Meghan Markle gets new Netflix deal as insiders say CEO is 'massive' fan
Insiders believe the new deal will be a much-reduced offer compared with their current agreement, will be focused entirely on Meghan and this time will be without a generous upfront payment
Meghan Makle has secued a new Netflix deal despite ratings which insiders concede were 'limp' and 'disappointing'.
The launch of ' With Love, Meghan ' provides an intimate peek into her world, shining a light on her zeal for cooking, pottering around in the garden, and playing the perfect hostess to her friends. Stars like Mindy Kaling and Abigail Spencer pop up throughout this personal venture.
In the first seven days following its release in March the show had 2.6million views and 12.6million hours of the show had been streamed. The show just scraped into Netflix's global top 10 for the week. This is in contrast to the 2022 docuseries Harry & Meghan, which had 97.7million hours watched in its first seven days on the platform - and became its biggest documentary ever.
The second season is coming in the autumn and has already finished filming, according to Netflix. But 'With Love, Meghan' will be recommissioned for a third series to be shown next year, with the deal being renewed in September, according to MailOnline.
A soure told MailOnline: "'What people do not understand about the situation is that [Netflix CEO] Ted Sarandos is a massive, massive fan of Meghan personally. He calls her "the rock star". There is no way that her deal does not get renewed. Ted is in the Meghan business and that is not about to change. He is all in."
Insiders believe the new deal will be a much-reduced offer compared with their current agreement, will be focused entirely on Meghan and this time will be without a generous upfront payment.
Netflix boss Ted Sarandos - who has a weekend home near to the Sussexes in Montecito with wife Nicole Avant - tends not to talk about her in interviews, but it's clear where he sees the duchess's potential. In March this year, just after With Love, Meghan started streaming, he spoke about her in a long-profile piece in industry bible Variety and said: 'I think Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture.
"When we dropped the trailer for the Harry & Meghan doc series, everything on-screen was dissected in the Press for days. The shoes she was wearing sold out all over the world. The Hermes blanket that was on the chair behind her sold out everywhere in the world. People are fascinated with Meghan Markle. She and Harry are overly dismissed."
So strong was his belief in Meghan that a second eight-episode series of With Love, Meghan was filmed at the same time as the first last spring, and it will go out this autumn.
Royal expert Jennie Bond added that Meghan should not make any wholesale changes when it comes to the new series, despite the reviews. She added: "It is a lifestyle show. It is not a political debate or an analysis of global affairs. It's not meant to have any great substance.
"It is a show about making things pretty or tasty or comfortable. It doesn't pretend to be anything else. So I don't think Meghan should change anything about it for her next series, which has already apparently been shot.
"The crew who worked on it have spoken about how charming and hospitable she was. That's refreshing to hear. The show has quite a few handy little tips if you're interested. And if you're not, then the answer is blindingly obvious: don't watch it. But leave the poor woman alone and stop the bitchy comments."
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