Are you suddenly smelling the salt air of Montecito and wishing you had the kind of kitchen that Nancy Meyers dreams of? Well, that’s because we are mere days away from Meghan Markle’s next chapter. The former royal’s new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, comes out next week, and this time she’s just a normal woman who can’t be perfect 24/7. That, at least, is what it seems like based on the snippets we’ve seen and her new low-maintenance Instagram presence. The truth is that there aren’t too many details about the show or its format, but here’s everything we do know so far.
When does it premiere?
With Love, Meghan is scheduled to drop on Netflix on March 4. Previously slated for a January release, the show’s premiere was pushed back in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires. In the meantime, Meghan has been keeping busy. She’s been perfecting her tone on Instagram, she rebranded her jam company, and she’s been working on her vision board. The hustle never stops.
What exactly is the tone here?
Ever since striking out on their own in 2020, Meghan and Prince Harry have tried their hand at a bunch of different projects. They’re still focused on philanthropy through their Archewell Foundation, but their attempts at being content creators haven’t been as successful. There was Meghan’s Spotify podcast, Archetypes, the sole result of a $20 million deal with the streaming service. On the podcast, Meghan spent 12 episodes talking to famous people about the various labels they’d been given.
The couple also has a Netflix deal — worth a reported $100 million — which resulted in Harry and Meghan, a glossy docuseries about the couple’s personal life that drew a large audience but was met with a lukewarm reception from critics. Then came Harry’s docuseries about polo, and the less said about that, the better.
With Love, Meghan looks like it will be taking a different tack. In all of the promotional materials, there is an emphasis on abandoning perfection for the sake of joy. Meghan is just hanging out in her beautiful kitchen with her friends, and if the crudités plate doesn’t look like a ten out of ten, well that’s fine! They had fun making it! That, at least, is the vibe I’m picking up on.
Who will be making guest appearances?
One of the show’s big selling points is that Meghan’s friends (old and new) are all over this thing. To her, a stranger is just a friend who hasn’t been in your kitchen yet. One thing you have to respect is that Meghan is not just bringing in the most famous people she sort of knows. The show’s cameos include Mindy Kaling but also Abigail Spencer, her longtime actual best friend. Meghan has invited a few notable chefs onto the show — Northern California icon Alice Waters is slated to appear, as is L.A. native Roy Choi.
In a preview clip from Choi’s episode, we get more of a sense as to what the show might be like. The clip starts with Meghan saying, “This is about connecting with friends and just learning.” It then jumps into Meghan and Choi talking about growing up in L.A. and what Choi listens to while he’s cooking, all while she arranges what looks like a salad and he cuts up fruit. To be polite, I’ll just say that I’ve seen more compelling television before.
Oh, also, Harry will make an appearance. Duh.
Is she going to be in the kitchen the whole time?
Based on the trailer, the show is not solely about cooking with your friends. It’s about entertaining in general. As such, we do see Meghan going out into the world a few times. She picks vegetables from a garden, she’s at the florist choosing different flowers (I imagine she will be teaching us how to make a quick and easy floral arrangement), and, most importantly to me, Meghan dons a beekeeper’s suit. Yes! This is what I want to see: Meghan Markle in kind of left-of-center situations that require a special outfit and the slightest risk of danger. Let’s get her stomping grapes at a vineyard next season.
Is it going to be good?
That is the question, isn’t it? Based solely on how quickly Meghan got to 2 million followers on Instagram and how many people have watched the trailer, I think there is certainly interest in the show. So even if it’s not “good,” I imagine it will be in the Netflix Top Ten for a few days, which might mean she sells a few more jars of As Ever jam. And really, isn’t that what this is all about?