Netflix's chief executive has praised Meghan Markle's 'remarkable influence' and branded the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's documentary 'successful in every measure' – despite the couple's 'downgrade' new TV deal with the streaming service.

Ted Sarandos applauded Meghan on the second series of her cooking and lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, despite recent scathing reviews of the show.

The eight-part season, which was branded 'staged, fake and dull' by critics upon its release last month, failed to breach the top on Netflix globally, as well as in the UK and US.

Mr Sarandos' comments, made on the Aspire with Emma Grede podcast, are the first he has made since Harry and Meghan signed their 'first-look' deal with Netflix – dubbed by experts as a 'downgrade' on their previous $100million contract.

The CEO praised the Duchess' ability to sell out goods featured in her shows – such as edible flowers and jam – which is paired with her online shop As Ever.

'One thing we learned early with Meghan… she has remarkable influence -remarkable,' he said.

Mr Sarandos referred to the original biopic Harry and Meghan, which launched in two parts in December 2022.

'And by the way, the documentary itself,' he added, 'was also one of the most watched documentaries we've ever had.

'So it was […] successful in every measure. Now I don't think that you can have a consumer products business if you don't have a great entertainment business. So that's got to come first.'

Meghan's new series of With Love, Meghan has been less successful in its numbers, however, reaching 136 in the Netflix chart just under two weeks after its release last month.

The show was hit with a number of mixed reviews, some of which branded the Duchess 'needy' and 'narcissistic' in her second attempt at small-screen stardom.

The Mail's Liz Jones dubbed the season 'staged, fake and dull' – but unlike other critics, commended Meghan for being 'genuinely earnest'.

The Guardian dismissed the show as 'so boring' and 'so contrived', while The Telegraph described the Duchess as a 'Montecito Marie Antoinette'.

The Times was equally cutting, calling the eight-part show 'a series in search of a meaning, fronted by a woman in need of some cash'.

Even with celebrity guests including Chrissy Teigen, John Legend and Tan France, critics argued the show lacks substance – and claimed Meghan failed to be authentic.

In August, Harry and Meghan signed a new 'multi-year, first look deal for film and television projects' with Netflix – considered a downgrade on their previous contract.

As well as the second season of With Love, Meghan, the new output will also include a Christmas special in December.

The arrangement is a first-look deal, meaning Netflix can say yes or no to new film or TV projects before anyone else.

The Sussexes were also working on 'Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within' – a documentary about orphaned children in Uganda, where the 'shadows of the HIV/Aids crisis linger'.

There has also been 'active development' on other projects with Netflix which 'span a variety of content genres'.

Netflix had already released the first series of With Love, Meghan as well as Polo, Heart of Invictus, Live to Lead and the couple's bombshell documentary Harry & Meghan as well as being a business partner on Meghan's lifestyle brand, As Ever.

Five years ago, Harry and Meghan secured a lucrative contract thought to be worth $100million (£74million) with Netflix after quitting as senior working royals in 2020.

A Sussex source told Newsweek on Monday: 'The company continues to go from strength to strength. The huge demand right from the outset maybe caught us a little off-guard, but it's testament to the support she has and the quality of the product being made.

'There's still work to be done in ensuring the supply can meet the demand, but one thing the Duchess has been clear on since the very start, she won't compromise on the quality, just to increase availability.'

The Mail has contacted Harry and Meghan's representatives for comment.

Posted by monster_ahhh

12 comments

  2. It’s all about the money. Netflix pays them because they bring in money. The UK media obsessively publishes about them because it brings in money. The most laughable criticism of H&M is that they are irrelevant– like them or not, people want to consume media by and about them. The money proves it.

  3. I don’t understand the obsession with Harry and Meghan’s business deals. I think Ted Sarandos gets asked about them every time he has an interview.

  4. I have actually enjoyed Meaghan’s show quite a bit, which pleasantly surprised me.

  5. I mean, it’s not like the Netflix CEO is gonna get onstage and say “Yeah, I fucked up hiring them and the results were mid 😬 anyway here’s our next big bet.”

    That said, Harry & Meghan did fine, because royal gossip always pulls in viewers. The story was already interesting. It’s not like leaving the BRF is a common occurrence.

    WLM was… fine as background noise. But I unfortunately paid attention to S1 and yeah, Meghan didn’t really have the presence for it. She seemed nervous, stiff, not someone who carries a show.

    What baffles me is how completely disconnected Asever is from the show. No season 2 push, no product tie-ins, no cookbook, nothing. You’d think she’d at least throw a “shop the episode” link on the site.

    And I really do think a chunk of the early demand for Asever was driven by critics and press buying it to review. Once the products came back in stock after the first ever drop, it took days to sell out. That’ll be the real test, whether there’s ongoing interest without the initial “buy-to-blog-about-it” rush.

    I haven’t watched the other shows either, but the Masaka one looks interesting. TBH what makes H&M interesting is their connection to royalty. Like, if the Diana documentary rumour is true, that would be worth Netflix’s investment alone.

    Also just **my personal opinion** but I don’t think a first-look is as amazing as it sounds. If they ever need to look somewhere else, other platforms will already know Netflix refused it.

    (I’ve always been curious if that rumour about Harry being iced out of the polo world after the doc is true lol)

  6. I don’t know why people are surprised at their success at this—Megan had a relatively successful influencer brand before meeting Harry (The Tig) , so already had the background and knowledge to make these kinds of ventures a success.

  7. The reviews were un serious newspapers that would rubbish any lifestyle programme. The guardian for example had a scathing review of Martha Stewarts programmes and others. They hate this kind of show.

  8. Its funny, critics always downplay their earnings. Yes they have a mansion, a holiday home, donated over a million to charity. They are obviously doing very well financially

  9. I mean, yes, the documentary did well. Very well, in fact. Airing royal dirty laundry sells, especially when it’s coming from one of their (ex) own.

    I find it curious though that (1) Ted referenced just the docu-series which aired almost 3 years ago. Why not heap praise on more recent projects if those are doing so well? (2) if Harry and Meghan were doing so well at Netflix, why not renew (vs. downgrade) the original deal if the ROI is so good?

  10. “Failed to breach the top in US and UK”

    As if thats the only way to measure success of a partnership.

    Netflix is ruthless when it comes to partnerships and cancellations. If they thought H&M are not bringing value to Netflix they would not have done another deal with them.

    Netflix boss knows that H&M would easily get another deal elsewhere so they are keeping them at Netflix.

  12. *With Love*, *Meghan* and *As Ever* were actually pioneers for Netflix branching out into the e-commerce space. That partnership is pretty interesting from a business/marketing standpoint. I’m curious to see what else Netflix does with this model and who they’ll choose to partner with next.

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