Related Articles
It was launched to distinctly mixed reviews this week but, miraculously, a second series of With Love, Meghan is set to be released by Netflix, it was announced last night.
The news has shocked critics and TV pundits alike, with agent Jon Roseman, who has spent more than 35 years looking after stars including Kate Garraway and Anne Diamond, declaring: ‘This is absurd.
‘There must be desperation involved if Meghan has got something so wrong, and all the critics hate it, and then Netflix announces: “We have done another series.”
‘I’m guessing a lot of pressure has come to bear. It makes perfect sense, though, when you find out that the second series was already filmed.
Netflix has already paid for it so there’s nothing to lose by putting it out. And the speed of the announcement means that it all happens before the Sussexes’ £80 million deal comes to an end.’
Should the second series be her last, insiders say she will have to find new ways to fund her lavish lifestyle.
We asked a panel of experts – from TV executives and PR advisers to political commentators and influencers – to suggest what Meghan could do next…
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, in a scene from With Love, Meghan
Martha Stewart for the TikTok Generation
Could Meghan still have a future as a TV lifestyle guru? Perhaps, but not without some fundamental changes, says Dianne Nelmes, the former head of ITV Daytime, who launched This Morning.
‘With Love has a major flaw,’ she says. ‘The concept is outdated. Today young women look to TikTok, YouTube and social media for their lifestyle gurus and celebrity tips.
‘Meghan is so far removed from the reality of the women viewers who her show is targeting that I wonder what creative thinking went into the early development.
‘It echoes the Martha Stewart show that revolutionised lifestyle programming in the 1990s. But while Martha Stewart has a down-to-earth energy, Meghan exudes privilege and a nauseating condescension.
‘When I launched This Morning in 1988, we were determined it would be relevant. Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan were the perfect presenting team: an ordinary couple on their second marriages, with four children, who understood the lives of their viewers.
Could Meghan (pictured) still have a future as a TV lifestyle guru?
‘If I had asked Judy Finnigan to show viewers how to cut sandwiches or handle bees she would have asked me to take a reality shower.’
To be a truly authentic figure, Dianne advises Meghan to mend the fractures in her own family. ‘If I were advising Meghan, I would urge her to repair her relationship with her father Thomas. Prince Harry should sort it out.’
Agent Jon Roseman agrees that credibility is key. ‘Not all my clients were great. Some were mediocre; some should never have been allowed to own a TV let alone appear on it. Sadly Meghan Markle fills the latter category.
‘A good presenter must possess confidence, integrity and a sense of humour but, above all, must be authentic. Meghan has none of those attributes. I watch her chop all that fruit and I wonder at all that waste of film.’
Return to Her Screen Roots
When she met Harry, Meghan was still starring as wildly popular paralegal Rachel Zane on hit TV show Suits.
And, even though a second series of With Love, Meghan will be airing, experts suggest she could find it more helpful for her reputation to go back to the start – particularly when there is a spin-off in town (Suits LA launched last month).
Edward Coram-James, PR expert and chief executive of Go Up, thinks Meghan needs to bask in the reputational glow of a good character, so why not return to Rachel Zane?
‘They [actors] need to win admiration for their successes, not notoriety for their complaining. Actors and their characters blur in the mindsets of the public. If an actor plays a lovable character on a popular show, that actor will be associated with the lovability of their character, and their reputations will skyrocket.
Edward Coram-James thinks Meghan needs to bask in the reputational glow of a good character, so why not return to Rachel Zane? (Pictured: Meghan as her Suits character)
‘If Meghan went back to Suits, her own popularity would rise, even among her biggest detractors.’
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede says now is the time for Meghan to build on her star power.
‘She has a great track record and any show that has her in it will be a ratings winner. White Lotus has been recommissioned, and I can see Meghan fitting in as a mysterious heiress or a downtrodden wife with a bitter secret.
‘I am sure with her agents she will be eyeing up lucrative roles that will bag her an Emmy. Meghan also has a love for the stage, so perhaps we will see her in a reimagining of a Shakespeare classic like Sigourney Weaver in director Jamie Lloyd’s The Tempest.’
Become a Trad Wife or Mumfluencer
She has given us the merest glimpses of her children’s faces. But in the social media sphere, any glimpses of Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, are golden.
Just take the video she shared on Instagram earlier this month of Lilibet, dressed in pink, playing a personalised Candy Land board game with tennis champion ‘Auntie’ Serena Williams.
Despite gaining 2.3 million Instagram followers since she returned to the site after a seven-year personal hiatus in January, Meghan rejects the influencer label.
But as unlikely as it might seem that Meghan might become the next Molly-Mae Hague or Vogue Williams, could it happen? Lifestyle PR Daniella Steadman thinks so.
But as unlikely as it might seem that Meghan might become the next Molly-Mae Hague or Vogue Williams, could it happen? Lifestyle PR Daniella Steadman thinks so (Pictured: Meghan’s Instagram story featuring her daughter Lilibet and Serena William)
‘With her desire to create the perfect family home, Meghan could become a leading mum influencer, particularly with the British public’s appetite to know more about Archie and Lilibet.
‘She teases them occasionally on her social media and the British public love it. If she harnessed her power as an ambassador for motherhood, it would win them round.
‘With her loyalty to Harry, she also plays into the Gen Z ideal of the trad wife [a woman who embraces traditional gender roles in her marriage]. She could take to TikTok and spearhead the movement and become the ultimate trad wife.’
Write a ‘Read All About Me’ Memoir
She has penned a children’s book (remember The Bench, anyone?) already.
And Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, says focusing on writing could help Meghan escape from the spotlight a little after the less-than-sweet critical reception to her new show.
Despite the fact that she has been granted a second series, it has been a bruising week for her, with one commentator even calling her ‘the Duchess of Flops and Ratings Disasters’.
Ingrid Seward (pictured), editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, says focusing on writing could help Meghan escape from the spotlight a little after the less-than-sweet critical reception to her new show
‘Meghan and Harry have a high-maintenance lifestyle, but they don’t have to live like that; they could dial down the lifestyle a little and be really happy, maybe write books, do something a little more off the radar,’ says Ingrid.
The one book that would definitely not be off radar, however, would be Meghan’s memoir. Her husband’s ghost-written autobiography Spare, after all, became Amazon’s bestselling book of 2023.
‘The only way I can see that she’s going to make money is to write her memoir,’ says Ingrid. ‘Now that would go like a rocket.’
Follow Gwynnie or Victoria Beckham
Meghan was once apparently such close pals with Victoria Beckham that the designer and husband David were guests at her wedding.
The friendship appears to have faded, but could Meghan follow her old friend’s example and forge a new career in fashion?
Prior to meeting Harry, Meghan had created a capsule clothing collection for a Canadian department store. Her own style, meanwhile, is mostly applauded.
Farrah Storr, former editor of Elle magazine, says: ‘Few can argue that Meghan doesn’t have good, classic style and so a venture into fashion wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility.
Meghan’s friendship with Victoria Beckham (pictured) appears to have faded, but could she follow her old friend’s example and forge a new career in fashion?
‘Gwyneth Paltrow did a simple capsule collection of five elevated basics under the Goop brand some years back, and I think starting small would be a smart call for someone like Meghan, ideally working with a smaller brand who would benefit from her celebrity.’
‘She wears a lot of Jenni Kayne jumpers in With Love, and there seems to be a good synergy with that brand.’
Nick Ede thinks Meghan could set her sights on the High Street.
‘People have commented on the ease with which she matches her expensive clothes with more High Street staples,’ he says.
‘I can see big fashion brands like Zara and Mango wanting a slice of the Meghan Magic. She may also take a leaf out of the Kardashians’ books and create her own brand, or make a lot of money with brand deals on her social media.’
Keeping Up With The Sussexes TV Show
With Love, Meghan has also been criticised for the fact that the home in which the show was filmed wasn’t actually the Duchess’s. Jon Roseman says she could fix this.
‘How can Netflix get its money back? Simple,’ he says. ‘At Home With The Sussexes. Watching Meghan vacuuming and Harry picking up groceries at Costco.’
Mitchell Jackson, crisis consultant and founder of BCC Communications, agrees, saying: ‘Maybe Real Housewives would be a good fit. That would give Meghan room for constant drama.’
With Love, Meghan has also been criticised for the fact that the home in which the show was filmed wasn’t actually the Duchess’s. Jon Roseman says she could fix this
Daniella Steadman says: ‘I think they could make a Keeping Up With The Kardashians-style reality show. The public would love to follow Harry and Meghan around and, since With Love, there is a hunger for more day-to-day reality-style content.’
Failing that, Peter Berry, former publicist for Jamie Oliver and author of crime novel Revenge Of The Deadly Dozen, has a different idea.
‘How about a series like Secret Millionaire. where she goes in disguise to meet Americans who are struggling with Donald Trump’s cost-of-living crisis and helps them with the grocery bills?’
Be a Humble Warrior…
On The Tig, the lifestyle blog she ran between 2014 and 2017, Meghan shared her passion for philanthropy and activism.
And a photograph taken this week of the Duchess with feminist leader Gloria Steinem suggests she is still keen to make a difference.
A photograph taken this week of the Duchess with feminist leader Gloria Steinem suggests she is still keen to make a difference (The pair pictured in 2023)
Edward Coram-James says: ‘Her advocacy for vulnerable minorities, when done without an air of ‘holier than thou’, is almost universally popular.
‘If she makes such causes her primary concern, without making a big song and dance about it, her reputation will improve. People love a humble warrior.’
The Podcast Queen is Back
Her Spotify podcast deal might have fizzled out, but Meghan’s foray into podcasting with her series, Archetypes, wasn’t a total disaster.
Last year it was announced she would return to podcasting with Lemonada Media. Edward Coram-James says: ‘Meghan has a relatability problem, and this is made worse when people believe she only spends time with the rich and famous.
‘It was one of the reasons why her last podcast was not as successful as it could have been. There was a focus on famous guests. She should talk to real change-makers.’
Her Spotify podcast deal might have fizzled out, but Meghan’s foray into podcasting with her series, Archetypes, wasn’t a total disaster
Governor and then The White House?
In the past Meghan has been vocal about her Democratic leanings, although she has been a little more circumspect as of late.
Before she met Harry she told a US chat show host during the 2016 election that she found Donald Trump to be ‘misogynistic’ and ‘divisive’, and it is rumoured that she might fancy running for the US presidency herself.
Patrick Basham, a US politics expert who founded the Democracy Institute, says: ‘Meghan could run to be governor of California or go for the presidency,’ he says.
In the past Meghan has been vocal about her Democratic leanings, although she has been a little more circumspect as of late
‘Her appeal is strong with the woke side of America’s Left. Among much of the Hollywood community she’s seen as virtuous.
‘She thinks she has something to offer. We love our celebrity candidates in the US. The wind is no longer at her back – but the wind could change.’
Royal Reunion for Harry and Meghan
There is a moment, in the second episode of With Love, Meghan, when she chides her guest, actress Mindy Kaling, for calling her Meghan Markle. ‘It’s so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m ‘Sussex’ now,’ she says.
Some observers have speculated that Meghan’s insistence on being called Sussex might indicate a desire to return to the royal fold.
But Ingrid Seward, author of My Mother And I: The Inside Story Of The King And Our Late Queen, disagrees. ‘I don’t think we will see her walking back into royal life; she doesn’t want it,’ she says.
The Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden also thinks her insistence on being called ‘Sussex’ refers more to her desire to be treated like a royal.
Some observers have speculated that Meghan’s insistence on being called Sussex might indicate a desire to return to the royal fold. Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2017
He says: ‘Palace insiders have interpreted this as a way of pre-empting moves to strip her and Harry of their titles if they cause more headaches for King Charles. One source told me this week: ‘It’s clearly a warning shot.’
‘What is beyond doubt is that Meghan is anxious to hang on to the baubles of royal life, such as the Prince and Princess titles for her children.
Harry let it be known after his father’s cancer diagnosis that he was willing to return to royal duties temporarily. And it’s no secret that he wants to spend more time back in his homeland.
‘But there’s no way that he and Meghan will be invited back to the Firm while they’re still trying to make a fortune in the US.’
Source link
