(Credits: Netflix)

Netflix just bombed us with the second season of the new Meghan Markle show. However, there is no nice way to put it: With Love, Meghan returned for a second season on August 26th, and the reaction was ice cold.

It failed to crack Netflix’s ‘Top 10’. It missed the US streaming charts completely. In fact, fewer than a million people tuned in during its first two days. For a series with Markle’s name on it, that is about as embarrassing as it gets.

The thing is, this should not be a surprise. Season one barely made a dent when it launched earlier this year. Sure, it squeaked into Netflix’s most popular chart for one week, at number ten, hanging on by a thread, but it disappeared almost immediately. Oh, and the critics were not kind then. At the same time, the audience didn’t stick around. If anything, season two just proved that viewers weren’t waiting for more.

The format itself hasn’t changed. Meghan invites celebrity guests like Chrissy Teigen and John Legend to pop in, Tan France does his bit, and Chef José Andrés joins the mix. There is a blend of cooking, lifestyle chatter, and personal confessions. Markle even drops details about her relationship, like Harry being the first to say “I love you” and how she realised she loved him by their third date. Although most of these details were revealed in the other documentary, which actually did well on Netflix, aka Harry and Meghan.

There are also reflections on family, including time away from her kids during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. On paper, those moments should feel intimate. On screen, though, most viewers say they land as staged and hollow, like the show can’t decide if it is a cooking series, a talk show, or a self-help podcast.

And that’s the bigger problem. With Love, Meghan doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Netflix tried to brand it as a breezy lifestyle show with a sprinkle of celebrity charm. Critics and audiences, however, see something overproduced and ultimately forgettable. Even when Meghan shares personal stories, they feel carefully curated rather than genuinely revealing.

For Netflix, this is more than one flop. It is part of a troubling pattern. When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry signed their multimillion-dollar deal with the streamer in 2020, it was supposed to deliver prestige projects. At first, it worked: their 2022 docuseries Harry & Meghan became the platform’s biggest documentary debut ever.

But since then? Nothing has clicked. Live to Lead sank without attention. Heart of Invictus didn’t chart. Harry’s polo series was barely noticed. And now, With Love, Meghan is not only failing to connect but actively damaging their brand as “content creators”.

There is still one project left on the horizon: With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration, a festive special due in December. There is a chance that the Christmas theme will land better with audiences but now the show feels less anticipated.

When people ask, “Wait, Meghan Markle has a Netflix show?” the answer is technically yes. But given the numbers, the critics, and the lack of buzz, the more accurate answer might be: not for long.