I’m still making my way through With Love, Meghan’s Season 2. Just my luck, WLM S2 dropped in the first week of the US Open, so I have a lot going on, viewer-wise. Yesterday, I watched the episode with Samin Nosrat, which I absolutely loved. To me, those are the kinds of WLM episodes which sing – Meghan with a food professional, talking about food, cooking and doing a cool crafting project. Nosrat was wonderful – upbeat, chatty, charismatic, and she and Meghan had a lot of just-met-my-new-bestie chemistry. Well, something else happened on Wednesday. Vogue published “With Love, Meghan Is Just Not Worth Getting So Worked Up About” by Raven Smith. The piece basically says “why are people getting so worked up about a sweet cooking show?” An excerpt:
The internet still hates it, but with less of the vim that the cold-plunge shock of Season 1 inspired, now that we’ve acclimated to Markle’s waters. (It’s hard to know if I’m adding to the din of detractors by even commenting on the show, but here we are.) Meghan’s approach seems simple—“There are easy ways to show up lovingly”—which doesn’t seem like a bad sentiment, does it? Making things a bit nicer while the world burns just means… things are a bit nicer.
Sure, I see how this is cloying for some, sticking to the roof of your mouth and coating your tongue. There’s something a bit naff about her dependency on the matchy-matchy, a little too smudgy-pastels when I want vivid strokes. But With Love, Meghan offers easy watching, not hate-watching. It’s pumiced enough to have no snags, no irks. I don’t know why people are so riled.
Obviously, being married to a prince of England—however estranged—is a factor: The Sussexes’ $100 million deal with Netflix has seen them trauma-doc their departure from royal duty. But with With Love, Meghan, Season 2, there’s no royal gossip. There’s no sense of vengeance. There’s no “Beyoncé’s texted.” Meghan just seems fairly—dare I say it?—normal.
The season is a polished, unmessy outing from a woman whose life is inexorably intertwined with a family that lacquers over their messes with aplomb. Perhaps it’s just the normalcy that rubs people the wrong way? Meghan’s story follows the contours of the American Dream—start from the bottom and make something of yourself—but has garnered the vitriol of the British press, who continue to see her as somehow undeserving (of her platform, of her prince). Her refusal to succumb to all the airs and graces we’re so acclimatized to in the UK is considered a weakness rather than a strength.
I will say this for Harry and Meghan: They seem to have forged what they needed, a family unit away from the royal glare. Though their lifestyle is not to everybody’s taste, they’ve made it out. They’re on American soil, with Lilibet and Archie, an ocean away from an island that only continues to reinforce their un-wantedness.
“An ocean away from an island that only continues to reinforce their un-wantedness.” That’s just it though, even with all of the screaming, crying and throwing up over every little thing Meghan and Harry do, there’s still a sense of “but why don’t they WANT to come back to the UK???” That is, more than anything, the overarching complaint, from the Abandonment Issues Kingdom. That Harry and Meghan should want to be in the UK, so that their British detractors can scream into their faces. Anyway, I agree with the sentiment that WLM really isn’t worth all of this negativity. If it’s not your flavor, don’t watch it. It’s my flavor and I’m only halfway through the series! How are Meghan’s biggest detractors already through the entire season? Just admit that you’re a fan. You’re not hate-watching an entire season of a cooking show, you know? You’re just… watching. Because you’re enjoying it.
Photos courtesy of Netflix.
I savored the first episode last night and found it delightful!
How many decades before the British press shuts up about it?
Have not been able to watch it but have been told by someone else that it is a “feel good ” watch, light, airy and fun.
Been having a really crap week in this hellscape we live in.
Have been a bit inconsolable.
Last night, i turned on season 2 of With Love, Meghan.
That show is balm for my soul. Episode 1 was so much fun! We got Daniel back, we got chefs arranging flowers and 4 people working together and laughing together.
Plus, orange marmalade is on its way to me!
I saw a british commentator on a zoom with the nasty british hosts who shut down their bitching. it was glorious.
They were like “inauthentic”
She was like- no one films a tv show in their actual kitchen, what she is doing is the industry standard. Oh, and by the way, no one is being forced to watch it. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.
The nasty hosts looked so deflated…. that also made me smile.
ariel – sorry you’re having a bad week, fully understand that awful inconsolable feeling. But it’s good you’re getting a fix watching WLM. Personally don’t much care for M. Smith’s britsnark cover of a TV cooking and craft show that’s easily avoided. imho a better article to cover w/b Sophia Nelson’s ‘How Duchess Meghan is Building Her Lifestyle Brand’ in Forbes – https://apple.news/ATOJEshZYTWWcL5PHLixlNg
As Meghan said in the Bloomberg interview, she knows who her audience is. The rats ain’t it but they make coin everytime she goes out.
“but has garnered the vitriol of the British press, who continue to see her as somehow undeserving (of her platform, of her prince)”
🎯
Sucks to be the rats.
Hahaha yes, sucks to be the rats. Finally they are called out on how stupidly unprofessional is their activity and tone for so called journalists.
I’m about halfway through also and so far Samin’s episode is my favorite. I just love her energy and personality and she just lit up my morning while watching.
I really loved the Samrin episode. She was awesome. Such a good vibe. When Samrin picks the bold yellow color for her journal and Meghan picks the neutral and they both kind of laughed and Meghan said she was existentially neutral or something….that was funny. Meghan’s neutral vibe is really working to showcase all these amazing guests.
Samin! Samin, Samin. Apologies for the misspell.
Same. I thought, “A show with these two just cooking and experiencing adventures and life together would be infinitely watchable” – Samin brings delightful child-like awe framed by extensive experience and understanding to everything which is a perfect match to Meghan’s carefully planned thoughtfulness and passion to try new, beautiful things that offer joy. I feel like Meghan is trying to constantly tell us, “This is simple, I just threw this together” and in my head I’m thinking, “I’m lucky if I took a shower and have clean clothes on when I cook for friends” BUT someone like Samin who is clearly “down for whatever” brings such a nice counterbalance and makes them both shine – they are literally “salt, fat, acid, heat” together. My favorite moments are always when you can see Meghan’s unguarded happiness at selecting the perfect gift for a guest or the excitement a guest has at trying something new – I could watch that all day. I imagine Jose Andres will have a similar vibe with her (haven’t gotten there yet).
Jay Shetty and his wife Radhi is such a good episode. She is a lovely vegan chef and I was so inspired by her use of spice. I truly like the show. It’s easy tv – no drama
It’s the easiest thing to watch. I have a lot of anxiety and when I’m watching a thriller my anxiety goes through the roof and I require a pallet cleanser between episodes which is usually a well watched comedy or I’ll listen to a familiar song.. Anyway, after enjoying season 1 I thought season 2 would make an excellent pallet cleanser, so I watched an episode of season 6 handmaids tale, serena’s wedding and when it was over I quickly put in season 2 WLM with a view to watching 1 episode and go back to HMT and ended up binging the entire season. My fave moment was Tan France’s reaction to his gift 🎁
This is the point. A lot of the anger towards Harry and Meghan and the show from the British press and the royalists is due to the fact that they want Harry and Meghan to return to the UK. I’m halfway thru episode 2 and I’m enjoying it so far. Last time I had the day off so I was able to watch the entire season in one day. This time work’s getting in the way but I’m going to finish it by the end of the weekend.
“Her refusal to succumb to all the airs and graces we’re so acclimatized to in the UK is considered a weakness rather than a strength.is considered a weakness rather than a strength.”
No self respecting American female would allow herself to succumb to all the airs and graces we’re so acclimatized to in the UK and demanded by the English tabloid press.
Raven Smith is correct. Meghan signaling the English press to go “pound salt” is a strength. Raven Smith reminding the world that With Love, Meghan is just a cooking show is also a strength.
The English press are the weaklings.
Amen on all counts! Meghan outshone the Royals with her work ethic, star power, genuine ability to connect with non-royals, especially on tour. That is why Pegs and Lazy and C & C hounded her out. “We don’t want to be over-shadowed”. Waaaah.
I watched all of it and loved all the episodes. I see Raven Smith couldn’t help herself by using Markle instead of Sussex in her article and a few other digs but she did acknowledge that why the fuss over a cooking show.
That things like titles and naming conventions are usually controlled by the style guide of the publication, not the individual author.
This is a problem of the BRF refusing to update how married in members of the family are to be referred to when their titles aren’t used. I think it gives the men in grey à little thrill every time a royal wife is referred to by her maiden name.
the irony is that Harry was emotionally abandoned after his mother died. I mean. Talk about material abundance and emotional deprivation. And later, actually, material deprivation, at least compared to *all* of his family members, not just William, literally everyone in the BRF was better paid, better provided for than Harry. The late Queen was not stingy with her family. She ran a tight ship, but it wasn’t by being begrudging. And it’s the rest of the UK that behaves as if it was abandoned. When they chased these people out with pitchforks and sticks and brickbats. WTF did they expect this couple to do??? Really? I remember there was a brief moment of clarity, after Sussexit, cause unlike most events that beset the BRF *no one* saw it coming, the press had not been briefed, the ground had not been prepared by a heavy-handed breadcrumb scattering, there was one leak and then it all hit the fan in short order. You could tell the BRF was scrambling to master a real-time sequence of unfolding events. But the papers — not having been indoctrinated by the standard intrigue — had their own head for once, free rein, and ran with it. Kicked over the tracers. All horsey metaphors. Stampede. And one of them said, in light of Brexit, they just want to be able to strike their own trade deals and form their own alliances. To take the Brexit argument and apply it to M&H. And it was like, yes!!!! Genius. You get it. A few weeks later they had been fed the party line and the coverage reverted to pre chewed outrage, prescripted regurgitated talking points. Yawn.
Excellent analysis of the flow of the media coverage, I heartily agree (award crowd standing up applause gif) 👍
It really is it worth all of the vitriol, you aren’t forced to watch it. Netflix has literally thousands of options in their library you can scroll right on past it. The anger seems to be in the fact that it’s allowed to exist, which is bizarre for a pretty harmless show. Regardless of what’s going on in the world it will always be room for escapism and fun and connection. Or do people think that no movies, music or art came out between 1939 and 1945?
The writer does hit it on the head about the real frustration being in the fact that she’s normal and happy and successful. They don’t think she deserves it, and they don’t think that this is the actual life that she should be living. Whether that’s as a black woman or an American or someone that left the royal family willingly or all three who knows. But that’s why they’re so focused on ” authenticity” from her. What they really want you to think is, this can’t be who she really is. And if it is, she shouldn’t be allowed to have it.
Well they made her life hell yet they still make so much money out of her like Diana.
The beast needs to be fed and they’re not playing with the beast.
Yeah, but somehow I just don’t think the British people/media who constantly come to America seeking fame (and fortune) are really thinking “How can an AMERICAN live in such lavish surroundings?” That is not the reason for the rabid harassment.
They don’t think she deserves it but are deeply offended that she doesn’t want the life she had in the UK as a “working” royal, doesn’t talk about it, only refers to it if necessary (“the longest I’ve ever been away from my kids is three weeks”). Being connected to the RF should be the pinnacle of desire and achievement, but she’s making clear to a global audience there’s more to life than that.
I only got to the Tan France episode so far and it was so fun. His reaction to the flower sprinkles was great. And I loved how it genuinely clicked for him when she showed how she makes even the kids’ plates beautiful. And yeah, ending the day on the beach, just wow. She has a vulnerability, kind of nerdy and a little shy. Such a sweet show.
I also loved his reaction to her gift of the vintage spice box.
I thought that was so sweet. he was so genuinely touched. And also who knew H&M were in North Carolina last year lol. stealth mode!
And yes, she is definitely a little dorky and that is part of her appeal to me. She just seems like the dorky sweet mom down the street. I have a friend who kind of reminds me of her – she just is always busy and cheesy – her kids BTS signs are always the best, she has that little air pump for her balloon arches, etc. She’s cheesy and dorky and loves pinterest but not in a competitive way “doing it for IG” kind of way. And that’s the vibe I get from M – she’s doing these things because they bring her joy, not for anything else.
@Becks1 The NC mention caught my ear too. I wonder if they went to help volunteer after the floods in Asheville?
Honestly @Becks1 I feel like the fact that she does get genuine and enjoyment from this stuff is where some of the animus for her comes into play as well. They want to believe that she’s just doing it for the Gram, or she’s doing it to compete with other moms and shame them, and it’s their own issues about how they deal with parenthood that they are projecting on to her.
It seems to be a real thing for some people to disbelieve that someone could just genuinely be a happy person that enjoys doing stuff like this for their friends and family without some ulterior motive. They feel guilt and instead of just acknowledging that everyone isn’t going to parent the same way it doesn’t mean that your kids are unhappy, they make it seem like she’s fake or this isn’t worthwhile what she’s doing.
Geez. It’s up there with British Bake Off. I don’t need my cooking stuff to just be full of insanity. I just like it. Is that okay BM?
Oh great! Now you’re slapping their dead queen.
LOL
“Though their lifestyle is not to everybody’s taste….”
Umm sure I might change a few things but what’s not to everyone’s taste? If I had the money to live on the beach in Montecito I’d be taking it lol. So sure, it wouldn’t be to everyone’s. But it’s not super offensive or anything.
That was an odd comment. I couldn’t work out what she meant?
Given how jealous they are of the eleventy million bathrooms, I’m wondering who wouldn’t want that beautiful house, grounds, aspect, privacy, location?
Though if she means it’s not to everyone’s taste not to be waited on hand and foot never doing a thing for yourself, to do your own cooking, to work in the garden, to craft things, to create thoughtful gifts and experiences for friends (not a picture of yourself), to reach out and actually give something genuine and tangible back, to cultivate real friendships, to actually work for a living then yes, I can see the left behinds and the 🐀🐀 might not think it to their taste. All that takes effort, skill, ability and an interest in people other than yourself.
Meghan just keeps putting love out into the universe because that’s who she is. A good, kind person. I’m glad she & Harry are out of the firm. They can do more kind & inspiring things worldwide, not reigned in by the silly royal family protocols. They only wanted to be treated fairly, and they were not. Luckily they escaped.
It’s not to my taste… and that’s okay. Everyone doesn’t have to want her life. I don’t think there was anything snarky about that statement from the writer.
Just finished Ep 4 and its so delightful. I think so far I actually like this season better (and I really enjoyed season 1). The hysteria around this show does seem more muted this time. For season 1 I saw reporters tweeting that they would be watching as it launched at midnight and then reviewed all episodes before most of us had even woken up. Every publication had a review (mostly negative) I mean even the Economist chimed in. This round I’ve seem mostly neutral takes. I hope she announces a season 3 (in addition to the christmas special) soon. Congrats Meghan!
Looking forward to more unhinged pieces from the FT, the Economist and the Guardian. 😏
When you have these sober publications going bonkers at Meghan, you know the entire British media ecosystem has collectively lost its mind.
Meghan’s California life: positive, deep blue skies sunny, beautiful, Hopeful. Compared to the BM articles: gloomy, Depressing, negative, pessimistic, kill-joys- Who the heck wants to live in that environment with that kind of a miserable mindset.
I have three episodes left (the ones with Heather Dorak, Clare Smyth and Jose Andres, love that they are ending with him, what a finale) and so far the Samin one is my favorite too. I don’t know anything about her besides the fact that she wrote Salt Fat Acid Heat (which i’ve heard of but don’t have, maybe its time to get it!) So it was fun for me to “get to know her” a bit. How soon before Meghan is invited to those Monday night suppers?!?!!?
Something that stands out to me is that if you just kind of blindly watch the clips, you can’t tell who she knew beforehand and who she didn’t. Like I had seen some clips of the Tan france episode (which I also loved) and I assumed she and Tan were friends. But they had never met. She just has that vibe with people, like she’s known them forever (incidentally that ability to connect would have served the royal family REALLY well….) And part of it too is that the guests are all a really good fit for the show – they’re all super into cooking even if not all professional chefs, they all seem to have a cheesy side which pairs well with Meghan having them make aprons or soap etc. So far I am liking this season more than the first but the crafts are definitely a little beyond me lol.
so yes…its not that serious. If you don’t like cooking shows, don’t watch it. She’s not trying to save the world here. She’s just trying to spread a little light and joy in her way.
What Ive also noticed is that you can tell that some of the guests come in maybe a little skeptical and by the end they are totally enjoying themselves. Like Christina Tosi came in ready for anything but I thought David Chang was a little more reserved at first. When Daniel was so casual with the food, they were genuinely taken aback because they had thought Meghan would be formal. By the end, they were all having such a great time and you could tell they genuinely liked her. Same with Tan and Samin.
Hooray for Netflix for publishing ‘recipes’ for the S2 crafts because I was about to buy a book on bookbinding just to make a simple journal 😵💫. Fortunately won’t have to figure out whether to sew the pages if I can just get a “preglued book block.” https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/with-love-meghan-season-2-recipes-crafts
I enjoy the glimpse into her life. I like that side of Meghan we see, she’s someone who likes the things she likes and is a little bit nerdy. She’s not pretending. I did laugh aloud a few times. I hope she continues to make the show whether Netflix renews or not. The irony is she is perfect royal duchess. In another life she would be living on an English estate with Harry, flower arranging, growing vegetables, raising her children and doing royal engagements. Between them, the royals through their racism and insane jealousy with the help of the BM destroyed an asset to the monarchy that Meghan would have been. But they gave Harry the opportunity to escape which I think he always wanted and needed.
I hope the show continues also. It’s obviously on Netflix and will do good numbers for a cooking/entertaining show even it’s not going to be doing K-pop Demon Hunter numbers. The vibe feels like something that could have been on old-school HGTV.
Thank you, Vogue, for the real takeaway: if it’s not your jam (sorry!), then simply don’t watch it, Netflix has thousands of other options for you.
And thank you for raising the real question: why all the screaming and throwing up about a show that’s simply not your jam? Vogue doesn’t answer this question, but we can: the rota are desperate to have Harry back because the lazies are boring and, well, unbelievably lazy. The rota is throwing up because the Sussexes are proving, with every charity engagement (Harry going to Wellchild next month and all the rest), Netflix program, and bottle of wine sold, that they don’t need the BRF to do well financially and live their authentic lives far, far away. Poor hyperventilating rota.
I finished it last night. It was all very lovely.
Absolutely love the show. My favorite episode was the final with Jośe Andreas. You could tell from the episode he has visited H&M before in their home. The warmth between him and Meghan was touching. Also, because of the dangerous work he does with WCK, I was surprised about his humor and how relaxed he appeared. Very good show. Loved how Season 1 showed Meghan interacting with her close friends while Season 2 shows her interacting with guests she has not known long or seen for many years. Sure hope there is a season 3.
I have been waiting for people to get to Jose’s episode! What an absolutely delightful man! Season two ended on the lightest, most joyful episode.
Preach about the haters being devoted fans!! I’M a fan and I’ve only watched 2 episodes so far because we are busy this week as we prepare to stop early for a nice long labor day weekend. How have people who claim to dislike Meghan already watched the whole season?? YOU ARE A FAN stop faking.
My husband has been worried about me because he thought I was obsessed with all things Meghan and Harry. I re-watch the “Harry and Meghan” series at least once a month and have read “Spare” multiple times. I tried to explain it to him as my usual standing up for the underdog. He finally watched a few episodes with me and the Andres and Tan France ones finally broke through. He gets it now. He was laughing out loud several times.
This woman can’t even fart in peace without Royalist weirdos drafting a multi-page think-piece about how she’s passing gas incorrectly. It’s so strange. This is a delightful, harmless little cooking show and Meghan is a doll. Good on Vogue for trying to check the haters.
A cooking show is not my jam, and I’ve never watched one. However, the trailer shares breezy escapism, and many can embrace that.
I have never been a very good cook, nor have I ever been interested in cooking shows. To me, cooking is a chore. Because cooking involves timing. It seems no matter how many alarms I set, somehow my timing is always off. Getting everything to the table while it’s hot? Good luck w/that. Remembering to actually make the vegetables? Oops. (I used to tell my son they were for dessert!). I used to say, just give me a pill to fill me and I’m good.
But Season One affected me….now I use yellow, red and green peppers. Never did before. Granted they are frozen, cause fresh ones just seem to rot in the fridge. But I’m using & eating them. I bought a head of lettuce, and am actually eating it, instead of it just rotting in the fridge. Admittedly I know nothing about spices, but I salted boiling water the other day, before adding the pasta. My sister can make even a basic peanut butter sandwich look elegant. Meghan reminds me of my sister in the cooking department. Re the crafts, no one in my family has ever been crafty. But I did purchase a cheap, hand held sewing machine, and intend to hem some old curtains, because “start simple” struck a chord in me. So even though I’m not a fan and haven’t watched anything by Rachel Ray or M Stewart or anyone else, I watch WLM for the joy shared, the laughter and yes, even inspiration. And because she’s beautiful and fun and I delight in her safety and happiness.
Team Meghan ride or die, and I love WLM….
…and it’s clear as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, ChatGPT4 free version wrote this article. Not ChatGPT5 (for those who have played with both). The rhythm, the wordplay, the flowery language, the accommodating tone while slightly rephrasing in order to affirm. I’d bet money on it that all Raven Smith did was give it a polish and collect her check.
Try it. Put in the right prompts, ask it to write a short article about Meghan including XYZ subjects, ABC tone and details and you’ll get it. Plain. As. Day.
Shame on you Vogue for cutting corners with your journalists but I guess that’s the way of things now…
Ofc this is purely speculation on my part!! Apologies to Raven Smith for being overdramatic with my sweeping pronouncements
Vogue calls contributor ‘Raven’ a “he.” Having never used any ChatGPT version, will take your word for it. I’ve only attended a little learning session at Apple store; wrote a short email, then for the AI tweak just pushed a button to make it more “professional,” “warmer,” etc.
I’m liking what I’m seeing so far, 3 episodes in. You can tell she made some adjustments from the first season in terms of pacing . I loved the frenetic intensity of the first episode with Daniel, David Chang and Christina Tosi. I’ve seen them on Chef’s Table and Davids show so it was fun to see them just pulling an amazing meal together while doing other crafting things. I’m enjoying it so far, prefer the more cooking instruction side of things, and the visuals are so good.
OK, this article from Vogue didn’t go the way I thought it was headed, and for that I am consoled. I admit that With Love, Meghan gets me riled up too!!! I want to cook, and I don’t like to cook; makes me want to run outside and plant and use a garden. It is just so much fun. If the only thing one was left with was to gift people with thoughtful gifts to make them happy and to show you love and appreciate them, that would be enough gold to put out into the world. I really hope the British Royals and Press sooner rather than later tie their shoe laces together and start stumbling all over the place, so people who haven’t realized it yet, realize that they are the villains in this piece. It’s bound to happen isn’t it?
I love the top picture of Meghan smiling at the camera man and Tan at the sink looking back and smiling. Her gift to Tan was wonderful and thoughtful. He is such a polished, gracious gentleman. And cudos to Meg for curating such a varied and interesting guest list.
I should ChatGPT if the BM ever gets tired of being miserable. lol