Meghan is back on Netflix. Once again, she has loads of tips on hosting, plating dishes and wrapping gifts — but this time, the tips are Christmas-themed.
Like “With Love, Meghan,” in her spinoff special “With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration,” Meghan shares all her tips while dressed in cashmere separates and welcomes B-list celebrities into her Montecito kitchen for lighthearted chatter and assistance in completing her crafts, such as a handmade Advent calendar or a Christmas wreath made from broccoli.
And once again, critics sunk their teeth into the lifestyle series and tore it apart.
But, for the first time, Meghan gave her husband, Prince Harry, a little screen time. At the tail end of the episode, Harry shuffles into the kitchen. And finally, something about the series feels candid.
We learn that Harry enjoys Meghan’s gumbo recipe. It’s one of his favorites. But it’s spicy. Harry sweats when he eats it, so Meghan gives him a “little towel” before he begins the meal.
Audiences also learn that Harry hates beet salad. Particularly when it includes fennel, black olives and anchovies and is made by celebrity chef Tom Colicchio.
Harry is given just a few moments on screen, but his brief appearance might be the most memorable. It might be the only part of the special critics actually enjoyed.
“Thank goodness, then, for Prince Harry; not necessarily words that I imagined that I would write. He makes his most substantial on-screen appearance in the show to date and brings a welcome degree of irreverence in the couple of minutes he’s on screen,” writes The Spectator.
“He briefly gives this otherwise unendurable experience a jolt of humanity.”
In spite of poor critics reviews for the majority of the couple’s Netflix content, the mega-streamer extended its creative partnership with Harry and Meghan’s production company, Archewell Productions, with an updated, multiyear deal signed in August.
The updated arrangement also expanded to incorporate Meghan’s fruit preserves and lifestyle brand, As Ever, further into the partnership with a larger product line.
“We’re proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As Ever brand,” Meghan said in a statement.
She continued, ”My husband and I feel inspired by our partners who work closely with us and our Archewell Productions team to create thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally, and celebrates our shared vision.”
None of the couple’s Netflix content has performed as well as their 2022 docuseries, “Meghan & Harry,” Netflix’s most-watched documentary debut ever, per CNN — which attracted a mass audience with bombshell reveals on their notorious royal exit.
In the wake of the royal exit drama, Meghan has attempted to rebrand herself as a lifestyle guru, specializing in making jams and hosting celebrities while keeping tight-lipped about her brief time as a royal.
But Meghan’s lifestyle rebrand continues to fail in winning over her critics — who will ruthlessly pan her whether she is spilling royal gossip or making a Christmas wreath out of broccoli.
Here are critic and public reactions to Meghan’s Netflix holiday spinoff special, “With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration.”
Critic reviews
Critics — particularly those from U.K. outlets — bashed Meghan’s holiday special as “quite mad” and “a little sad,” per The Telegraph.
A scant number of critics gave the show semi-positive to positive reviews, most of which noted Meghan set a warm, comfortable holiday tone urging viewers to take moments to slow down during the season.
Here is what critics are saying about “With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration.”
- “She’s clearly not going through the motions here. Far from it: she wants very badly for Holiday Celebration to dazzle. But like an office party where HR mandates that everyone participate in the karaoke, the reek of forced fun is ever-present,” wrote The Irish Times.
- The Guardian warned audiences to “take anti-nausea pills” before watching. “I feel both offended and harmed, but in the spirit of goodwill I will add a star to my rating in gratitude for the fact that at least we are safe now until next year,” the review added.
- “She’s having the time of her life, and by proxy, so am I,” The Cut applauds. “It’s Nancy Meyers meets Martha Stewart, but with more wordplay and more earnest sentimentality about the joy of putting care into things.”
- According to The Independent, the holiday special “isn’t fun, enjoyable or even aspirational,” and the review called it “white noise to dull the senses.”
- “They’re really leaning the frantic energy of its star trying to crack puns without splashing hot oil or butter down her pristine cashmere sweaters,” wrote The London Standard. “The production team must be trolling Meghan here with increasingly bizarre and elaborate set-ups for her to impart hosting ‘hacks.’”
- “The point of all this, I realise, isn’t interest or enlightenment, let alone entertainment,” pans The London Times. “It’s one-upmanship.”
- “No matter how genuinely Meghan tries to come across on screen, I felt irritable toward her,” criticizes The Washington Post. “Either her advice felt so basic as to be condescending (Yes, Meghan, even we peasants understand to hang ornaments so they catch the light), or so elevated as to be out of touch (Babe, I work full time and clean my own toilet; I don’t have time to make my family members personalized Advent calendars).”
- The Spectator called the show “unendurable,” adding that it is a “Netflix-funded wallow in self-regard and vanity.”
- “‘With Love, Meghan’ gives me the same feeling as when I am around very wealthy people who think that making a salad with friends makes them ‘grounded’ and ‘relatable,’" says Vogue. “On the other hand, there’s something soothing, even enjoyable, about the show’s glossy inanity.”
Public reactions
Meghan’s holiday special garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews from the public — who praised the show for its cozy, nostalgic, Christmas energy.
Here is what public viewers are saying about “With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration.”