With Love, Netflix?
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has weighed in on the streaming giant’s future business dealings with Meghan Markle.
Sarandos, 60, spoke about its partnership with the Duchess of Sussex, 43, in a new interview with Variety published a little over two weeks after the former “Suits” star’s lifestyle and cooking show “With Love, Meghan” was released on the platform.
Beyond its investment in Markle’s show, Netflix is also taking a stake in her new lifestyle brand “As Ever.” The company was originally named “American Riviera Orchard,” but Markle decided to rebrand owing to legal hurdles and a tweaked creative direction.
“We’re a passive partner in Meghan’s company, and it’s a big discovery model for us right now,” Sarandos said of Netflix’s involvement with As Ever.
As for why the Duchess was “the right person to bet on,” Sarandos explained, “I think Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture.”
He added, “When we dropped the trailer for the ‘Harry & Meghan’ doc series [in 2022], everything on-screen was dissected in the press for days.
“The shoes she was wearing sold out all over the world. The Hermès 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,” he continued.
Asked whether Netflix was serious about being involved in the couple’s brand beyond just “a marketing play,” Sarandos replied, “It’s good for marketing and branding. This is all expressions of fandom.”
Further speaking to Netflix’s commitment to its commercial with Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, 40, a source close to production told The Post that Sarandos “clearly has their back.”
Markle and Prince Harry signed a $100 million deal with Netflix in 2020 after stepping down from their roles as senior working members of the royal family earlier that year.
As Ever will sell a curated collection of “beautifully crafted essentials for the home,” according to an announcement from Netflix shared on March 4.
“The inaugural collection showcases eight products that Meghan has personally developed over the past year, drawing on her years of home cooking and entertaining,” the company said in its statement.
“Each piece is thoughtfully and intentionally chosen, and As Ever will introduce new items seasonally.”
The products will reportedly be available on this Spring As Ever’s website as well as in Netflix’s pop-up stores in Philadelphia’s King of Prussia Mall and the Dallas Galleria.
Netflix has already renewed “With Love, Meghan” for a Season 2 and wrapped production.
The Post previously revealed that filming for the second season had already begun by January.
The eight-episode first season features some of Meghan’s famous friends, including Mindy Kaling and her former “Suits” co-star Abigail Spencer.
However, the show did not receive universal praise, with some critics calling the program “pointless,” “exhausting,” and “boring.”
“With Love, Meghan” pulled in 526,000 US households in the first five days it was available, according to data obtained by data analytics firm Samba TV.
By comparison, Part 1 of Meghan and Harry’s 2022 docuseries series, which followed their 2020 exit from the royal family, drew 2.1 million US households in roughly the same number of days, Samba’s numbers showed.
According to Netflix’s own data, “With Love, Meghan” landed the No. 10 spot globally and a tally of 12.6 million hours watched in its first 6 days, compared with the record 81.5 million hours set by 2022’s “Harry & Meghan,” which became the No. 2 English language TV show in just 4 days on the platform.
In addition to “With Love, Meghan” and “Harry & Meghan,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have executive produced three other shows for Netflix, all of them docuseries: “Heart of Invictus,” a documentary following athletes preparing for the Harry-founded Invictus Games, which aired in August 2023; “Live to Lead,” a look at trailblazers such as New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and Prince Harry’s “Polo” doc about the sport that hit the streamer in December 2024.
