The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 10: August 2024 -

[Milla Rose]

I'm pretty ambivalent on Meghan (I don't like her but I don't think she deserves all the hate she gets). I didn't watch the show but The Guardian is ripping it apart and they usually don't talk about her at all. It sounds very boring.

 

[Curryong]

I can understand why the British media go on the immediate attack because after the Sussexes ceased to be working royals nothing was too bad to throw their way. And it continues.

However, why the negativity elsewhere? Surely if a person is trying to develop something on TV, whether it’s a lifestyle show, cookery show or anything else the natural thing for onlookers is to hope that the project succeeds.

This is a human being that is being criticised, not some murderous evil alien life form. The negativity is so overwhelming that I sometimes despair that this woman, an ex actress who earned her own living, a wife and mother who loves her family, is ever going to be given what we in Australia call ‘a fair go’. Ever, whatever she tries.

 

[Hallo girl]

I can understand why the British media go on the immediate attack because after the Sussexes ceased to be working royals nothing was too bad to throw their way. And it continues.

However, why the negativity elsewhere? Surely if a person is trying to develop something on TV, whether it’s a lifestyle show, cookery show or anything else the natural thing for onlookers is to hope that the project succeeds.

This is a human being that is being criticised, not some murderous evil alien life form. The negativity is so overwhelming that I sometimes despair that this woman, an ex actress who earned her own living, a wife and mother who loves her family, is ever going to be given what we in Australia call ‘a fair go’. Ever, whatever she tries.

If you put yourself out there you need to expect critical responses, both positive and not so positive. Do you expect people who are paid to review programmes to say things they do not believe. Do you think the British media are being negative because it is Meghan and not that the programme isn't that great.
I personally found it pretentious, false, and pretty pointless.
I am not the British media, I am a subscriber to Netflix but maybe not much longer to be honest.
Maybe us Brits prefer Mary Berry or the Great British bake off.

 

[HRHHermione]

However, why the negativity elsewhere? Surely if a person is trying to develop something on TV, whether it’s a lifestyle show, cookery show or anything else the natural thing for onlookers is to hope that the project succeeds

To be fair, reviewing shows positively or negatively is just what television reviewers do.

 

[tommy100]

I think it says a lot that every UK review so far seems to be negative, and tbf not necessarily about Meghan but just the concept of the show itself, especially how obviously fake and superficial it is, hasn't gone don well with people. I haven't see any US reviews, maybe its gone down better in the States. TBH a lot of the content - from what I've read having not seen it myself - seems pretty much the antithesis of British values and what people want to see.

 

[HRHHermione]

I think it says a lot that every UK review so far seems to be negative, and tbf not necessarily about Meghan but just the concept of the show itself, especially how obviously fake and superficial it is, hasn't gone don well with people. I haven't see any US reviews, maybe its gone down better in the States.

Here’s a U.S. review from Variety, which is a fairly big entertainment publication.

‘With Love, Meghan’ Is a Montecito Ego Trip Not Worth Taking: TV Review

Meghan Markle's Netflix series is a Montecito ego trip not worth taking

variety.com

 

[TLLK]

That is correct you just borrow somebody else’s house.
But not at Nottingham cottage obviously

Yes it would appear that particular small house was not deemed worthy of achieving "domestic bliss" by the Sussexes.

 

[Toledo]

Maybe she just ran out of things to try.

There's still a market for her with chicken food products and Disaster Tourism accessories and footwear.

I don’t know. I’m not in her circle and I doubt anyone else on this forum is, either. And it’s the same I guess with everyone who comes here every couple of days to post and speculate about various royals’ and ex royals’ interests, skills and hobbies.

That reminds me it's time to catch up with everyone! Thanks

Even people with small houses can enjoy domestic bliss like me, says Meghan

Makes me wonder where Meghan would be living in these days had her now estranged friend not hooked her up on that date with a prince on the rebound from Chelsy.

I could never live in a tiny house...

I used to watch the Tiny House shows on Samsung and Pluto TV during the Covid Quarantine's last year, when we retired and moved to NY and our new 4 levels house + huge fenced in wooded backyard that looks like a New York wildlife reserve, I stopped counting trees when I reached 100. I totally agree with you I could never live in a tiny house either.

The reviews so far do not inspire a lot of confidence that the show will land with the general public. I think a lot of the concerns people raised about the challenges it would face seem to be discussed in reviews, namely that there isn’t a huge audience of people with the time and money for this type of lavish entertaining, especially in the Millennial and Gen Z groups and that Meghan herself is not interesting enough as a host to provide a compelling reason to watch and to buy her products.

My prediction is that the show will get a short blip of interest and may go into Netflix’s top 10 for a short period of time, but that it will not be a sustained interest that supports a successful product line.

Then again, I have certainly been wrong before

Decades ago, during the Reagan in the USA and Thatcher in the UK years, there was a TV show called Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The show was a sign of the times with other TV shows like Dallas and Dynasty on every magazine cover.

Meghan's lifestyle that she solely obtained due to a marriage to a rich man would fit perfectly on that era of excess. But today I don't think there's a lot of interest in a 'watch me because I'm rich' TV series that will have any longevity like the series of shows her company markets to a working-class audience.

I mean, I doubt her rolodex of friends and acquaintances will be enough to move the ratings bar up at Netflix for a second season nor to go public and sponsor her products.

Maybe because she tried to build up to something and the results for some viewers do not match the hype.

Agreed! And there lays the problem we all see with her productions that seem so detached and lacking research. Reminds me a lot of the famous Seinfeld episode where he and George go to a network to sell a concept to do a show about nothing. A show about everyday life and the little things that annoy people. The real show, Seinfeld, became the best produced and written TV show in USA TV history. I recall decades ago, before the Internet as we know it today, reading a review comparing the concept of the show to a 18th century Russian novel where four separate stories from four separate characters intertwin into a chaotic ending on every episode.

In comparison, Meghan's concepts for shows seem to be based on internet influencers Instagram stories than something a bit more solid. I mean, I give her credit to successfully sell to Netflix into a series what otherwise be a small video online in her social media pages.

Now, comparing the above on the Seinfeld episode selling a show to Meghan's production company makes me feel she has not done research, or listen to one, that a TV show (or a theater play or movie) needs a test audience first to audit out the negative and switch concepts until is ready for production. That's the parody Seinfeld did on that episode where he goes to a production company to sell his concept. I have the bad feeling that with Meghan it was all her way or the highway and the lack of advice, or the show tested on a demo group first, is what we see in every product she markets.

 

[Mbruno]

There's still a market for her with chicken food products and Disaster Tourism accessories and footwear.



That reminds me it's time to catch up with everyone! Thanks



Makes me wonder where Meghan would be living in these days had her now estranged friend not hooked her up on that date with a prince on the rebound with Chelsy.





Decades ago, during the Reagan in the USA and Thatcher in the UK years, there was a TV show called Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The show was a sign of the times with other TV shows like Dallas and Dynasty on every magazine cover. Meghan's lifestyle that she solely obtained due to a marriage to a rich man would fit perfectly on that era of excess. But today I don't think there's a lot of interest in a 'watch me because I'm rich' TV series that will have any longevity like the series of shows her company markets to a working-class audience.
I mean, I doubt her rolodex of friends and acquaintances will be enough to move the ratings bar up at Netflix for a second season nor to go public and sponsor her products.

I agree with this. We are still recovering from the cost of living crisis […] and many people are genuinely struggling. I see no appetite for a rich-and-famous lifestyle show , unless the lifestyle of the show's lead is genuinely interesting in some way, which is basically the opposite of this show.

 

[Curryong]

A favourable review for a change.

Unpopular opinion: I LOVE Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show

Let the Martha Stewartification begin! Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle series, With love, Meghan, has finally launched on Netflix — and it’s a delight.

thenightly.com.au

And Meghan’s rating figures for that first show? I will see online what they are.

 

[Toledo]

A favourable review for a change.

Unpopular opinion: I LOVE Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show

Let the Martha Stewartification begin! Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle series, With love, Meghan, has finally launched on Netflix — and it’s a delight.

thenightly.com.au

And Meghan’s rating figures for that first show? I will see online what they are.

Is it my imagination or do I see Meghan has the camera only to be filming on the same angle to her left? Her good side? Barbra Streisand used to demand this for pictures and camera angles. Don't know why with Meghan since she is a very attractive person that doesn't photograph bad at all.

 

[Somebody]

Here’s a U.S. review from Variety, which is a fairly big entertainment publication.

‘With Love, Meghan’ Is a Montecito Ego Trip Not Worth Taking: TV Review

Meghan Markle's Netflix series is a Montecito ego trip not worth taking

variety.com

That final sentence... from a publication that called the interview with Oprah Winfrey 'genuinely sympathetic' in the same piece.

 

[victor1319]

Meghan's lifestyle that she solely obtained due to a marriage to a rich man would fit perfectly on that era of excess. But today I don't think there's a lot of interest in a 'watch me because I'm rich' TV series that will have any longevity like the series of shows her company markets to a working-class audience.

Yeah, in the first episode there was fried chicken and champagne... I doubt, the fast food chains think, this a good business idea.

But: I always thought, her series is for poor girls, which like to imagine themselves as princesses. And Meghan Markle, nowadays Duchess of Sussex... - She made it! She bagged the Prince, she lives the high life - I mean, girls can dream, right? Others play the lottery!

If you think, my word are misogyn... It is not my show, it is Meghan's...

 

[Ista]

That final sentence... from a publication that called the interview with Oprah Winfrey 'genuinely sympathetic' in the same piece.

The final sentence is brutal, and way too memorable.

 

[Hallo girl]

A favourable review for a change.

Unpopular opinion: I LOVE Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show

Let the Martha Stewartification begin! Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle series, With love, Meghan, has finally launched on Netflix — and it’s a delight.

thenightly.com.au

And Meghan’s rating figures for that first show? I will see online what they are.

The figures will probably be quite good, the interesting figure will be the last episode,

That final sentence... from a publication that called the interview with Oprah Winfrey 'genuinely sympathetic' in the same piece.

Ouch

 

[soapstar]

Here’s another review from Time Magazine.

Is a Royal Primer on Entertaining That Couldn't Be More Boring

Harry and Meghan keep promising their fans authenticity but delivering impersonal performances of perfection

time.com

This part at the end of the article is pretty scathing. “And yet, now that they’ve escaped the Firm, it’s as though the Sussexes have constructed an equally rigid propaganda machine to serve their purposes rather than those of the Crown.”

 

[Erin9]

That final sentence... from a publication that called the interview with Oprah Winfrey 'genuinely sympathetic' in the same piece.

Yeah. My jaw dropped when I read the last line. Ouch. That one line packed quite the punch. It also seems like an apt descriptor for a lot of Meghan’s projects.

 

[carlota]

I’ve seen some snippets online, and the one where she corrects her friend about her surname being Sussex made me cringe.

 

[Curryong]

Meghan is probably sick to death of being referred to in the media and elsewhere as ‘Meghan Markle’. And of people addressing her as such. She hasn't been a Markle since May 2018 which is well over six years ago now.

It’s bad enough when the media do it, (and they used to do that as well, to Kate. She was Kate Middleton for years, remember) without friends using it as well. When I married I took my husband’s name. After that I never used my my former surname and neither did family or friends. Thats all Meghan wanted.

 

[HRHHermione]

Meghan is probably sick to death of being referred to in the media and elsewhere as ‘Meghan Markle’. And of people addressing her as such. She hasn't been a Markle since May 2018 which is well over six years ago now.

It’s bad enough when the media do it, (and they used to do that as well, to Kate. She was Kate Middleton for years, remember) without friends using it as well. When I married I took my husband’s name. After that I never used my my former surname and neither did family or friends. Thats all Meghan wanted.

I think in this case, the surname conversation is far more fraught because of the titles issue and that’s why the clip is getting attention. I think letting the Markle pass unremarked or not including the clip in the final release probably would have been a better move.

 

[Curryong]

The ‘titles issue’ is imo a storm in a teacup stirred to a frenzy by the UK media, who want to make it a bone of contention in the minds of the British public.

 

[Somebody]

It is indeed far more fraught given that 'Sussex' is not Meghan's surname (although it is customary in het United Kingdom (not the USA) to use the peerage as an informal surname in day to day life). According to Lilibet's birth certificate, Meghan's legal surname is 'Markle'. Her husband's and children's surname is 'Mountbatten-Windsor'.

 

[Curryong]

We don’t know however who wrote that information down on the birth certificate for Lili. It’s not on Archie’s birth certificate. Its could have been a hospital official or the local Registrar, or Harry himself. The truth is though that Meghan has never referred to herself as Meghan Markle since she married and that was years ago.

 

[HRHHermione]

The ‘titles issue’ is imo a storm in a teacup stirred to a frenzy by the UK media, who want to make it a bone of contention in the minds of the British public.

I think that’s one take. I think another is that Harry and Meghan’s PR has been complicated for a lot of reasons, but a big one is this: every public figure who makes their living in entertainment has to offer some compelling reason for why they are special- why they have something to say, or something to do, or something to offer that’s different and worth attention, positive or negative, that can be monetized.

Harry and Meghan have struggled to provide a compelling answer to that beyond the obvious: Harry is a prince and through marriage, Meghan is also royalty, and that is unique enough to be interesting.

When they left their roles, they rejected a big part of what made them special in the public eye, but because they intend to remain public figures, they can’t reject it entirely. This leads to a fair bit of confusion about what exactly it is they are offering, and people look for some sort of consistency. That’s why the titles and therefore what their last name is and what their kids are called is a more complex topic than can be effectively dealt with in a half hour lifestyle show.

 

[Somebody]

We don’t know however who wrote that information down on the birth certificate for Lili. It’s not on Archie’s birth certificate. Its could have been a hospital official or the local Registrar, or Harry himself. The truth is though that Meghan has never referred to herself as Meghan Markle since she married and that was years ago.

Has she ever referred to herself as 'Meghan Sussex'? I don't recall that either but if there are examples, I'd love to know.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

I’ve seen some snippets online, and the one where she corrects her friend about her surname being Sussex made me cringe.

So obviously scripted!

 

[FigTree]

Meghan is probably sick to death of being referred to in the media and elsewhere as ‘Meghan Markle’. And of people addressing her as such. She hasn't been a Markle since May 2018 which is well over six years ago now.

It’s bad enough when the media do it, (and they used to do that as well, to Kate. She was Kate Middleton for years, remember) without friends using it as well. When I married I took my husband’s name. After that I never used my my former surname and neither did family or friends. Thats all Meghan wanted.

Most are called by their name before they married. Kate is still regularly called Kate Middleton now. Maybe at times also Princess of Wales. No one ever referred to her as the Duchess of Cambridge. And Phillip, and Camilla - until she became Queen always CPB, and Diana and Fergie. Zara people may still say Zara Phillips. You haven’t got a hope of people remembering famous women’s surnames if they change professionally upon marriage. In fact most do not change their names at least professionally. It really isn’t a big deal.

In fact her name isn’t Sussex it’s Mountbatten Windsor. Did she feel the same when that was her children’s surname and presumably still is on their birth certificates? Or the fact that it is Harry’s surname too or that for most of his life he went by Wales.

The comment is silly in a broadcast-able sense but sure have that personal opinion. People feel it’s important the whole family have the same surname. That’s fine. Others don’t. That’s fine. Some children have two surnames. But parents keep their own. Also fine. Some men and women take a double barrel surname. Also fine. I think it’s a personal choice.

 

[Leopoldine]

I watched the first 3 episodes of Meghan's new Netflix series, and found it to be much better than how it is described in all of the very critical reviews. My favorite part so far was when she had that great Korean chef Roy Choi in the kitchen. On the whole, I think the series is a glossy and beautifully filmed lighthearted lifestyle offering and if you're in the mood for that, perfect. Too many cooking shows are all about the acclaimed host cooking brown food.

I've never been Meghan's #1 Fan, but this series makes her more appealing to me.

 

[Hallo girl]

The ‘titles issue’ is imo a storm in a teacup stirred to a frenzy by the UK media, who want to make it a bone of contention in the minds of the British public.

The conversation between Meghan and the friend had nothing to do with the British media . Lots of professional women use their maiden name for business, there is nothing unusual in that.

I watched the first 3 episodes of Meghan's new Netflix series, and found it to be much better than how it is described in all of the very critical reviews. My favorite part so far was when she had that great Korean chef Roy Choi in the kitchen. On the whole, I think the series is a glossy and beautifully filmed lighthearted lifestyle offering and if you're in the mood for that, perfect. Too many cooking shows are all about the acclaimed host cooking brown food.

I've never been Meghan's #1 Fan, but this series makes her more appealing to me.

Unfortunately I only lasted 1 episode, maybe if I had watched other episodes I might have enjoyed it better.
Lifestyle programmes are not for me maybe if it had been about the cooking it would have been different.

A favourable review for a change.

Unpopular opinion: I LOVE Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show

Let the Martha Stewartification begin! Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle series, With love, Meghan, has finally launched on Netflix — and it’s a delight.

thenightly.com.au

And Meghan’s rating figures for that first show? I will see online what

Viewing figures do not change individual viewers experience of the programme , it remains to be seen if a second series is commissioned. People have individual tastes , we do not all like the same thing.

 

[shady lady]

The conversation between Meghan and the friend had nothing to do with the British media . Lots of professional women use their maiden name for business, there is nothing unusual in that.

Exactly.

As for the old scenario of let’s blame the British media for everything…
The British people are more than capable of making their own minds up from the behaviour of the pair themselves