With Love, Meghan on Netflix

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Martha developed her skills over time through her catering business and then as she launched her show. Her main thing was not being a super skilled chef or baker or decorator, but being extremely committed to detail and being a perfectionist about aesthetics. There was a lot she didn't know but she'd hire or work with experts. Many of the things she did on her show were things her staff or a consultant was the actual expert in, and then she learned well enough to present it on the show. This isn't a knock on Martha -- without her vision and her exacting expectations for her business, the show would never have happened in the first place. And then her magazine grew out of that and as a result she helped create jobs for lots of actual experts. But Martha herself was not an expert. She's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Her special sauce is in being interested in figuring out what the best version of something is and then finding experts to help make that happen.

Meghan actually has a decent amount in common with Martha. And Martha's career was absolutely premised on her having married a guy from a certain world, which gave her access to catering clients in that world and then enabled her to buy her first home and fix it up.

Meghan also comes by these interests naturally. This isn't a put on for this show or something she just adopted in the last couple years. Before she ever met Harry and while she was working full time as an actress, she started The Tig which was basically the blog/website version of this show. Extremely similar content. And she was just sharing tips and ideas that she'd found herself because she's a perfectionist and likes researching hostessing/decorating/cooking ideas and sharing them with people. The Tig was really great and while its reach was still pretty small, I think it would have grown into something bigger had she not shut it down after meeting Harry and moving to England. I think this show is just her trying to restart that burgeoning lifestyle influencer career that started with the Tig and got cut off.

I feel weird writing this in support of Meghan, about whom I'm pretty ambivalent. But I did like her blog and I think this show is cute. I think the people criticizing it and comparing it unfavorably to Martha or these other lifestyle gurus don't really know Meghan's background and also don't know the backgrounds of people like Martha. Meghan is no more or less qualified than most of them. Heck, Rachel Ray wasn't even a particularly good cook when she started! Her whole deal was 30 minute meals and a willingness to adhere to that formula, which had a ready, built-in audience. Meghan slots right in with that group and she's as qualified as any of them are. And people criticized them too. My dad used to hate Giada because (true story) he didn't believe someone that skinny could know how to cook. But Giada actually went to the Cordon Bleu and was trained as a pastry chef. Meanwhile he loved Ina Garten, who has no formal culinary training and used to be a policy analyst in DC of all things. But she looked like a chef to him because she wasn't stick thin.

Point is: Meghan is as qualified as anyone for this particular job. She definitely got it at least in part because she married Harry, but it's honestly not that hard to imagine another timeline where she never meets Harry, stays on at Suits and builds the Tig into a bigger website, and winds up with a show based on that. She was a reasonably well known actress and her website was well-liked so it's really not a stretch.

She might have been well known to "Suits" watchers but not the general public. I never heard of "Suits" or Meghan Markle before she dated Prince Harry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Martha developed her skills over time through her catering business and then as she launched her show. Her main thing was not being a super skilled chef or baker or decorator, but being extremely committed to detail and being a perfectionist about aesthetics. There was a lot she didn't know but she'd hire or work with experts. Many of the things she did on her show were things her staff or a consultant was the actual expert in, and then she learned well enough to present it on the show. This isn't a knock on Martha -- without her vision and her exacting expectations for her business, the show would never have happened in the first place. And then her magazine grew out of that and as a result she helped create jobs for lots of actual experts. But Martha herself was not an expert. She's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Her special sauce is in being interested in figuring out what the best version of something is and then finding experts to help make that happen.

Meghan actually has a decent amount in common with Martha. And Martha's career was absolutely premised on her having married a guy from a certain world, which gave her access to catering clients in that world and then enabled her to buy her first home and fix it up.

Meghan also comes by these interests naturally. This isn't a put on for this show or something she just adopted in the last couple years. Before she ever met Harry and while she was working full time as an actress, she started The Tig which was basically the blog/website version of this show. Extremely similar content. And she was just sharing tips and ideas that she'd found herself because she's a perfectionist and likes researching hostessing/decorating/cooking ideas and sharing them with people. The Tig was really great and while its reach was still pretty small, I think it would have grown into something bigger had she not shut it down after meeting Harry and moving to England. I think this show is just her trying to restart that burgeoning lifestyle influencer career that started with the Tig and got cut off.

I feel weird writing this in support of Meghan, about whom I'm pretty ambivalent. But I did like her blog and I think this show is cute. I think the people criticizing it and comparing it unfavorably to Martha or these other lifestyle gurus don't really know Meghan's background and also don't know the backgrounds of people like Martha. Meghan is no more or less qualified than most of them. Heck, Rachel Ray wasn't even a particularly good cook when she started! Her whole deal was 30 minute meals and a willingness to adhere to that formula, which had a ready, built-in audience. Meghan slots right in with that group and she's as qualified as any of them are. And people criticized them too. My dad used to hate Giada because (true story) he didn't believe someone that skinny could know how to cook. But Giada actually went to the Cordon Bleu and was trained as a pastry chef. Meanwhile he loved Ina Garten, who has no formal culinary training and used to be a policy analyst in DC of all things. But she looked like a chef to him because she wasn't stick thin.

Point is: Meghan is as qualified as anyone for this particular job. She definitely got it at least in part because she married Harry, but it's honestly not that hard to imagine another timeline where she never meets Harry, stays on at Suits and builds the Tig into a bigger website, and winds up with a show based on that. She was a reasonably well known actress and her website was well-liked so it's really not a stretch.

She might have been well known to "Suits" watchers but not the general public. I never heard of "Suits" or Meghan Markle before she dated Prince Harry.

+1 No way in heck she would have gotten a Netflix show without the Harry connection, what a ridiculous thing to suggest. The Tig was lightweight and didn't last long. We're not talking Martha Stewart or even Goop here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Martha developed her skills over time through her catering business and then as she launched her show. Her main thing was not being a super skilled chef or baker or decorator, but being extremely committed to detail and being a perfectionist about aesthetics. There was a lot she didn't know but she'd hire or work with experts. Many of the things she did on her show were things her staff or a consultant was the actual expert in, and then she learned well enough to present it on the show. This isn't a knock on Martha -- without her vision and her exacting expectations for her business, the show would never have happened in the first place. And then her magazine grew out of that and as a result she helped create jobs for lots of actual experts. But Martha herself was not an expert. She's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Her special sauce is in being interested in figuring out what the best version of something is and then finding experts to help make that happen.

Meghan actually has a decent amount in common with Martha. And Martha's career was absolutely premised on her having married a guy from a certain world, which gave her access to catering clients in that world and then enabled her to buy her first home and fix it up.

Meghan also comes by these interests naturally. This isn't a put on for this show or something she just adopted in the last couple years. Before she ever met Harry and while she was working full time as an actress, she started The Tig which was basically the blog/website version of this show. Extremely similar content. And she was just sharing tips and ideas that she'd found herself because she's a perfectionist and likes researching hostessing/decorating/cooking ideas and sharing them with people. The Tig was really great and while its reach was still pretty small, I think it would have grown into something bigger had she not shut it down after meeting Harry and moving to England. I think this show is just her trying to restart that burgeoning lifestyle influencer career that started with the Tig and got cut off.

I feel weird writing this in support of Meghan, about whom I'm pretty ambivalent. But I did like her blog and I think this show is cute. I think the people criticizing it and comparing it unfavorably to Martha or these other lifestyle gurus don't really know Meghan's background and also don't know the backgrounds of people like Martha. Meghan is no more or less qualified than most of them. Heck, Rachel Ray wasn't even a particularly good cook when she started! Her whole deal was 30 minute meals and a willingness to adhere to that formula, which had a ready, built-in audience. Meghan slots right in with that group and she's as qualified as any of them are. And people criticized them too. My dad used to hate Giada because (true story) he didn't believe someone that skinny could know how to cook. But Giada actually went to the Cordon Bleu and was trained as a pastry chef. Meanwhile he loved Ina Garten, who has no formal culinary training and used to be a policy analyst in DC of all things. But she looked like a chef to him because she wasn't stick thin.

Point is: Meghan is as qualified as anyone for this particular job. She definitely got it at least in part because she married Harry, but it's honestly not that hard to imagine another timeline where she never meets Harry, stays on at Suits and builds the Tig into a bigger website, and winds up with a show based on that. She was a reasonably well known actress and her website was well-liked so it's really not a stretch.

She might have been well known to "Suits" watchers but not the general public. I never heard of "Suits" or Meghan Markle before she dated Prince Harry.

+1. After she started dating Harry, I tried watching Suits but found it awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Martha developed her skills over time through her catering business and then as she launched her show. Her main thing was not being a super skilled chef or baker or decorator, but being extremely committed to detail and being a perfectionist about aesthetics. There was a lot she didn't know but she'd hire or work with experts. Many of the things she did on her show were things her staff or a consultant was the actual expert in, and then she learned well enough to present it on the show. This isn't a knock on Martha -- without her vision and her exacting expectations for her business, the show would never have happened in the first place. And then her magazine grew out of that and as a result she helped create jobs for lots of actual experts. But Martha herself was not an expert. She's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Her special sauce is in being interested in figuring out what the best version of something is and then finding experts to help make that happen.

Meghan actually has a decent amount in common with Martha. And Martha's career was absolutely premised on her having married a guy from a certain world, which gave her access to catering clients in that world and then enabled her to buy her first home and fix it up.

Meghan also comes by these interests naturally. This isn't a put on for this show or something she just adopted in the last couple years. Before she ever met Harry and while she was working full time as an actress, she started The Tig which was basically the blog/website version of this show. Extremely similar content. And she was just sharing tips and ideas that she'd found herself because she's a perfectionist and likes researching hostessing/decorating/cooking ideas and sharing them with people. The Tig was really great and while its reach was still pretty small, I think it would have grown into something bigger had she not shut it down after meeting Harry and moving to England. I think this show is just her trying to restart that burgeoning lifestyle influencer career that started with the Tig and got cut off.

I feel weird writing this in support of Meghan, about whom I'm pretty ambivalent. But I did like her blog and I think this show is cute. I think the people criticizing it and comparing it unfavorably to Martha or these other lifestyle gurus don't really know Meghan's background and also don't know the backgrounds of people like Martha. Meghan is no more or less qualified than most of them. Heck, Rachel Ray wasn't even a particularly good cook when she started! Her whole deal was 30 minute meals and a willingness to adhere to that formula, which had a ready, built-in audience. Meghan slots right in with that group and she's as qualified as any of them are. And people criticized them too. My dad used to hate Giada because (true story) he didn't believe someone that skinny could know how to cook. But Giada actually went to the Cordon Bleu and was trained as a pastry chef. Meanwhile he loved Ina Garten, who has no formal culinary training and used to be a policy analyst in DC of all things. But she looked like a chef to him because she wasn't stick thin.

Point is: Meghan is as qualified as anyone for this particular job. She definitely got it at least in part because she married Harry, but it's honestly not that hard to imagine another timeline where she never meets Harry, stays on at Suits and builds the Tig into a bigger website, and winds up with a show based on that. She was a reasonably well known actress and her website was well-liked so it's really not a stretch.

She might have been well known to "Suits" watchers but not the general public. I never heard of "Suits" or Meghan Markle before she dated Prince Harry.

+1. After she started dating Harry, I tried watching Suits but found it awful.

Plus a million. It’s clear Meghan has no skills or depth besides marrying up in terms of visibility (Harry is a resentful IMO exceptionally ugly and dumb man, so she’s married down in terms of picking someone attractive).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Martha developed her skills over time through her catering business and then as she launched her show. Her main thing was not being a super skilled chef or baker or decorator, but being extremely committed to detail and being a perfectionist about aesthetics. There was a lot she didn't know but she'd hire or work with experts. Many of the things she did on her show were things her staff or a consultant was the actual expert in, and then she learned well enough to present it on the show. This isn't a knock on Martha -- without her vision and her exacting expectations for her business, the show would never have happened in the first place. And then her magazine grew out of that and as a result she helped create jobs for lots of actual experts. But Martha herself was not an expert. She's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Her special sauce is in being interested in figuring out what the best version of something is and then finding experts to help make that happen.

Meghan actually has a decent amount in common with Martha. And Martha's career was absolutely premised on her having married a guy from a certain world, which gave her access to catering clients in that world and then enabled her to buy her first home and fix it up.

Meghan also comes by these interests naturally. This isn't a put on for this show or something she just adopted in the last couple years. Before she ever met Harry and while she was working full time as an actress, she started The Tig which was basically the blog/website version of this show. Extremely similar content. And she was just sharing tips and ideas that she'd found herself because she's a perfectionist and likes researching hostessing/decorating/cooking ideas and sharing them with people. The Tig was really great and while its reach was still pretty small, I think it would have grown into something bigger had she not shut it down after meeting Harry and moving to England. I think this show is just her trying to restart that burgeoning lifestyle influencer career that started with the Tig and got cut off.

I feel weird writing this in support of Meghan, about whom I'm pretty ambivalent. But I did like her blog and I think this show is cute. I think the people criticizing it and comparing it unfavorably to Martha or these other lifestyle gurus don't really know Meghan's background and also don't know the backgrounds of people like Martha. Meghan is no more or less qualified than most of them. Heck, Rachel Ray wasn't even a particularly good cook when she started! Her whole deal was 30 minute meals and a willingness to adhere to that formula, which had a ready, built-in audience. Meghan slots right in with that group and she's as qualified as any of them are. And people criticized them too. My dad used to hate Giada because (true story) he didn't believe someone that skinny could know how to cook. But Giada actually went to the Cordon Bleu and was trained as a pastry chef. Meanwhile he loved Ina Garten, who has no formal culinary training and used to be a policy analyst in DC of all things. But she looked like a chef to him because she wasn't stick thin.

Point is: Meghan is as qualified as anyone for this particular job. She definitely got it at least in part because she married Harry, but it's honestly not that hard to imagine another timeline where she never meets Harry, stays on at Suits and builds the Tig into a bigger website, and winds up with a show based on that. She was a reasonably well known actress and her website was well-liked so it's really not a stretch.

She might have been well known to "Suits" watchers but not the general public. I never heard of "Suits" or Meghan Markle before she dated Prince Harry.

+1 No way in heck she would have gotten a Netflix show without the Harry connection, what a ridiculous thing to suggest. The Tig was lightweight and didn't last long. We're not talking Martha Stewart or even Goop here.

Netflix has tons of programming built around people about as famous as Meghan during her Suits heyday. Especially in the cooking/travel genre. And if not Netflix, one of the other streamers. It's very easy to imagine a show based on the Tig with Meghan hosting, in an alternate universe where she never becomes Harry's wife or a duchess. Padma Lakshmi is a great example of someone who has done shows in this genre based on nothing but some name recognition and being generally associated with food. And again, look at other people with similar careers. Rachel Ray, Gail King... I don't really see the pre-Harry Megan as being that different. Suits gave her name and face recognition, especially once it was syndicated and went on streaming platforms, and the Tig was a legitimately good website that people liked pretty much from the start. Not a huge following but very popular among a dedicated group of fans.

I think Megan would have likely gotten a book deal just based on the Tig and the ability to leverage her cable TV fame, and if that book did well, she could have gotten a show. She does have good taste and she's known to be hardworking (she built the Tig while working full time on a TV show where she was a lead -- those are long days to begin with and most people do not build a side business in their down time on set, but she did). She isn't an idiot -- she has a degree from Northwestern.

I know people just want to hate her but I actually think had she not married Harry, the very same people who get on this website criticizing every single thing she does would be buying books and and watching her show and talking about how great her ideas are. For whatever reason, marrying into the British royal family and then not getting along with them and her and Harry choosing to bow out and move to the US was just a bridge too far for some people. I don't get it because I don't really care about the British royals so if that's offensive or bad I guess I just understand how.

Megan isn't a genius but she's completely inoffensive and actually seems really well suited to this show and genre. She does seem kind of self-conscious and affected on the show but, hello, Goop and Martha are also super affected! Goop and her mom both do this weird Main Line accent and Martha has all kinds of silly "I'm refined" affectations. You just don't really notice them anymore because they are built into their brands and personas and they cease to bother you. Meghan is very much in the same vein and it's easy to imagine her having a similar career without Harry, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

You should introduce your daughter to Pinterest. It’s a collection of a million Meghan’s sharing all their cutesy ideas.

Well, I mean, as a mother you would-oh, wait. You're a barren old hag no one would dream of f ucking.

DP. When’s the last time your daughter’s dad was around?

Keep it up, beloved. It won’t end well for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Martha developed her skills over time through her catering business and then as she launched her show. Her main thing was not being a super skilled chef or baker or decorator, but being extremely committed to detail and being a perfectionist about aesthetics. There was a lot she didn't know but she'd hire or work with experts. Many of the things she did on her show were things her staff or a consultant was the actual expert in, and then she learned well enough to present it on the show. This isn't a knock on Martha -- without her vision and her exacting expectations for her business, the show would never have happened in the first place. And then her magazine grew out of that and as a result she helped create jobs for lots of actual experts. But Martha herself was not an expert. She's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Her special sauce is in being interested in figuring out what the best version of something is and then finding experts to help make that happen.

Meghan actually has a decent amount in common with Martha. And Martha's career was absolutely premised on her having married a guy from a certain world, which gave her access to catering clients in that world and then enabled her to buy her first home and fix it up.

Meghan also comes by these interests naturally. This isn't a put on for this show or something she just adopted in the last couple years. Before she ever met Harry and while she was working full time as an actress, she started The Tig which was basically the blog/website version of this show. Extremely similar content. And she was just sharing tips and ideas that she'd found herself because she's a perfectionist and likes researching hostessing/decorating/cooking ideas and sharing them with people. The Tig was really great and while its reach was still pretty small, I think it would have grown into something bigger had she not shut it down after meeting Harry and moving to England. I think this show is just her trying to restart that burgeoning lifestyle influencer career that started with the Tig and got cut off.

I feel weird writing this in support of Meghan, about whom I'm pretty ambivalent. But I did like her blog and I think this show is cute. I think the people criticizing it and comparing it unfavorably to Martha or these other lifestyle gurus don't really know Meghan's background and also don't know the backgrounds of people like Martha. Meghan is no more or less qualified than most of them. Heck, Rachel Ray wasn't even a particularly good cook when she started! Her whole deal was 30 minute meals and a willingness to adhere to that formula, which had a ready, built-in audience. Meghan slots right in with that group and she's as qualified as any of them are. And people criticized them too. My dad used to hate Giada because (true story) he didn't believe someone that skinny could know how to cook. But Giada actually went to the Cordon Bleu and was trained as a pastry chef. Meanwhile he loved Ina Garten, who has no formal culinary training and used to be a policy analyst in DC of all things. But she looked like a chef to him because she wasn't stick thin.

Point is: Meghan is as qualified as anyone for this particular job. She definitely got it at least in part because she married Harry, but it's honestly not that hard to imagine another timeline where she never meets Harry, stays on at Suits and builds the Tig into a bigger website, and winds up with a show based on that. She was a reasonably well known actress and her website was well-liked so it's really not a stretch.

She might have been well known to "Suits" watchers but not the general public. I never heard of "Suits" or Meghan Markle before she dated Prince Harry.

+1 No way in heck she would have gotten a Netflix show without the Harry connection, what a ridiculous thing to suggest. The Tig was lightweight and didn't last long. We're not talking Martha Stewart or even Goop here.

Yes, the Tig was "lightweight" compared to Goop and Martha Stewart, well known for their coverage of weight topics like "I love Isabel Marant dresses for summer vacations in Spain" or "how to organize your pantry."

It's all the same stuff. It's not rocket science but there's a big audience for it and the Tig definitely found an audience.

[Anonymous]

I would rather see MM do a California/LA show where she explores different aspects of the state/city ala Stanley Tucci & his Italian travel/food show. Her in the kitchen with fake friends is a boring af.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Martha developed her skills over time through her catering business and then as she launched her show. Her main thing was not being a super skilled chef or baker or decorator, but being extremely committed to detail and being a perfectionist about aesthetics. There was a lot she didn't know but she'd hire or work with experts. Many of the things she did on her show were things her staff or a consultant was the actual expert in, and then she learned well enough to present it on the show. This isn't a knock on Martha -- without her vision and her exacting expectations for her business, the show would never have happened in the first place. And then her magazine grew out of that and as a result she helped create jobs for lots of actual experts. But Martha herself was not an expert. She's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Her special sauce is in being interested in figuring out what the best version of something is and then finding experts to help make that happen.

Meghan actually has a decent amount in common with Martha. And Martha's career was absolutely premised on her having married a guy from a certain world, which gave her access to catering clients in that world and then enabled her to buy her first home and fix it up.

Meghan also comes by these interests naturally. This isn't a put on for this show or something she just adopted in the last couple years. Before she ever met Harry and while she was working full time as an actress, she started The Tig which was basically the blog/website version of this show. Extremely similar content. And she was just sharing tips and ideas that she'd found herself because she's a perfectionist and likes researching hostessing/decorating/cooking ideas and sharing them with people. The Tig was really great and while its reach was still pretty small, I think it would have grown into something bigger had she not shut it down after meeting Harry and moving to England. I think this show is just her trying to restart that burgeoning lifestyle influencer career that started with the Tig and got cut off.

I feel weird writing this in support of Meghan, about whom I'm pretty ambivalent. But I did like her blog and I think this show is cute. I think the people criticizing it and comparing it unfavorably to Martha or these other lifestyle gurus don't really know Meghan's background and also don't know the backgrounds of people like Martha. Meghan is no more or less qualified than most of them. Heck, Rachel Ray wasn't even a particularly good cook when she started! Her whole deal was 30 minute meals and a willingness to adhere to that formula, which had a ready, built-in audience. Meghan slots right in with that group and she's as qualified as any of them are. And people criticized them too. My dad used to hate Giada because (true story) he didn't believe someone that skinny could know how to cook. But Giada actually went to the Cordon Bleu and was trained as a pastry chef. Meanwhile he loved Ina Garten, who has no formal culinary training and used to be a policy analyst in DC of all things. But she looked like a chef to him because she wasn't stick thin.

Point is: Meghan is as qualified as anyone for this particular job. She definitely got it at least in part because she married Harry, but it's honestly not that hard to imagine another timeline where she never meets Harry, stays on at Suits and builds the Tig into a bigger website, and winds up with a show based on that. She was a reasonably well known actress and her website was well-liked so it's really not a stretch.

She might have been well known to "Suits" watchers but not the general public. I never heard of "Suits" or Meghan Markle before she dated Prince Harry.

+1 No way in heck she would have gotten a Netflix show without the Harry connection, what a ridiculous thing to suggest. The Tig was lightweight and didn't last long. We're not talking Martha Stewart or even Goop here.

Netflix has tons of programming built around people about as famous as Meghan during her Suits heyday. Especially in the cooking/travel genre. And if not Netflix, one of the other streamers. It's very easy to imagine a show based on the Tig with Meghan hosting, in an alternate universe where she never becomes Harry's wife or a duchess. Padma Lakshmi is a great example of someone who has done shows in this genre based on nothing but some name recognition and being generally associated with food. And again, look at other people with similar careers. Rachel Ray, Gail King... I don't really see the pre-Harry Megan as being that different. Suits gave her name and face recognition, especially once it was syndicated and went on streaming platforms, and the Tig was a legitimately good website that people liked pretty much from the start. Not a huge following but very popular among a dedicated group of fans.

I think Megan would have likely gotten a book deal just based on the Tig and the ability to leverage her cable TV fame, and if that book did well, she could have gotten a show. She does have good taste and she's known to be hardworking (she built the Tig while working full time on a TV show where she was a lead -- those are long days to begin with and most people do not build a side business in their down time on set, but she did). She isn't an idiot -- she has a degree from Northwestern.

I know people just want to hate her but I actually think had she not married Harry, the very same people who get on this website criticizing every single thing she does would be buying books and and watching her show and talking about how great her ideas are. For whatever reason, marrying into the British royal family and then not getting along with them and her and Harry choosing to bow out and move to the US was just a bridge too far for some people. I don't get it because I don't really care about the British royals so if that's offensive or bad I guess I just understand how.

Megan isn't a genius but she's completely inoffensive and actually seems really well suited to this show and genre. She does seem kind of self-conscious and affected on the show but, hello, Goop and Martha are also super affected! Goop and her mom both do this weird Main Line accent and Martha has all kinds of silly "I'm refined" affectations. You just don't really notice them anymore because they are built into their brands and personas and they cease to bother you. Meghan is very much in the same vein and it's easy to imagine her having a similar career without Harry, IMO.

Uh, Padma has not built a career in food shows bc she is "generally associated with food." She wrote an award-winning cookbook in 1999 and has had multiple shows and books since then. She had a background in Indian cooking and has lived in Spain and some of her food career reflects this. She is NOT comparable to Meghan Markle!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it
Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Like Martha, Ina also started out as a skilled business owner. The Barefoot Contessa was originally a food specialty store that she owned. She expanded it to a second location and the books, etc. were an expansion of that--she was able to take advantage of the growth of the Hamptons and help define the whole lifestyle there. Rachael Ray similarly worked in the food industry and got her start as an entrepreneur developing easy 30 minute cooking classes that were held at gourmet stores and grocery stores, which was actually a unique idea at the time for marketing.

Meghan isn't skilled nor is she entrepreneurial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Martha developed her skills over time through her catering business and then as she launched her show. Her main thing was not being a super skilled chef or baker or decorator, but being extremely committed to detail and being a perfectionist about aesthetics. There was a lot she didn't know but she'd hire or work with experts. Many of the things she did on her show were things her staff or a consultant was the actual expert in, and then she learned well enough to present it on the show. This isn't a knock on Martha -- without her vision and her exacting expectations for her business, the show would never have happened in the first place. And then her magazine grew out of that and as a result she helped create jobs for lots of actual experts. But Martha herself was not an expert. She's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Her special sauce is in being interested in figuring out what the best version of something is and then finding experts to help make that happen.

Meghan actually has a decent amount in common with Martha. And Martha's career was absolutely premised on her having married a guy from a certain world, which gave her access to catering clients in that world and then enabled her to buy her first home and fix it up.

Meghan also comes by these interests naturally. This isn't a put on for this show or something she just adopted in the last couple years. Before she ever met Harry and while she was working full time as an actress, she started The Tig which was basically the blog/website version of this show. Extremely similar content. And she was just sharing tips and ideas that she'd found herself because she's a perfectionist and likes researching hostessing/decorating/cooking ideas and sharing them with people. The Tig was really great and while its reach was still pretty small, I think it would have grown into something bigger had she not shut it down after meeting Harry and moving to England. I think this show is just her trying to restart that burgeoning lifestyle influencer career that started with the Tig and got cut off.

I feel weird writing this in support of Meghan, about whom I'm pretty ambivalent. But I did like her blog and I think this show is cute. I think the people criticizing it and comparing it unfavorably to Martha or these other lifestyle gurus don't really know Meghan's background and also don't know the backgrounds of people like Martha. Meghan is no more or less qualified than most of them. Heck, Rachel Ray wasn't even a particularly good cook when she started! Her whole deal was 30 minute meals and a willingness to adhere to that formula, which had a ready, built-in audience. Meghan slots right in with that group and she's as qualified as any of them are. And people criticized them too. My dad used to hate Giada because (true story) he didn't believe someone that skinny could know how to cook. But Giada actually went to the Cordon Bleu and was trained as a pastry chef. Meanwhile he loved Ina Garten, who has no formal culinary training and used to be a policy analyst in DC of all things. But she looked like a chef to him because she wasn't stick thin.

Point is: Meghan is as qualified as anyone for this particular job. She definitely got it at least in part because she married Harry, but it's honestly not that hard to imagine another timeline where she never meets Harry, stays on at Suits and builds the Tig into a bigger website, and winds up with a show based on that. She was a reasonably well known actress and her website was well-liked so it's really not a stretch.

She might have been well known to "Suits" watchers but not the general public. I never heard of "Suits" or Meghan Markle before she dated Prince Harry.

+1 No way in heck she would have gotten a Netflix show without the Harry connection, what a ridiculous thing to suggest. The Tig was lightweight and didn't last long. We're not talking Martha Stewart or even Goop here.

Netflix has tons of programming built around people about as famous as Meghan during her Suits heyday. Especially in the cooking/travel genre. And if not Netflix, one of the other streamers. It's very easy to imagine a show based on the Tig with Meghan hosting, in an alternate universe where she never becomes Harry's wife or a duchess. Padma Lakshmi is a great example of someone who has done shows in this genre based on nothing but some name recognition and being generally associated with food. And again, look at other people with similar careers. Rachel Ray, Gail King... I don't really see the pre-Harry Megan as being that different. Suits gave her name and face recognition, especially once it was syndicated and went on streaming platforms, and the Tig was a legitimately good website that people liked pretty much from the start. Not a huge following but very popular among a dedicated group of fans.

I think Megan would have likely gotten a book deal just based on the Tig and the ability to leverage her cable TV fame, and if that book did well, she could have gotten a show. She does have good taste and she's known to be hardworking (she built the Tig while working full time on a TV show where she was a lead -- those are long days to begin with and most people do not build a side business in their down time on set, but she did). She isn't an idiot -- she has a degree from Northwestern.

I know people just want to hate her but I actually think had she not married Harry, the very same people who get on this website criticizing every single thing she does would be buying books and and watching her show and talking about how great her ideas are. For whatever reason, marrying into the British royal family and then not getting along with them and her and Harry choosing to bow out and move to the US was just a bridge too far for some people. I don't get it because I don't really care about the British royals so if that's offensive or bad I guess I just understand how.

Megan isn't a genius but she's completely inoffensive and actually seems really well suited to this show and genre. She does seem kind of self-conscious and affected on the show but, hello, Goop and Martha are also super affected! Goop and her mom both do this weird Main Line accent and Martha has all kinds of silly "I'm refined" affectations. You just don't really notice them anymore because they are built into their brands and personas and they cease to bother you. Meghan is very much in the same vein and it's easy to imagine her having a similar career without Harry, IMO.

I agree if Megan hadn’t ended up with Harry, she probably would’ve been successful in her own right. Maybe gotten a Netflix show or a podcast or whatever. But there’s no way we would be talking about these tens of millions of dollar deals on Spotify and Netflix. It’s just ridiculous to even pretend otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand some of this criticism because y'all are describing every similar show ever.

Like yes, Martha Stewart had her makeup and hair done for her show and she also wore light colored neutrals, even when making messy food. Same with Giada and Barefoot Contessa and all the other Cooking channel people. I will admit that America's Test Kitchen or Kenji's home videos have always been much more my style, but there is nothing novel about the styling on Meghan's show.

The "curated" fridge is also a staple of these kinds of shows. When Rachel Ray used to have her cooking show (in a studio! even faker!) did she open the fridge to show a bunch of brands? No, it's a set kitchen, the staff "curates" it for whatever they are cooking and so it looks nice on camera. This is a standard feature of this kind of show.

The show is inoffensive. It's not groundbreaking, and I don't blame anyone for being like "eh, not for me." I don't love it but the hate for it is surreal because it's so obviously reflective of this obsession/hate/jealousy/envy some of you feel towards Meghan and has nothing to do with the show itself, which is fine. The production values are actually above average -- I like the visual look of it and the music and editing is good. Kudos to the director/producer.

Also I actually thought that one pot spaghetti dish was clever in the first episode, and my daughter watched her make the lemon honey cake and now that's what she wants for her birthday. Both seem pretty approachable and I'm willing to try them. So I guess I did get a couple good ideas out of it.

Some of you need therapy.

Martha had many talents, true talents, which is how she ended up with magazines, shows, etc. She was an expert at her craft. Giada, Julia Child, most other cooking shows: they know how to cook and are experts in what they are delivering.
As where Meghan isn’t skilled at anything and was given this content to present.

Martha developed her skills over time through her catering business and then as she launched her show. Her main thing was not being a super skilled chef or baker or decorator, but being extremely committed to detail and being a perfectionist about aesthetics. There was a lot she didn't know but she'd hire or work with experts. Many of the things she did on her show were things her staff or a consultant was the actual expert in, and then she learned well enough to present it on the show. This isn't a knock on Martha -- without her vision and her exacting expectations for her business, the show would never have happened in the first place. And then her magazine grew out of that and as a result she helped create jobs for lots of actual experts. But Martha herself was not an expert. She's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Her special sauce is in being interested in figuring out what the best version of something is and then finding experts to help make that happen.

Meghan actually has a decent amount in common with Martha. And Martha's career was absolutely premised on her having married a guy from a certain world, which gave her access to catering clients in that world and then enabled her to buy her first home and fix it up.

Meghan also comes by these interests naturally. This isn't a put on for this show or something she just adopted in the last couple years. Before she ever met Harry and while she was working full time as an actress, she started The Tig which was basically the blog/website version of this show. Extremely similar content. And she was just sharing tips and ideas that she'd found herself because she's a perfectionist and likes researching hostessing/decorating/cooking ideas and sharing them with people. The Tig was really great and while its reach was still pretty small, I think it would have grown into something bigger had she not shut it down after meeting Harry and moving to England. I think this show is just her trying to restart that burgeoning lifestyle influencer career that started with the Tig and got cut off.

I feel weird writing this in support of Meghan, about whom I'm pretty ambivalent. But I did like her blog and I think this show is cute. I think the people criticizing it and comparing it unfavorably to Martha or these other lifestyle gurus don't really know Meghan's background and also don't know the backgrounds of people like Martha. Meghan is no more or less qualified than most of them. Heck, Rachel Ray wasn't even a particularly good cook when she started! Her whole deal was 30 minute meals and a willingness to adhere to that formula, which had a ready, built-in audience. Meghan slots right in with that group and she's as qualified as any of them are. And people criticized them too. My dad used to hate Giada because (true story) he didn't believe someone that skinny could know how to cook. But Giada actually went to the Cordon Bleu and was trained as a pastry chef. Meanwhile he loved Ina Garten, who has no formal culinary training and used to be a policy analyst in DC of all things. But she looked like a chef to him because she wasn't stick thin.

Point is: Meghan is as qualified as anyone for this particular job. She definitely got it at least in part because she married Harry, but it's honestly not that hard to imagine another timeline where she never meets Harry, stays on at Suits and builds the Tig into a bigger website, and winds up with a show based on that. She was a reasonably well known actress and her website was well-liked so it's really not a stretch.

She might have been well known to "Suits" watchers but not the general public. I never heard of "Suits" or Meghan Markle before she dated Prince Harry.

+1 No way in heck she would have gotten a Netflix show without the Harry connection, what a ridiculous thing to suggest. The Tig was lightweight and didn't last long. We're not talking Martha Stewart or even Goop here.

Netflix has tons of programming built around people about as famous as Meghan during her Suits heyday. Especially in the cooking/travel genre. And if not Netflix, one of the other streamers. It's very easy to imagine a show based on the Tig with Meghan hosting, in an alternate universe where she never becomes Harry's wife or a duchess. Padma Lakshmi is a great example of someone who has done shows in this genre based on nothing but some name recognition and being generally associated with food. And again, look at other people with similar careers. Rachel Ray, Gail King... I don't really see the pre-Harry Megan as being that different. Suits gave her name and face recognition, especially once it was syndicated and went on streaming platforms, and the Tig was a legitimately good website that people liked pretty much from the start. Not a huge following but very popular among a dedicated group of fans.

I think Megan would have likely gotten a book deal just based on the Tig and the ability to leverage her cable TV fame, and if that book did well, she could have gotten a show. She does have good taste and she's known to be hardworking (she built the Tig while working full time on a TV show where she was a lead -- those are long days to begin with and most people do not build a side business in their down time on set, but she did). She isn't an idiot -- she has a degree from Northwestern.

I know people just want to hate her but I actually think had she not married Harry, the very same people who get on this website criticizing every single thing she does would be buying books and and watching her show and talking about how great her ideas are. For whatever reason, marrying into the British royal family and then not getting along with them and her and Harry choosing to bow out and move to the US was just a bridge too far for some people. I don't get it because I don't really care about the British royals so if that's offensive or bad I guess I just understand how.

Megan isn't a genius but she's completely inoffensive and actually seems really well suited to this show and genre. She does seem kind of self-conscious and affected on the show but, hello, Goop and Martha are also super affected! Goop and her mom both do this weird Main Line accent and Martha has all kinds of silly "I'm refined" affectations. You just don't really notice them anymore because they are built into their brands and personas and they cease to bother you. Meghan is very much in the same vein and it's easy to imagine her having a similar career without Harry, IMO.

I agree if Megan hadn’t ended up with Harry, she probably would’ve been successful in her own right. Maybe gotten a Netflix show or a podcast or whatever. But there’s no way we would be talking about these tens of millions of dollar deals on Spotify and Netflix. It’s just ridiculous to even pretend otherwise.

I totally agree with you there, but that's on Netflix. To them, Harry and Meghan were worth millions in content. I don't know if that's really worked out for Netflix, it's hard to evaluate the ROI on their programming (I'm sure they have ways of doing it, but it's not public). They've thrown lots of money at other creators and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Heck, they've thrown a lot of money at Mindy Kaling. For them it's about amassing enough unique programming to compete with Hulu, Max, Paramount, etc.

From a business standpoint, I will note that I think a lot of the people posting in this thread about how they hate-watched the show actually shows why Meghan & Harry are worth so much more than a pre-Harry Meghan doing the same kind of content would have been. It just grabs a lot of eyeballs from people who obviously aren't that interested in this kind of show but will watch because they hope to catch a glimpse of Harry and the kids, catch Meghan saying something stupid they can crow about for days, or just to add to their list of things they hate about Meghan. That's probably not why Meghan wants people to watch, but it does make her a more valuable property to Netflix and results in more money. So it's a trade off for her -- she's much richer now than she likely would have been without Harry, but a not insignificant amount of her wealth comes from the fact that a lot of people have cast her as a villain and are watching solely in the hopes that she'll fail. I have no idea if that tradeoff seems worth it to her or not.

[Anonymous]

Do we know what the ratings are for this show yet? I know it received horrible reviews but...are people watching?

[Anonymous]

It’s just weird for her to be showcasing how to cook and host on a show when she isn’t an expert in either. She has zero background in either field and likely didn’t host or cook beyond basics prior to marrying Harry. Even since then, she mostly hires out and does very little of it herself. So I just don’t get why this got made into a show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do we know what the ratings are for this show yet? I know it received horrible reviews but...are people watching?

It was in the top ten last week and was already renewed for season 2 which suggests people are watching.