Meghan Markle Finds a Market Among Hate Watchers on Netflix

Meghan Markle’s much derided Netflix cooking show has made the Top 10 globally, in America and in Britain, despite its many negative reviews.

The Duchess of Sussex appears to have found a market for her show among hate watchers as With Love, Meghan came in at 10, both worldwide and in the U.S., and at seven in the U.K.

Out of Meghan and Prince Harry’s five Netflix projects this is just the second show to break the Top 10, after Polo, Heart of Invictus and Live to Lead failed to make the list.

Her latest series, in which she cooked with friends including Mindy Kaling and celebrity chefs like Roy Choi, did less well than the couple’s original Netflix biopic, Harry & Meghan, but that was largely expected.

Why It Matters

It is much needed good news for Meghan after excoriating reviews from outlets with no particular axe to grind, such as Time, which once named Meghan and Prince Harry on its list of the 100 most influential people.

The show has already been commissioned for another season, and that has been filmed, so knowing that the second batch of episodes will be watched is a welcome boost at a difficult time.

What to Know

With Love was viewed 2.6 million times and chalked up 12.6 million hours of viewing, which works out at a rough average of 4 hours and 48 minutes per viewer.

The show has an official runtime of 4 hours and 47 minutes, suggesting viewers generally watched the whole series, in contrast to some of Meghan’s harsher critics, who stated publicly that they lost interest after only a few episodes.

Harry & Meghan came in second in the Netflix Top 10, behind Wednesday, after its first part was released in December 2022, with royal bombshells directed at the monarchy.

It wracked up 81.5 million hours of viewing in its first week, more than six times higher than With Love.

However, Meghan was never realistically going to achieve as big an audience for a project not connected to the royal family.

She has nonetheless proven that she can pull in viewers when not criticizing Prince Harry’s family and that is a positive that she can take away from the experience.

What Reviewers Say About With Love, Meghan

The duchess always knew the British press would dish out bad reviews, but what may have been more of an eye opener is the reception among U.S. outlets.

New York Magazine‘s Vulture wrote: “With Love, Meghan is an utterly deranged bizarro world voyage into the center of nothing, a fantastical monument to the captivating power of watching one woman decorate a cake with her makeup artist while communicating solely through throw-pillow adages about joy and hospitality.

“It is painfully defensive. Meghan comes across as constantly worried about what people will think, and because of it, the show can neither flaunt her unusual life, nor can it embrace legitimate ordinariness.”

Time named the Sussexes in the Time 100 in 2021, but its review read: “Netflix’s With Love, Meghan Is a Royal Primer on Entertaining That Couldn’t Be More Boring.”

A review in The Economist, which Meghan previously claimed she reads, said: “As she explains, she wishes to ‘share some little tips and tricks’ for entertaining friends and elevating one’s life. Such as, perhaps: make sure to marry a member of the British royal family. That tends to help no end.

“Or: ensure you get Netflix to pay you a vast sum to show off an immense property, complete with a vegetable garden, bee hives and chickens to lay fresh eggs. That helps, too.

“This new eight-episode Netflix show, released on March 4th, is more or less Martha Stewart for the 0.01%; but aimed at the other 99.99%.”

Variety‘s headline read: “‘With Love, Meghan’ Is a Montecito Ego Trip Not Worth Taking: TV Review.”

Analysis by social listening platform Hootsuite for Newsweek showed much of the conversation about Meghan on social media after the show’s release was negative, including during U.S. time zones, while Britain was asleep.

What Happens Next

Harry & Meghan spent four weeks in the Top 10 globally on Netflix and only time will tell whether With Love can stick around for another week.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.