The Duchess of Sussex attempted to put a positive spin on her and Prince Harry’s new deal with Netflix as she likened her agreement with the streaming giant to that of the former US president
Meghan Markle has compared herself to the former US president and former First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama as she discussed her and Prince Harry’s brand new deal with Netflix.
The Duchess of Sussex spoke at Fortune’s annual Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington DC, where she spoke about her deal with the streaming giant and the future of her widely-panned lifestyle show With Love, Meghan. Earlier this year, Meghan and Prince Harry signed another deal with Netflix, which guaranteed a “multi-year, first look deal for film and television projects”, which Meghan likened to the same deal the Obamas have with the streaming service.
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She told the audience in Washington: “My husband and I were in an overall deal with Netflix, and then not just similar to Higher Ground in the Obamas’ deal, once that had come to its term, the extension of it, which was such an incredible sign of the strength of our partnership, was now being in a first look deal.
“Which is also exciting, because it gives us flexibility to go to our partners first, and then at the same time, to be able to shop content that might not be the right fit for Netflix, but has a home somewhere else.”
Meghan also said she is “grateful” for the partnership, adding it has been “incredible” for her As Ever brand which sells flower sprinkles, pre-prepared baking kits and jam. She said: “What we’ve designed is being able to have so much robust support in year one, where you have the show complementing the brand or content and commerce or meeting, and then still enabling me to have autonomy, to build out my own team and scale it in the way that I envision.”
She added the partnership means “the business will, of course, go on longer than a series”. The Sussexes previously described their latest deal with Netflix, which is also a partner in As Ever, as “extending their creative partnership”.
But PR and crisis expert Mark Borkowski has called it a “downgrade,” and suggested Netflix had “done a very neat job of pivoting away from two very expensive people who didn’t deliver”.
Elsewhere during the conversation, Meghan shared a cryptic update about the future of With Love, Meghan , when she was quizzed about the show receiving a third season.
When asked by Fortune’s editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell if a follow up season could be in the works, Meghan seemed to dodge the question and not give a straight answer, instead opting to talk about her upcoming holiday special, which she announced would be airing in November.
Meghan said: “So I think looking at that format — again, it’s a year of learns — so we’re able to say, ‘Eight episodes for two seasons — it’s a lot of work’.”
“And having done Suits for seven years, I remember what goes into a production. I also recognize how much people want content in different sizes. Part of what we’re testing out now is, it’s amazing to sit and watch a show for 30 minutes, but how can I give you a recipe in two minutes? And where can I share that with you? And how that continues to grow As Ever.”
Meghan also teased that the holiday special would include gift wrapping techniques, as she used to teach “advanced gift wrapping” between acting auditions.
The anticipated second season of Meghan’s show, which follows the widely-panned first season that premiered earlier this year, and saw Meghan share cooking, crafting, and hosting tips with a range of celebrity pals and experts. And after just hours of its premiere, was savaged by critics who deemed it everything from “needy” to “narcissistic”.
