Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle’s lifestyle show With Love, Meghan is a dud on arrival. The series premiere has seen a deluge of bad reviews and ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. The reviews have also been overwhelmingly negative. (Also read: With Love, Meghan internet review: Meghan Markle slammed for ‘I’m Sussex’ remark, Netflix show labelled as uninspired)
Negative reviews everywhere
The show, on which the former actor and British royal shares hosting, cooking and living tips, has received an abysmal 2.4 rating on IMDb off of 1500+ user votes. On the other hand, seven critics reviews earned it 29% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The rating dropped 4 points by the time we started and finished writing this report.
Guardian reviewer Chitra Ramaswamy called the show pointless. “Oh God, it’s toe-curling stuff, but hardly surprising. We all saw Meghan show Oprah her chicken coop,” she wrote. Anita Singh of the Daily Telegraph wrote, “The format is this: Meghan invites people to her pretend house – the show is filmed in an $8 million farmhouse down the road from her $14 million home – and they tell her how amazing she is. This happens for eight episodes.”
Social media is also flooded with people calling the show ‘cringe’ and an ‘ego trip’ for the the former royal.
About With Love, Meghan
The show was reportedly filmed in a farmhouse near the southern California home she shares with her husband, Britain’s Prince Harry, and their two children. But even before its release, the show had riled Markle’s detractors and drawn flak for its supposedly conformist presentation of a woman’s role in the home.
Marketing experts told AFP Markle was striving to reinvent her image in a “safer,” more traditional mould as she faces intense criticism and financial pressure.
Since marrying into Britain’s royal family in 2018 Markle has faced particularly heavy scrutiny, which increased with the couple’s dramatic split from the royals and their move to California in 2020. The couple have cited racism, including in the royal household, as one reason for their departure.
Being cut off from the royal purse has pushed the pair to develop new sources of income and they have experimented with several ventures over the years.
The show streams on Netflix.