speaking candidly about the how the death of his mother, Princess Diana, had affected him. Speaking to journalist Bryony Gordon for a podcast for the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper in April of that year the prince revealed he had shut down all his emotions “for 20 years” which he said had “had a quite serious effect not only on my personal life but also on my work as well.” “My way of dealing with it was refusing to ever think about my mum because why would that help?” said Harry. “It’s only going to make you sad. It’s not going to bring her back. It was 20 years of not thinking about it and then two years of total chaos.”
Winfrey was a guest at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle in May 2018 at Windsor Castle.
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