Despite the review-bombing, despite the forever tantrums of the British media, despite the condescension from the trade papers, it looks like With Love, Meghan is a hit show for Netflix. It might even be the case that all of the critics’ hissy fits worked in the Duchess of Sussex’s favor – it made everyday, non-royal-watchers more curious about the show. Plus, to Meghan’s credit, she got out there and promoted the show and actually put herself out there in a way we haven’t seen since she promoted Archetypes in 2022. WLM is a top-ten show for Netflix in dozens of countries already. Which begs the question: will the left-behind Windsors tune in? LMAO. Thankfully, Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair had this very snooty exclusive:

It is the show that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is hoping will reinvent her, but so far With Love, Meghan has received mixed reviews. In the UK, the critics have not held back, with the Daily Telegraph describing Meghan’s new lifestyle show as “an exercise in narcissism,” while the normally anti-royal and left-wing newspaper The Guardian described it as “pointless.” Vanity Fair contributing editor Anna Peele summed it up as, “To watch With Love is to microdose quotidian revelations.”

As for the royal family? Its senior members, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, have “zero interest” in watching the TV show, according to people with knowledge, with one source saying, “The king knows more than enough about beekeeping. Besides, he’s far too busy to sit down and watch it.”

In episode one (“Hello, Honey!”), Meghan is seen harvesting honey from her beehives. Both King Charles (Buckingham Palace is home to four beehives) and the Princess of Wales are keen beekeepers, but according to one friend of the royals, “There’s very little to actually learn from Meghan’s TV show. I suspect that [the royal family] will be quite dismissive of it. I can’t imagine Kate and William will sit down and watch it. Why would they?”

Editor in chief of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward tells Vanity Fair, “I watched it wanting it to be something special, but it really wasn’t. This was meant to be the make or break show for Meghan but it didn’t feel groundbreaking in any way. Netflix might get curiosity viewings but I think this will be the death knell for their multimillion-dollar TV deal.”

Seward added that the lack of humor on Meghan’s part, along with the absence of her celebrity friends, made the show disappointing. “I liked it that she had guests, but they weren’t globally recognized. Serena Williams would have been great. And I thought it was humorless, it needed a big injection of fun and self-deprecation on Meghan’s part. There was nothing terribly funny like something splashed over that ridiculously white blouse.”

[From Vanity Fair]

“I liked it that she had guests, but they weren’t globally recognized.” You know who’s globally recognized? The Duchess of Sussex, aka Meghan Sussex. You know who will get significant bumps from their WLM appearances? Every single guest. Roy Choi is basically a rock star now. The world is getting to meet Vicky Tsai, who is extremely funny and charming and a fellow female entrepreneur. Mindy Kaling is extremely famous on her own, and she’s now cosigned Archetypes AND WLM.

As for what the royals think of the show they refuse to watch… I actually believe that Charles will avoid it, after all, he refused to read his son’s memoir. Camilla will absolutely watch WLM. Kate and William will watch it as well, although probably not together. This is so much like the H&M series in late 2022 – the Windsors sniffed and rolled their eyes about how of course they would not watch it… and then spent months revealing that they watched every minute of it. Kate really is about to come out in a loose white blouse, jazz hands a’ blazin’, arranging flowers and frying chicken wings. William is going to “mention” that he loves his wife’s crudité platters, mark my word.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Netflix, Cover Images.