Meghan Markle’s critically panned Netflix series With Love, Meghan aspires to give viewers a little taste of her Montecito lifestyle.
It has almost all of the right ingredients: a stand-in glamorous house, a stand-in £20,000 kitchen, and, reports suggest, a host of stand-in celebrity guests.
The Duchess of Sussex is said to have struggled to book some of her more famous friends for the show, which launched at 8am UK time (12am PST) on Tuesday.
Fans of Meghan had expected her to bring in some of her most illustrious pals, such as Montecito neighbour Oprah Winfrey, tennis superstar Serena Williams and filmmaker Tyler Perry – who is godfather to daughter Lilibet.
Instead, the Duchess could only muster up the likes of Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, Delfina Figueras – socialite wife of Harry’s polo-playing chum Nacho Figueras – and chef Roy Choi.
Choi is described in publicity materials as a ‘new friend’; reports in The Sun, which first reported on her struggles to book top-tier friends, suggest the pair had never met prior to filming the Netflix series.
Meghan herself said in the episode: ‘Let’s get ready for our friend to arrive. We’re not friends yet – we’re going to be. He might not know it yet, but it’s true.’
The biggest stars to appear are Harry himself – restricted to a couple of minutes of the final episode in the eight-part series – and US Office actress, writer and producer Mindy Kaling, who appears in episode two.
Meghan Markle reportedly struggled to secure top-tier talent to appear on her new Netflix series With Love, Meghan
The series – shot in a farmhouse close to her own home in Montecito, California – features friends such as Mindy Kaling but not the likes of Oprah Winfrey or Serena Williams
It also features some guests Meghan had never met – including top US chef Roy Choi (pictured), relatively unknown outside the States
A source told The Sun: ‘They struggled to book guests. They had a real hard time, and it shows.’
Hopes had been high for the series after Meghan’s earlier creative projects featured a host of top-tier stars.
Short-lived podcast Archetypes – which lasted 12 episodes across three months – featured Serena, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Superbad filmmaker Judd Apatow.
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And Harry & Meghan, the Sussexes’ first Netflix project, featured both Tyler Perry and Serena Williams, the latter talking about witnessing the Sussexes’ wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
However, Netflix executives are alleged to have been underwhelmed by the couple’s output, from sports docu-series Heart of Invictus through to Harry’s recent series Polo, which featured very little of the Duke at all.
While Serena Williams did not appear in With Love, Meghan, she did take to Instagram to give it a promotional shout-out.
She wrote: ‘I’m so excited for you to check out ‘WITH LOVE, MEGHAN,’ now streaming exclusively on Netflix!
‘Join my wonderful friend @meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, as she opens up her world and shares her personal tips for the kitchen, garden, and so much more.
‘It’s a fun and inspiring series that reminds us all how easy it is to bring a little beauty into our everyday lives, even when we least expect it. Can’t wait for you to experience it!’
Suits co-star Abigail Spencer (centre) was among those Meghan managed to round up for the show
It does not feature Meghan’s close friend Tyler Perry (pictured with Meghan), who is godfather to daughter Lilibet
Nor does Serena Williams appear (pictured with Meghan in July), despite featuring in the Harry & Meghan documentary series
Oprah Winfrey, who also lives in Montecito, had been expected to appear in the series – but this did not come to pass
Prince Harry’s role in the show, meanwhile, is limited to a fleeting appearance at the end of the final episode of the series
Serena Williams took to Instagram to promote Meghan’s show, despite not appearing in it at all
Choi, meanwhile, has also given the show his backing, writing online: ‘The show was Immaculate. You really did that! It was such a blast cooking together.
‘Congrats to you and your whole team. Fried chicken and crudités 4eva.
‘You really did that! It was such a blast cooking together.
‘Congrats to you and your whole team. Fried chicken and crudités 4eva.’
With Love, Meghan cracked Netflix’s Top 10 in the UK after one day, reaching number six in the charts.
However, it has been critically panned, with just a 33 per cent approval rating from professional critics according to aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
In her Mail+ review, Amanda Platell branded it ‘so awful it is almost compelling’, while Hollywood bible Variety panned the series as ‘a Montecito ego trip not worth taking’.
The Guardian’s Chitra Ramaswamy called it ‘vacuous, over styled joylessness’, while the Telegraph’s Anita Singh noted glibly that the format appeared to consist of Meghan ‘invit(ing) people to her pretend house and they tell her how amazing she is’.
Reacting to the negative reception, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline: ‘This, after the Hearts of Invictus series failed to grab viewers’ attention and the Polo series predictably didn’t either, is make or break for Meghan.’
He added: ‘Who will watch apart from the fans? Perhaps a few stay at home moms who can afford the luxury which Meghan obviously worships.
‘At the moment she and Harry can too. However, after spending four hours watching a series as bad as this, one has to ask, for how much longer?’
Netflix was contacted for comment. A representative for the Sussexes declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.