Meghan Markle’s new TV lifestyle series was slammed by reviewers today as ‘gormless lifestyle filler’ with a ‘tangible desperation’ after it premiered on Netflix.
The Duchess of Sussex launched ‘With Love, Meghan’ this morning in what is being seen as a make-or-break moment for the couple’s $100million streaming deal.
But in Amanda Platell’s Mail+ column, which you can read here, she said the show is ‘so awful it is almost compelling’, while Prince Harry would be as ‘desperate’ as Meghan for it to be successful so they can continue their ‘millionaire LA lifestyles’.
Others have warned this could be the last show Meghan and her husband Prince Harry ever make for Netflix if it is not a ratings success – describing it as ‘pointless’.
One said it shows the Duchess is ‘attempting to cling to fame by any means possible’, while another described how she was ‘joylessly filling kids’ party bags with seeds’.
The eight episodes, which are each 33 minutes long, see Meghan inviting famous friends to a California estate where she shares cooking, gardening and hosting tips.
It comes after the 43-year-old former actress renamed her lifestyle brand As Ever, switching from the name American Riviera Orchard just weeks before the launch after facing trademarking setbacks – with Netflix now a partner in her business.
The couple are hoping the new show will be a hit for Netflix and therefore secure the long-term future of their bumper deal, but reception in Britain has been poor so far.
In Platell’s column, she writes: ‘Even if social media explodes with criticism of the show, it could be a win-win – it is so awful it is almost compelling and sources within Netflix hope it will prove irresistible to a ‘hate-watch’ audience of those who don’t like Meghan.’
The Duchess of Sussex launched her new lifestyle series ‘With Love, Meghan’ this morning
With Love, Meghan launched on the Netflix at 8am UK time today and midnight in California
Guardian TV writer Stuart Heritage said the series was ‘so pointless it might be the Sussexes’ last TV show’ and ‘might also be the final thing she makes for Netflix’.
He also said: ‘After Harry’s dud polo docuseries, the couple need to get back to giving people the dramatic monarchy revelations they crave – not a Duchess joylessly filling kids’ party bags with seeds.’
This was a reference to episode two when she offered tips on packing party bags to hand out at the end of a celebration, suggesting parents add ‘seeds that they can plant’ – and that it would ‘give them something to do on the car ride home’.
Mr Heritage wrote: ‘Nobody wants to see Meghan making decorative ladybird crostini with Mindy Kaling. With Love, Meghan is the sort of gormless lifestyle filler that, had it been made by the BBC, would be used to bulk out episodes of Saturday Kitchen.
‘With Love, Meghan’ lands on Netflix is aimed at showing a new side to the Duchess of Sussex
‘There is a version of Meghan that people want to see on screen. But it isn’t the joylessly joy-filled rictus version of With Love, Meghan.
‘No, they want to see the furious, righteous Meghan from Harry & Meghan. In other words, what they want is a proper Meghan reality show.’
Also in the Guardian, Marina Hyde writes: ‘The mildest way to describe this show is as a ghastly artefact of a particular cultural era that recently met its apocalypse.’
She adds that for Meghan it was ‘supposed to assist her transformation into domestic guru’, adding: ‘If you don’t mind arching an eyebrow at the lifestyle lunacies of fellow Montecito resident Gwyneth Paltrow, then at least have some consistency and give yourself a pass on this one. This show is sensationally absurd and trite, and if you watch it, you know it.’
In the Radio Times, columnist Caroline Frost cast doubt on claims in the Netflix blurb that Meghan would ‘reimagine the genre of lifestyle programming’ with her series.
She wrote: ‘This isn’t the most offensive TV show in the world, and useful for those who need to know how to pour Epsom salts into a jar, pour boiling water over pasta and daisies on a plate, but Brooklyn Beckham needn’t worry about giving up his chef’s hat just yet.
‘Meghan says she’s hoping to make magic out of ‘elevating ordinary things’. But this ordinary? Will enough people find basic sufficiently beautiful to get the hordes buying the merchandise as is the plan? Time will tell.
‘Has Meghan reimagined the genre as promised? Not so much, but I’ll keep watching.’
Anita Singh, the Telegraph’s arts and entertainment editor, gave the show a two-star review and said it was an ‘exercise in narcissim, filled with extravagant brunches, celebrity pals and business plugs’
She wrote: ‘The format is this: Meghan invites people to her pretend house – the show is filmed in an $8million farmhouse down the road from her $14million home – and they tell her how amazing she is. This happens for eight episodes.
‘It is all about ‘the joy of hostessing’ because Meghan is extremely welcoming to everyone, which you will know unless you are her father, her siblings, her father-in-law, her stepmother-in-law, her brother-in-law, her sister-in-law, 99 per cent of her husband’s old friends or Piers Morgan.’
Katie Rosseinsky, senior culture and lifestyle writer at The Independent, gave the show a one-star review and said it was ‘queasy and exhausting’.
She wrote: ‘The heady blend of aesthetic curation, inspiring truisms and those inescapable edible flowers might well leave you feeling a bit queasy – or simply worn out at the prospect of having to adequately perform gratitude for all the thoughtful touches involved in Meghan’s “guest experience” (“You filled this cellophane bag with peanut butter pretzels for me? How lovely!”).
‘After a few episodes, I need a lie down. Please don’t feel the need to pop a care package by the bed.’
The Spectator’s Alexander Larman said the show was ‘Brand Sussex’s final hope’ and described it as an ‘undistinguished thing’ that he had hoped would never be aired after it was delayed due to the Californian wildfires in January.
He wrote: ‘There is a tangible desperation here, a visceral sense of need and desire for this show to bring Meghan back into the spotlight, not as the wounded victim of a thousand negative headlines, but as the perky, all-American tradwife that her advisors have doubtless told her the public are receptive to.
‘So she will cajole her children on screen, and rent a £5million house to do the filming in, and produce Instagram content by the truckload.
‘With Love, Meghan is less a lifestyle show and more an unintentionally revealing insight into an intelligent and ambitious woman attempting to cling to fame by any means possible.’
Irish Times TV writer Ed Power was also unimpressed and said: ‘Her crudités are crude, her home-made candles look like something from the homeware aisle in Dealz [Ireland’s Poundland], and the ‘banter’ between host and guests has all the spark of a dead battery on a frosty morning.
‘Lustreless and bland, it doesn’t even rise to the status of a hate-watch. With Love, Meghan may well grab enough eyeballs to justify all that cash Netflix has stumped up – but this is nonetheless a moribund addition to the lifestyle TV genre.’
Meanwhile BBC News royal correspondent Sean Coughlan pondered whether the show marks a ‘final departure from any prospect of a return to palace life’ for Meghan.
He wrote: ‘The whole breezy, commercial charm of the show is a world away from the royals. This feels like looking forwards to a new future, without any more haggling over the past.
‘Everything that Meghan does gets intense attention. That’s partly because of how she polarises opinion. People who think she’s wonderful and people who can’t stand her are all interested in watching more.
‘This series will inevitably get attention because of Meghan’s involvement. But will there be enough for either her fans or her detractors to get their teeth into? How strongly can you feel about a cake with a few raspberries on top? Opinions will be divided. As Ever.’
And in a tongue-in-cheek review in The Standard, writer Melanie McDonagh said: ‘The great thing about With Love, Meghan – the Duchess of Sussex’s latest Netflix show – is that it’s all so simple!
‘What you really need are lots of rustic brown labels so you can make your special guests feel special by personalising their very own bath salts or pot of raspberry and peach preserve (her latest!), any amount of rustic ribbon and glass teapots so you can see your very own freshly snipped mint or ginger with cayenne brewing prettily, and large flat bottomed fruit baskets for gathering your own blackberries from thornless bushes.’
She added: ‘So, will this series fly? For laughs perhaps. But if you’re the kind of person who wants to be shown how to make a daisy chain or who gets a thrill from seeing the home life of our Duchess as she wants us to see it, or who wants tips on making pasta the way no Italian ever did (sitting on veg, in a frying pan cooked with water from a kettle), why it’ll be just your cup of tea. In a glass pot, natch.’
However, there was praise in Harper’s Bazaar from Bianca Betancourt, who previously joined the Sussexes for their Colombia tour last August as the pool reporter.
She wrote: ‘Meghan really does a strike a fine balance of giving audiences what they want to see (like gorgeous Montecito views along with a peek into the duchess’s personality) while still servicing the viewer.
‘All the recipes do look quite good without being unobtainable for the regular person at home—and now all I can think about is officially attempting to make my first salt-baked whole branzino or a fluffy honey lemon naked layered cake later this spring.’
At the end of her new show, Meghan seemingly made a subtle dig at the Royal Family, saying her ‘new chapter’ was ‘part of that creativity that I’ve missed so much’.
The Duchess of Sussex also spoke about ‘healing’ something ‘broken’ after she previously accused royal aides of preventing her from expressing her true self during her time in Britain.
She closed the last of eight episodes with a speech to guests including her husband Prince Harry and mother Doria Ragland , saying: ‘I just want to raise a glass to you guys.
Prince Harry tells his wife Meghan: ‘Well done. You did a great job.’ in the new Netflix show
Royal sources claim the new show could be the last roll of the dice for Harry and Meghan in a bid to strike a new deal with Netflix, following their $100million mega agreement in 2020
‘This feels like a new chapter that I’m so excited that I’m able to share and I’ve been able to learn from all of you. So I just thank you for all the love and support.
‘And here we go, there’s a business! All of that is part of that creativity that I’ve missed so much, so thank you for loving me so much and celebrating with me.’
Meghan is also seen speaking to Harry about the party she organised for the show: ‘It’s good, right?’ He says: ‘Well done. You did a great job.’ Meghan adds: ‘Thank you.’ And Harry then says: ‘I love it.’
In further moments during the new show and other developments today:
It comes five years after Meghan and Harry acrimoniously stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family and began a new life in California, which has been followed by a series of barbs about other royals and the struggles they had in the UK.
Now, the new series ‘With Love, Meghan’ has come out, with eight episodes timed at about half an hour each launching at 8am in the UK and midnight in California.
Earlier in the final episode, while making salad, Meghan – who returned to the US in 2020 – also says of the final dish: ‘It tastes like home, and I’ve missed California.’
Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland (front left) and Harry are among the guests at the party
In another nod to her troubled time with the Royal Family, in episode five her Suits co-star Abgail Spencer says ‘we’ve all been through a lot’ – then glances at Meghan.
In episode seven, Meghan also spoke about ‘healing’ when she discussed Kintsugi, Japanese art of repairing broken pottery, with her millionaire neighbour Vicky Tsai.
The Duchess told her: ‘You gave me this idea, I think it’s so meaningful, that if you break something that is precious and valuable, it’s not broken. That that fracture, and you taught me this, that that fracture actually makes it more beautiful, that break makes it more beautiful.
‘And I just think that it felt really symbolic of saying to anyone if you’ve been through something, you’re not broken. It can be fixed, it can be sealed and healed at the same time’.
Ms Tsai then says: ‘Or celebrated because it’s what makes you beautiful… perfect isn’t beautiful. Things that have lived and been dropped and put back together again are more beautiful.’
Filmed in the kitchen of a rented £5million mansion near the Sussexes’ Montecito villa, the new show promises an intimate ‘at home’ experience with Meghan.
But royal sources say it could be a make-or-break moment for Meghan and husband Prince Harry as they seek to salvage a $100million deal with the streaming giant.
‘Hello Honey!’
Episode one called Hello Honey! features Meghan’s friend Daniel Martin as she prepares a ‘thoughtful guest basket’.
It began with Meghan harvesting honey from bees as she said: ‘The biggest thing is keeping a low tone – talk in our bee voice’.
She is dressed in a beekeepers’ suit and talks about being scared of handling the bees but described it as ‘beautiful to be this connected’.
The show is a make-or-break moment for the Sussexes, who signed a deal with Netflix in 2020
Meghan whispers to a beekeeper who is helping her: ‘You know what it is? It’s like also that reminder to do something that scares you a little bit.
‘I think that’s part of it, but I’m trying to stay in the calm of it because it’s beautiful to be this connected.’
In the ‘Welcome to the Party’ episode, she is filmed picking fruit in her garden and reveals what encouraged her to begin making her famous jam.
As she picks blackberries from rows and rows of bushes she says: ‘These vines were here actually when we moved in, this is sort of what inspired my jam and preserve making.’
She describes how when the fruit is in season at their Montecito home in California it is a ‘daily’ task picking them.
Asked what her favourite preserve is she replies: ‘My grandmother used to make apple butter so I like that, it’s connected to something sentimental.’
Meghan also begins preparing a recipe for bath salts in a kitchen in episode one for her ‘dear friend’ Mr Martin who is ‘coming over’.
The Duchess has faced criticism over authenticity for hosting With Love, Meghan from a Californian farmhouse, rather than her own Montecito home.
She describes how one of her favourite things to do when people come to stay is ‘prep the guest room’ and think about their ‘good morning and night moment’.
‘Whenever I have someone come and stay, one of my favourite things to do is to prep the guest room,’ Meghan says.
‘I think about the two places of a guest experience once they’ve gone into their room. What’s at the side of the bed for them?
‘That’s their good morning and good night moment, and what is in the bathroom for them so they can have a beautiful soak, a nice bath at the end of night.’
The Duchess also later acknowledges she is not filming in her own home.
‘This isn’t my house. Daniel’s (Martin) gonna be staying at my house, but I’m gonna prep everything here as I would at home and then bring it back to my house so I can have it there for him,’ she says in episode one.
‘Welcome to the Party’
Meghan began a soft launch of her then-called American Riviera Orchard brand in April last year by sending celebrity friends jars of her homemade strawberry jam numbered up to 50, with the first going to her mother.
But when she invited her friend – actress and comedian Mindy Kaling – to her home for episode two, the duchess revealed the numbers on the jars caused some friction: ‘It was not a ranking, it was just ‘let me share them’ and then people started to take it very personally.’
Kaling told her: ‘When I received that in the mail, a box of your preserves it was probably one of the most glamorous moments of my life.
‘But then I looked at the label, and it said they were something like 50. And then I of course, as a very hierarchical person, was like ‘who are these other 50? Does having a lower number make me more special…”
She added: ‘(I went) straight up on Instagram. I’m looking to see who the other people are, and I’m zooming in to see what numbers they have.’
Meghan also said to Kaling that she would send her jars of her new raspberry and peach jams, telling her: ‘I did save one of 50 for my mom of course, felt like the right thing to do.
‘And then I just thought, anyone who got one of those 50 jars that I was making on my stove in my actual kitchen at my house, I hope they all felt like ‘I want to share this with you’.’
Meghan laughed when the actress replied: ‘It was extremely good, and a lot of people asked to taste it. You know what I told them, ‘get your own jar’.’
Kaling told her: ‘When I received that in the mail, a box of your preserves it was probably one of the most glamorous moments of my life.
‘But then I looked at the label, and it said they were something like 50. And then I of course, as a very hierarchical person, was like ‘who are these other 50? Does having a lower number make me more special…”
She added: ‘(I went) straight up on Instagram. I’m looking to see who the other people are, and I’m zooming in to see what numbers they have.’
The eating habits of the Sussexes are revealed during Meghan’s chat with Kaling, and when the comedian asks how to season eggs, the duchess replies: ‘Well I have a family, a husband, who no matter what meal is put in front of him before he tastes it puts salt on, so I try to under salt.’
Later Kaling asks whether she began cooking at home or picked it up later and Meghan replies: ‘I was a latch-key kid so I grew up with a lot of fast food and also a lot of TV tray dinners.
‘It feels like such a different time but that was so normal with the microwavable kids meals…’
Meghan’s new eight-part show features her showing how to host small events for friends
When the actress uses Meghan’s maiden name, the duchess speaks with pride about being a Sussex: ‘You keep saying, Meghan Markle, you know, I’m Sussex now.
‘You have kids, and you go, ‘now I share my name with my children’…I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to go ‘this is our family name, our little family name’.’
Two Kids from LA
In an episode featuring chef Roy Choi the pair cook Korean dishes and bond over growing up in Los Angeles, and the duchess reveals like her guest she will tidy up a hotel room before leaving, putting dirty towels in the bath tub.
When Choi says they will include the flavour enhancer MSG (monosodium glutamate) in a fried chicken dish, the duchess says: ‘I just remember there came a time in the 90s or early 2000s when you’re ordering food ‘no MSG,’ I don’t know quite how that happened.’
The chef replies: ‘Do you want to know the real reason, racist, it’s racist against Asians.’
He added: ‘It’s not any different than bouillon powder, it exists in all of the fast food that America was raised on. What we have now is this more democratic food culture where information can be accessed and you don’t see any young people saying MSG gets you sick anymore, right?’
Meghan replied: ‘I’m glad we’ve evolved in that way.’
Feels Like Home
In the eighth episode, the final one, called Feels Like Home, the Duke of Sussex is trailed as making an appearance as Meghan prepares to host a brunch for family and friends to celebrate the ‘next chapter’ in her life.
Meghan, wearing a blue maxi dress and putting the finishing touches to a spread of food outdoors, says: ‘Of course, my husband will be here, my mom will be here, my best friend since college, my community having a brunch in the sunshine with the people that I love, celebrating this next chapter of my life.’
She is joined by chef Alice Waters who helps her prepare the feast.
Before Waters arrives, Meghan wraps her a selection of gifts and says: ‘So I hope she and I can become friends. I can’t wait. I’m like ‘Do you want to come over to my house for Thanksgiving?”
Meghan later gushes over Waters, telling her she has inspired her.
At one point as Meghan watches Waters put lettuce leaves in a bowl, the duchess exclaims: ‘Has anyone in the world ever been so tickled by the sight of lettuces?’
Near the end of the episode, Meghan raises a toast at her brunch, saying this ‘feels like a new chapter’ which is ‘part of that creativity that I’ve missed so much’.
As Harry arrives, Meghan remarks ‘Oh there he is’ and the pair embrace and kiss each other on the lips.
Meghan later asks Harry as they hug: ‘It’s good, right?.’ The duke replies: ‘Well done. You did a great job… I love it.’
In her toast to Harry, her mother and her friends, Meghan says: ‘I just want to raise a glass to you, guys.
‘This feels like a new chapter that I’m so excited that I get to share and I’ve been able to learn from all of you. So I just thank you for all the love and support.
‘And here we go, there’s a business. All of that is just part of that creativity that I’ve missed so much, so thank you for loving me so much and celebrating with me.’
Meghan, one of the executive producers of the series, adds in a voiceover at the end of the last episode: ‘Just being home and connecting with friends, making new friends, I’m just so grateful for that.
‘But also reconnecting with myself and just learning, right? Like I’ve always been curious, sharing all those discoveries and everything I love with the people that I love it just brings me so much joy… Can’t end on a better note than that.’
Harry is filmed shoving berries in his mouth for the camera, and the final footage shows the duke chuckling with Meghan as the pair hug.
In the end credits is the tribute message ‘In loving memory of Guy’ – Meghan’s rescue beagle who featured in the show, but died in January.
Netflix launch at Ludlow House
It comes after Meghan fans with tattoos that read ‘As ever’ in honour of her new lifestyle brand were left stunned when she made a surprise appearance in New York.
The Duchess greeted a group of her shocked followers last night at a screening at Ludlow House, a Soho House private members’ club in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
They watched the opening episode in the exclusive venue and were then filmed on Meghan’s Instagram story looking shocked when she walked into the room.
The group had been following Meghan since the days of her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig and proudly showed off real tattoos that read ‘As ever’. They also had special bottles of Tignanello wine, which inspired The Tig name, for the occasion.
To celebrate the launch, Harry and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet made her a handwritten card along with a bouquet. It read: ‘Congratulations mumma! We love your show, and we love you!’ and was signed by ‘Lili, Archie [and] Papa.’
Rainbow fruit salad
In one teaser shared by Meghan ahead of the release, she said it’s a ‘real delight and luxury’ to be a ‘present parent’ while making a rainbow-themed fruit salad.
Meghan holds a chicken during an episode of her new Netflix show which came out today
She started by placing fruits such as grapes, blueberries and strawberries on a chopping board before declaring ‘you don’t have to do a big platter of this… you could do this with one small row for your kids for breakfast’.
‘It makes the morning a lot more fun’, said the mother-of-two, before adding: ‘Can I just show you? If you just made one.’
While building the smaller rainbow-themed fruit salad, she insisted: ‘It’s a real delight in being able to be a present parent. And it’s a luxury sometimes because we all have to work. We all have a lot of stuff to do.
‘But when you can take a minute to just… finding the fun in those moments, makes for a really sweet start to the weekend,’ added Meghan, before finishing off her colourful display with yogurt and flower sprinkles.
‘It doesn’t need to be big for a party, it’s how you incorporate these practices everyday,’ concluded the Duchess.
What does this mean for the Netflix deal?
Since Harry and Meghan signed the mega deal with Netflix in 2020, there has been one smash hit and three relative duds, sparking speculation that the streaming giant might soon cut ties.
The Duchess of Sussex shocked a group of her devoted followers in New York last night
Two devoted Meghan supporters proudly showed off real tattoos that read ‘As ever’
The Duchess shared a sweet gift from her husband and children. Meghan shared a photo of a large bouquet of flowers with a special card from her family. ‘Congratulations mumma!’ it read. ‘We love your show, and we love you.’The note was signed ‘Lili, Archie and Papa’.
Meghan arrives at Ludlow House, Soho House members’ club in New York City last night
The biographical ‘Harry & Meghan’ was the streaming service’s biggest documentary debut, viewed in almost 29 million households in its first four days, and proved a global sensation.
But Polo, a sports docuseries, Live to Lead – which focused on ‘global justice activists’ – and Heart of Invictus, about Harry’s games for wounded soldiers, proved lacklustre additions that failed to set the streaming service’s viewing figures ablaze.
‘With Love, Meghan’ sees the duchess trying to promote herself in a new way as a ‘domestic goddess’, baking cakes, arranging flowers and slipping into a beekeeper’s suit to collect honey.
However, in Los Angeles where Meghan and Harry live with their two children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, sources have said the Sussexes relationship with Netflix is on borrowed time, amid claims they have proven hard to work with.
‘The word bandied around internally is ‘nightmare’,’ one insider told the Sunday Times, with others claiming the chances of a deal being renewed would rest squarely on whether or not ‘With Love, Meghan’ proved a hit.
Unlike Polo, where the Sussexes had only a fleeting cameo, Meghan, 43, will be take centre stage in her new show, with Harry, 40, featuring in the background.
The former Suits star-turned-royal will also have the support of her celebrity pals, like close friend and fellow actress Abigail Spencer and the comedian Mindy Kaling, who both feature in the eight-part series.
Meghan Markle (pictured) said it’s a ‘real delight and luxury’ to be a ‘present parent’ while making a rainbow-themed fruit salad in a new sneak peek of her Netflix series
And its hoped the show could be a big platform for the Sussexes’ future leisure brand, ‘As Ever’, to launch from, which will sell items like jams, tea, pet products and soaps in shops owned by Netflix.
Sources say the success or failure of her products in the Netflix House superstores will would be pivotal in determining future Meghan’s entrepreneurial ambitions.
‘This is make or break for Meghan,’ one source previously told MailOnline. ‘Her new show is rolling out the same time as the Netflix stores open.
‘The Netflix stores will offer products and merchandise from all their biggest shows like Squid Game and Stranger Things.
‘This is a big move for Netflix. The first stores are in repurposed department stores inside two of America’s largest malls.
‘They will contain an onsite cafe so Meghan’s products like her strawberry jam will be featured on the menu too.
Meghan will be joined be some of her celebrity pals in the new show. Here she is seen with Suits co-star, Abigail Spencer
In one clip of ‘With Love, Meghan’, the Duchess of Sussex is shown prepping vegetables with the chef Roy Choi before the pair high-five one another
Meghan is seen using edible plants while adding the finishing touches to one of her puddings
‘This will determine the future for Meghan as a businesswoman. Let’s face it, she hasn’t been that successful so far.’
Meghan and Harry, who left royal life five years ago, have not had a stellar start to 2025. Rumours have reportedly swirled about the state of the pair’s marriage after they attended events separately, although they were photographed looking happy together at last month’s Invictus Games in Canada.
Meghan interview with People
Speaking to People magazine ahead of the release of her series the 43-year-old royal said filming her new show had helped her to rediscover her creativity – and that it had reignited ‘a spark’ in Harry’s eye.
‘It’s almost like a honeymoon period again because it’s exactly how it was in the beginning when he’d watch me scribbling away, writing newsletters, fine-tuning edits and just really being in the details of it,’ she told People magazine.
‘I think he loves watching as much as I love doing that creative process. It’s just been fun. This is who I’ve always been.’
Harry and Meghan have appointed a new chief of communications, just days before the release of the Duchess’s upcoming Netflix show
Previously, the duchess had a significant setback when her $20 million Spotify podcast series was cancelled with Spotify executive Bill Simmons describing Meghan and husband Prince Harry as ‘grifters.’
The couple’s $100 million five-year Netflix deal expires later this year and insiders believe it will not be renewed.
The source said: ‘If Meghan’s show is a massive hit and she sells tons of products off the back of it then maybe Netflix will reconsider but at this stage it’s all about them supporting her show and then quietly letting the contract run its course.’
Products with Netflix
The streaming giant hopes to eventually open Netflix House stores coast-to-coast.
On their website they say: ‘Netflix House is a year-round home for fans to live the stories they love. Enjoy rotating immersive experiences, exclusive merchandise, food, drinks and much more.’
Meghan’s new lifestyle show was originally set to air in January but, according to Netflix, was pushed back because of the devastating LA wildfires.
It was understood that the show was also being edited ‘to include Meghan’s philanthropic work around the fires’ which included visiting victims in Altadena, California.
She recently bragged about how she scored scored Billie Eilish merchandise for one 15-year-old girl who lost her family home.
Another clip from the show features Meghan in a full beekeepers’ outfit as she gathers honey
Pictured is a beaming Meghan, who will take centre stage for the new Netflix show
The source added: ‘Netflix is expanding and growing all the time and Netflix House is a natural progression. Meghan’s products will be in there alongside shirts and merchandise from some of the biggest shows on the planet.
‘It’s a bigger deal for her than it is for Netflix. If her show doesn’t take off, then her merchandise will be quietly taken off the shelves and replaced with products associated with a more popular show.
‘Netflix has a huge arsenal of shows to draw on so this venture into bricks and mortar retailing makes sense.
‘Eventually they are hoping to open stores internationally.’
£5million mansion for filming
Viewers have been promised a new intimate ‘at home with Meghan’ experience with ‘wonder in every moment’.
But the royal has in fact chosen to film the eight-episode series ‘With Love, Meghan’ in a kitchen and home that isn’t her own – despite living around the corner.
The 43-year-old duchess plucked for a sprawling estate just two miles from the £11million Montecito property she shares with Prince Harry and their children, Archie and Lilibet.
The mansion where her Netflix show was filmed last year, an idyllic $8million (£5million) estate nestled within a gated community, boasts eight acres of avocado trees and lemon groves and is owned by Montecito’s influential Cipolla family.
MailOnline revealed Meghan is not using her own Montecito mansion, but instead using the kitchen of philanthropists Tom and Sherrie Cipolla
Production trucks and tents lined the driveway of a $8million property set in eight acres of avocado and lemon groves in a gated community in Montecito for filming of ‘interior and exterior dialogue scenes’
The homeowners have hosted fundraisers at the same home where Meghan played house
Tom and Sherrie Cipolla, fixtures in the high society circles of the American Riviera, are both in their 70s. They are prominent philanthropists with a $20million property portfolio, which includes a physical therapy practice with over $1.3million in annual sales.
Their 4,500 sq ft home, with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, has stunning French doors that open to a patio, lawn, and breath-taking mountain views.
And it is the stage for Meghan to showcase her cooking and homemaking skills including a number of British-inspired recipes such as a classic Eton mess and a Victoria sponge.
She is seen cooking, baking, cocktail making, flower arranging and party planning using its kitchen’s £15,000 cooker, £600 pans, £60 chopping boards and hosting friends across the property’s stunning rooms, garden and orchards.
Meghan has vowed to ‘share the joys of gardening, friendship, and entertaining’ with guests in the luxurious home of the Cipolla family.
The property features the centerpiece of the estate: a spacious kitchen with Caesartone countertops, estimated to cost about £200 to £550 per square metre and a 48-inch Thermador range cooker, which comes with a hefty price tag of around £15,000.
Behind her, cream-coloured Shaker-style cabinetry and a farmhouse-style sink is punctuated with contrasting black hardware.
Alongside other kitchen staples such as copper pans, for around £200 to £600 and her favourite Vitamix E320 Explorian Blender, which is loved by countless other stars such as Miranda Kerr, Gwyneth Paltrow and Zac Efron but will set you back £450.
The property, an idyllic $8million estate nestled within a gated community, boasts eight acres of avocado trees and lemon groves, but it belongs not to Meghan, but to Montecito’s well-heeled Cipolla family
Pictured: the barn-room. Meghan will cook, entertain, and ‘share the joys of gardening, friendship, and entertaining’ in the luxurious home of the Cipolla family
The property features the centerpiece of the estate: a spacious kitchen with Caesartone countertops, where Meghan sliced her victoria sponge – a British classic
Donning the back of the stove you see a selection of black walnut chopping boards, which provide an easy aesthetic vibe to the kitchen but each one should cost about £60.
In perfect influencer style she also uses an array of state-of-art Le Creuset cookware, all in matching white. A single pot online retails for about £180-£250.
In one shot, the mother-of-two served a caprese appetizer – adorably made to look like ladybirds.
Sitting on small pieces of bread, the bodies were made of baby tomatoes with small black dots with olive heads and sat on a bed of mozzarella and salad.
They sat on a blue floral patterned plate, which is believed to be the Blue Peony Plate from Earth and Element, a female owned ceramics studio located in Los Angeles. The plate prices start from £32 ($40) for each bread plate and £57 ($70) for a dinner plate.
In another shot, a beautiful salad bowl sits on top of the stunning island bench.
The bowl resembles one found to be from Astier de Villatte – a line of ceramic made in Paris from black terracotta clay finished with a signature milky white glaze.
They sat on a gorgeous blue floral patterned plate, which is believed to be the Blue Peony Plate from Earth and Element, a female owned ceramics studio located in Los Angeles
Donning the back of the stove you see a selection of black walnut chopping boards
In another shot, a beautiful salad bowl sits on top of the stunning island bench
A 48-inch Thermador range cooker, which comes with a hefty price tag of around £15,000 can be seen in the background of many shots
Meghan also served guests a dessert that appears to resemble Eton Mess, containing strawberries, cream, mint and a berry coulis
The websites notes that each piece is handmade and will feature unique variations, with the large Adelaide Salad Bowl retailing for £280 ($345).
Meghan also served guests a dessert that appears to resemble Eton Mess, containing strawberries, cream, mint and a berry coulis.
She serves the pink sweet in a old fashioned ice-cream dish, with similar versions found on Crate and Barrel for an affordable £3 ($3.95) per cup.
Meghan’s new lifestyle brand
Meghan’s cooking show is not only part of her personal reinvention but also a key component in her $100million Netflix deal with Harry – and a lucrative chance for her to boost her lifestyle brand.
Meghan ‘soft launched’ the company on Instagram last year, calling it American Rivera Orchard.
But last month the duchess was forced to scramble and rebranded the firm, naming it ‘As Ever’ in a move branded a disaster and a ‘total rush’ for using ‘recycled’ promos made a year ago.
As revealed by MailOnline, the relaunch leaked online at least a day before her Instagram announcement.
One communications veteran ridiculed the shambolic revamp, saying: ‘You wouldn’t catch Kim Kardashian doing this’, adding the 11th hour name change ‘telegraphed inauthenticity’.
‘As Ever’ was launched in a breathless selfie-style video and will sell jam – first trailed by Meghan and her famous friends last year – plus what looks set to be huge homeware and gardening ranges in the US.
Meghan, hand in hand with her daughter Lilibet, in the cover photo for her new brand’s website
The jam that Meghan shared with celebrity pal under the previous name for her lifestyle brand
There was also a subtle dig at the Royal Family because Meghan told followers she had not been able to share her passion for food and home for ‘years’ until now. She shut her blog The Tig and social media accounts when she fell in love with Prince Harry.
However, within hours of the official announcement of As Ever, it faced a fresh crisis – after a tiny Spanish town accused Meghan of copying their coat of arms for the lifestyle brand’s logo.
Civic bosses in the sleepy Mallorca community of Porreres had been so stunned at the similarity of the design that they looked into potentially launching legal action against the Duchess – although this was later ditched.
The logo, which depicts two birds hovering on either side of a palm tree, is nearly identical to Porreres coat of arms.
The striking similarity sparked fierce criticism online, with onlookers accusing Meghan of ‘clear cut plagiarism’ and making an ‘exact copy’ of the design.
Local mayor Xisca Mora said the likeness was ‘surreal’ but told EL PAÍS that although the town is not in a position to take legal action over alleged plagiarism, they are demanding that the logo be removed.
Spot the difference: Meghan’s logo for her rebranded As Ever luxury firm (left), and the coat of arms for the sleepy Mallorca town of Porreres (right)
Xisca Mora, the mayoress of Porreres, said everyone in the town wanted the logo to be removed
The sleepy village of Porreres on the island of Mallorca
The town’s heraldic coat of arms dates back to 1370 and is a significant part of the town’s cultural heritage.
Xisca told MailOnline: ‘We are still a bit shocked, we thought it was fake news at first, we didn’t know what was happening.
‘Then loads of newspapers and media started calling us and we realised it was serious.’
She said the similarities were ‘undeniable’, adding: ‘They are the same, except the birds are a little different and they used different colours, but they are nearly identical.’
A wave of backlash flooded in on social media after the row, with people online ridiculing the situation.
And in yet another humiliating blow for the Duchess, the name of her new lifestyle brand also sparked controversy at it was revealed to be the same as a US clothing retailer which had been in business for years.
Mark Kolski, the designer and owner of New York vintage clothing studio ‘As Ever NYC’, was left ‘reeling’ from the news Meghan decided to relaunch her ‘American Riviera Orchard’ company under the same name as his own clothing label.
The owner of the Big Apple independent retailer even looked into whether or not to take legal action over potential trademark infringement.
However, after exploring his options, Mr Kolksi, 58 last week revealed he’s no longer planning any legal response and is simply going back to work.
He also denied there has been any ‘battle’ between himself and the Duchess over the name and their teams have not spoken to one another.
Speaking in an interview with the New York Times, he said: ‘I’m not trying to mount some legal offensive here.
‘Right now, I’m just going back to work, and I’m trying to keep the awareness on my brand. If any conflict eventually arises that affects my business, I’ll evaluate that then.
‘What it feels like is out there people are making comments, and the media they want to create a rift between us, but there isn’t. I haven’t talked to them. They haven’t talked to me. There’s no battle going on.’
‘With Love, Meghan’ is now available to stream on Netflix
