Meghan Markle’s new Netflix series, “With Love, Meghan,” was just released on Tuesday, and it’s already being heaped with criticism from news outlets and viewers weighing in via social media.
The series was marketed as a lifestyle show meant to highlight some of the Duchess of Sussex’s favorite tips for entertaining. The trailer promised a cast of guest appearances from Markle’s friends like Mindy Kaling and others. But from the get-go, fans were confused as to why the former working royal would choose such a saturated genre.
“Meghan, Duchess of Sussex invites friends and famous guests to a beautiful California estate, where she shares cooking, gardening and hosting tips,” the series description on Netflix says.
All eight episodes became available on Tuesday after the release was delayed due to the Los Angeles County wildfires. While some reviews support Markle’s latest creative endeavor, many others are mocking it.
A reviewer from The Guardian called it “pointless” and predicted it would be the Sussexes’ last television show after several Netflix flops. The outlet also said the series was bound to fail “unless the broader public suddenly develops a hankering for long-form television programmes about a woman filling children’s party bags with seeds and manuka honey.”
The Duchess of Sussex also got ridiculed for an unconventional recipe for spaghetti, which she claimed she put in her children’s lunch boxes the next day.
“That’s not food – that’s punishment!” one person remarked.
“With so little water, the dish must be a gluey, sticky, starchy brick,” another person agreed.
“Her food looks very basic and a bit boring,” a third echoed.
Commenters on X were not impressed either.
“I just saw the 8 episodes, and they are worse than you can possibly imagine,” one viewer replied.
“I’m so glad Meghan Markle has a new show on Netflix where I can watch her take pretzels out of a labeled bag and put them into a new bag…then label it. The people’s Martha Stewart!” another commenter joked.
Another chimed in, “This is literally the most basic, uninspired content I’ve ever seen. My local grocery store makes better fruit rainbows. It’s not creative, it’s not original, it’s boring and even worse is her insufferable banter.”
“All of Meghan Markle’s ‘recipes’ can be found on Pinterest,” another person observed, highlighting a photo of a rainbow fruit tray that looked identical to one a blogger had posted about previously.
Viewers were also frustrated over how fake it all felt, especially since the show wasn’t filmed in her actual home.
The Google Reviews so far are very low, with a current average rating of 2.4 out of 5.
“Imagine if Martha Stewart and Gwyneth Paltrow had a love child who was raised by a committee of Instagram influencers—that’s essentially what we have here. Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle and cooking show on Netflix is a glossy, filtered, and utterly exhausting journey into the world of perfectly curated nothingness,” one reviewer wrote, adding that the “small, relatable moments” the show highlights “often feel as authentic as a Kardashian family dinner.”
