Netflix whips up second season renewal of With Love, Meghan despite critical panning
With Love, Meghan is returning for a second series despite critical bashing
Netflix has renewed Meghan Markle’s royally panned lifestyle show With Love, Meghan for a second season, despite it being labelled “toe-curlingly unlovable TV” by critics.
The first 8×33’ season, produced by the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry’s own prodco Archewell Productions with the Intellectual Property Corporation, debuted on the streamer last week.
Shot at a farmhouse near the royal couple’s home in Montecito, California, it sees Markle share hosting and cooking tips in the kitchen and garden, while enjoying “candid” conversations with friends.
Guests include Roy Choi, Mindy Kaling and Alice Waters, with chefs and celebrities. Over the course of eight episodes, Markle overcomes worries such as harvesting honey for DIY beeswax candles, preparing a gourmet taco bar and how to best prepare parfaits for a kid-friendly tea party.
Described as a “heartfelt tribute to the beauty of Southern California”, Markle requested that the series be moved from its original January premiere date to March 4 due to the Los Angeles wildfires. She said: “I’m thankful to my partners at Netflix for supporting me in delaying the launch, as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California.”
The series ranked among Netflix’s global top 10 most watched shows in 47 countries within a day of its release. It’s currently the ninth most streamed show on Netflix’s UK service.
However, despite its popularity amongst viewers, With Love, Meghan has been savagely panned by dozens of critics and online observers, who have labelled it out of touch and a contrived PR stunt.
In the UK, The Telegraph newspaper gave the show two stars out of five and lambasted Markle’s presenting skills by saying “this hostess with the mostest act must be as exhausting for Meghan as it is for us watching at home,”. The Guardian, meanwhile, said: “Oh God, it’s toe-curling stuff. It’s the lack of humour, irony, self-awareness and apprehension of the reality of this deeply unequal and apocalyptic world that makes With Love, Meghan so unlovable in the end.”
Time declared: “With Love, Meghan is a dusting of flower sprinkles that can’t hide the blandness of the cookie, a polite but distant dispatch from a rented kitchen down the road in lieu of truly welcoming us into her life.”
Some critics suggested that the series was so bad it would signal the end of Netflix’s US$100m commercial partnership with Markle and Prince Harry, signed in 2020. However, season two of With Love, Meghan has already been filmed and is scheduled to premiere in the fall, Netflix has announced.
