The second season of With Love, Meghan, the American lifestyle series hosted by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has premiered on the global streaming platform Netflix. Arriving just months after the series’ initial debut, the new installment builds upon the established formula of its predecessor, continuing to blend instructional segments with personal anecdotes. The program, which was filmed back-to-back with its first season, maintains its thematic focus on cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship, further cementing its position within the competitive celebrity lifestyle market.1 As both host and executive producer, Meghan continues to guide the series with a philosophy that prioritizes “playfulness over perfection” in the creation of a curated domestic world.1
The series continues to be filmed at a rented farmhouse estate in Montecito, California, a deliberate choice that maintains a boundary between the production’s polished aesthetic and the Sussexes’ private residence.1 This controlled environment allows for the consistent visual language of “quiet luxury” that defined the first season, though the use of a rental property has been noted by critics as feeling “slightly bogus” for an “at home with” format.5 The show’s aspirational content is reinforced in the second season with activities that expand on the themes of domestic creativity, such as crafting necklaces from pressed flowers set in UV resin and painting children’s aprons using limes as stamps.5 The series functions as a key content pillar for the host’s associated lifestyle brand, As Ever, with new product drops timed to coincide with the season’s premiere.6
Production Framework and Aesthetic Direction
The production remains a collaborative effort between Archewell Productions and The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television.1 The creative leadership is also consistent, with director Michael Steed, known for his work on
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, and showrunner Leah Hariton, of Selena + Chef, returning to their roles.1 This continuity in the production team ensures a cohesive aesthetic and narrative approach across both seasons. The decision to film all 16 episodes consecutively indicates a significant upfront strategic and financial commitment from the platform, allowing for a fully realized two-season arc independent of the viewership performance of the initial episodes.9
The visual style remains bright and meticulously composed, emphasizing natural light and carefully styled settings. The extensive executive production team, which includes Meghan, Chanel Pysnik, Aaron Saidman, Eli Holzman, and Leah Hariton, signals a continued high level of creative oversight.1 The series’ aesthetic, a carefully managed presentation of authenticity, continues to navigate the tension between its portrayal of a candid, personal world and the clear artifice of a high-end television production.
Episodic Structure and Thematic Content
The second season deepens the series’ commitment to culinary and craft-based content. While the first season introduced viewers to activities like preparing guest baskets and planning a children’s tea party, the new episodes feature more complex recipes and projects.1 Demonstrations include the preparation of caramelized onion tarts, flank steaks, homemade s’mores, and a show-stopping seafood paella.9 The format of each episode, which ranges from 28 to 41 minutes, remains consistent, pairing these practical demonstrations with conversations featuring a guest.1 However, some critics have noted that recipes can be only half-explained, suggesting the show’s purpose is less about direct instruction and more about aesthetic inspiration.5 The overarching narrative continues to frame these domestic arts as a “pursuit of joy,” emphasizing process and personal fulfillment over the achievement of a flawless final product.2 A recurring observation among reviewers is that the series is most successful when the host is positioned as a student learning alongside the audience, particularly when being taught by expert chefs.9
Guest Curation and Strategic Collaborations
The guest list for the second season reflects a more pronounced strategic alignment with the Netflix ecosystem. The new episodes feature a number of personalities who also have their own shows on the platform, such as Tan France of Queer Eye and Samin Nosrat of Salt Fat Acid Heat.9 This creates a synergistic effect, leveraging the established audiences of the guests while reinforcing the platform’s stable of talent. Other notable guests include model Chrissy Teigen, with whom Meghan once worked on the game show
Deal or No Deal, and renowned chefs David Chang, Christina Tosi, Clare Smyth, and José Andrés.9
A significant editorial choice in the second season is the marked change in the role of Prince Harry. After a brief cameo in the first season, he is physically absent from the new episodes, appearing only in photographs and as the subject of anecdotes shared by the host, such as the story of who first said “I love you” in their relationship.7 This narrative pivot serves to center the Duchess of Sussex as a standalone creative and commercial figure, a crucial move in establishing the distinct identity of her personal brand.
Market Performance and Critical Analysis
The commercial performance of With Love, Meghan following its initial release presented a dual narrative. The series debuted strongly, entering Netflix’s Global Top 10 and reaching the Top 10 in dozens of countries, accumulating 12.6 million hours viewed in its first week.1 While its overall ranking among all Netflix productions declined significantly by the mid-year point—placing 383rd with 5.3 million views—the show found a durable audience within its specific genre, becoming the platform’s most-watched culinary show released during that period.1
This niche viewership success stands in contrast to the largely negative professional critical reception of the first season, a trend that has continued with the second. The series holds a 36% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.1 Critics have frequently described the show as “painfully contrived” and “effortfully whimsical,” citing a perceived lack of authenticity.11 A central theme in the critique is that the lifestyle presented is unattainable, with some reviewers suggesting the program can make viewers feel “inadequate”.5 A smaller contingent of reviewers, however, have offered positive appraisals, commending the show’s aspirational qualities as “inoffensive and relaxing” escapist programming.13 The platform’s decision to proceed with a second season, despite the critical consensus, underscores a strategy focused on serving dedicated demographic segments rather than pursuing universal acclaim.
Commercial Context and Future Trajectory
With Love, Meghan was produced under the multi-year commercial partnership between Archewell Productions and Netflix, an agreement initially valued at an estimated $100 million.1 That deal has since evolved. The initial large-scale output agreement has been replaced by a multi-year “first-look” deal, a standard industry practice where the production company pitches projects to the streamer, which retains the first right of refusal.10 This revised structure shifts financial risk for the platform and ties funding more directly to the viability of individual projects.
The series is intrinsically linked to the Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, for which Netflix is a partner.10 The show serves as the primary content marketing vehicle for the brand, with product launches, such as a new orange marmalade, strategically timed to coincide with the release of the new season.7 While a third season of the series has not been announced, the franchise is confirmed to continue. Netflix has announced the production of a special holiday episode,
With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration, which will be released later this year.10 This decision indicates a continued, albeit more selective, investment in the property.
The first season of With Love, Meghan was released on March 4, 2025. The second season premiered today, August 26, 2025. The holiday special is scheduled for release on Netflix in December 2025.
