Meghan Markle's Spotify plans revealed after content no-show for 18 months

In a teaser transcript released by Spotify, Markle says: "I'm Meghan, and this is Archetypes: the podcast where we dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back." Photo / Getty Images

The Duchess of Sussex has announced her first official podcast series for Spotify, 18 months after signing a $34 million ($48.8m) deal alongside her husband, Prince Harry.

Following months of criticism over the pair's failure to deliver any content, despite their hefty paycheck in 2020, Markle has finally revealed "Archetypes" as the podcast series she'll be hosting under the streaming behemoth.

According to Spotify, which describes the new podcast as "groundbreaking", the series will discuss the stereotypes "that try to hold women back".

In a teaser transcript released by Spotify and the royals own Archewell Audio, Markle says: "I'm Meghan, and this is Archetypes: the podcast where we dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.

"I'll have conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narratives. And, I'll talk to historians to understand how we even got here in the first place. Archetypes. Coming soon. Listen only on Spotify."

And she shares: "This is how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us. But where do these stereotypes come from? And how do they keep showing up in defining our lives?"

The announcement and content detail follows a move by Spotify to take the project "into its own hands" at the beginning of 2022, reports The Sun.

Last year was supposed to see a "full-scale" run of shows. But by the end of 2021, the only offering from the prince and his wife was a 35-minute "holiday special" which included Elton John and James Corden.

According to The Sun, with their big paycheck wired through, it meant their singular podcast had raked in roughly US$870,000 per minute.

In January the couple faced pressure to abort their Spotify deal after the audio giant was accused of hosting Joe Rogan's anti-vaccination content.

But the Sussexes opted to stay on, saying they wanted "to ensure changes to [Spotify's] platform are made to help address this public health crisis".

UK TV host and one-time friend of Markle, Piers Morgan, took exception to their decision and commented: "So a proven liar is now satisfied nobody else is lying? Beyond parody."

In a joint release by Spotify and Archewell Audio, they shared: "Spotify and Archewell Audio both value responsible stewardship of the audio landscape, and as explained recently, are committed to working closely to support transparency and strong principles of trust and safety."