Meghan Markle in the trailer for her new Netflix show With Love, Meghan. Photo / Netflix
Meghan Markle in the trailer for her new Netflix show With Love, Meghan. Photo / Netflix
Netflix executives are “worried” about the scathing reviews of Meghan’s new series, it’s been revealed.
An insider at the streaming giant admitted to the Mail Online that With Love, Meghan was not a “runaway success” and the announcement on Friday that season two is confirmed does not mean her and Prince Harry’s Netflix deal will be renewed.
The negative reviews had left Netflix bosses concerned, the source added, especially as they now held a business stake in her lifestyle brand, As Ever.
“The industry bibles like The Hollywood Reporter and Variety are not keen on it,” the insider said.
“Netflix bosses are all worried now because they have invested a lot in the product line. They don’t know when and how to roll it all out.”
With Love, Meghan premiered last Tuesday and while it enjoyed a brief stint in Netflix’s Top 10 section, it’s been almost universally panned by TV critics and has just a 20% rating from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
Variety’s was among the most brutal, describing it as a “Montecito ego trip not worth taking”.
“The show plays out like a forced march, one in which Meghan’s guests must, as the price of getting to share an afternoon in a made-for-TV kitchen with her, praise her first,” the review read.
“With Love, Meghan is made with a great deal of love – in the sense that the greatest love of all is the one that a person has for herself.”
Meghan hosts several of her friends on the series. Photo / Netflix
Meanwhile, Marina Hyde in The Guardian described it as “absurd and trite”.
“The mildest way to describe this show is as a ghastly artefact of a particular cultural era that recently met its apocalypse. This show is sensationally absurd and trite, and if you watch it, you know it.”
The eight-episode series was filmed in Montecito, California, the neighbourhood where Meghan and Harry live with their two children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3 – although their actual home wasn’t used.
It marks the duchess’ first solo venture as part of her and Harry’s five-year multimillion-dollar Netflix deal, which is reportedly due to expire this year.
On Friday, Meghan shared a video to her Instagram account featuring snippets of season one.
“If you’re loving Season 1, just wait until you see the fun we cooked up on Season 2!” she wrote.
“Thanks for joining the party, and an endless thanks to the amazing team and crew who helped bring it all to life!”
Season two has already been filmed and is expected to premiere in the second half of the year.
