When I watched the first season of With Love, Meghan, I thought that while the production “looked expensive,” it was probably a relatively inexpensive show to produce. So I was surprised when the Duchess of Sussex spoke about WLM having an 80-person crew. Where? Why? I had to adjust my thoughts and expectations around the production. Originally, I thought that Netflix would support WLM indefinitely because hey, it was cheap to produce and they had the synergy of the As Ever line to support as well. But if WLM really has an 80-plus person crew, it’s really expensive to produce for what it is – a homey cooking/lifestyle show with what looks like sagging ratings for the second season. I’m not saying that Meghan, Netflix or Sussex fans should hit any panic buttons, but it’s worth discussing the idea that if WLM gets a third and fourth season, some changes might need to be made.
Meghan Markle’s cooking show failed to make the top 10 on Netflix, and PR experts told Newsweek that the slump will likely rule out a third season. However, despite the negative sentiment, the show’s first season did make the global, U.S. and U.K. top 10, with 2.6 million views. The second season, however, failed to make the list in all three regions with no decision yet made on whether to renew for Season 3.
With Love, Meghan debuted in March to scathing reviews in both Britain and America, alongside a wave of mocking parodies by influencers on TikTok. Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, told Newsweek: “When a royal brand can’t crack the board, it’s likely an obituary for season 3. Even with Chrissy Teigen and Tan France glitter-bombing the set, the series hit the pavement. Given that it’s missed by a mile, where even hate watchers stayed home, Season 3 is unlikely.”
Teigen was a guest in one episode and brought her husband, musician John Legend, briefly on set, while Queer Eye fashion expert France got Meghan talking about her relationship with Prince Harry during filming.
Nick Ede, a U.K. based brand and culture expert, agreed: “I doubt it will be renewed because Netflix is all about algorithms, it’s all about viewers, it’s all about touch points that create zeitgeisty moments. The first season did that. The second season was panned. The guests weren’t particularly great, so that didn’t elevate it. There wasn’t particularly a PR push, apart from Meghan doing one interview. It felt like a side dish rather than a main dish.”
With Love will return for a holiday special in December, but otherwise fans are still waiting to find out if it gets recommissioned for a third season. Schiffer said Meghan had been too risk averse in the first two seasons, but could try to pitch a slightly different concept for a third season that pushed the boundaries far more.
“Can she turn it around? Of course,” Schiffer said. “She’s one big creative idea away from making it interesting. They could go back and pitch Season 3 as something that would shock everyone and create a lot of buzz, but a ruthless read from a PR war room would be that the show’s cozy authenticity didn’t get traction, it failed bad. The lifestyle lane is unforgiving. Unless you either have some repeatable utility or can shock hardcore then viewers are going to ghost you like an ex. You’re competing with influencers and YouTube and minds that are willing to take those risks.”
Two things. One, I was surprised that Meghan didn’t do a bigger promotional push for the second season as well, and I do think that’s a factor with the second season’s ratings. I still don’t understand why Meghan and Harry are so averse to promoting their projects, and I thought that we had turned a new leaf when Meghan did a lot to promote WLM’s first season. Two, I also think that WLM could be shaken up conceptually. I’m not saying “turn it into a cupcake death battle,” but figure out why the audience responded to certain episodes over other ones. As I’ve said before, the show is better when Meghan is the student, when she’s learning some new dish or skill. All of that and… maybe you don’t need an 80-person crew for a cooking show?
Photos courtesy of Netflix.
