POLO

[Sunblessed]

Ha! They really are trying their damndest to make out they’ve not made a trashy reality show!!

https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/prince-harry-meghan-polo-netflix-series-rich-famous-stereotypes-1236243547/

POLO is now on NF. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to watch though!

Yes absolutely.

Harry may have genuinely wanted to be a regular guy but not realising what it actually meant day to day.

What I’d like to know if it’s true that Reece Witherspoon declined their (Sussexes) wedding invitation.

I agree, and I do wonder if they had no PR adviser in those early days. I've prepared clients for sitdown TV interviews many times, obvs not as high stakes or high viewing figures as H&M/Oprah but relatively high career stakes for some of them, yes. I'll always do two prep sessions and one full 'dress rehearsal'; I'll play the part of the interviewer and throw the hardest, curviest of curveball questions at them as well as the expected stuff, then we debrief. Anything that makes the client look unpleasant, tone deaf or is maybe infelicitously worded under pressure gets picked apart and re-phrased so they perform well on the day. Same if they waffle; it's important to always answer the question posed and not dodge it (as Harry just did with Sorkin in NY) If it's a pre-record you can obviously also intervene during the interview itself although I try never to do that as it pisses the journalist off and just suggests that there's an area of vulnerability for them to pick at!

I got the sense that H&M didn't go through this process before they sat down with Oprah, certainly I don't think Harry did as he was visibly startled by some of the questions, also showed visible bitterness when discussing his father which I would have ironed out because it plays truly horribly for the ordinary viewer (struggling as we then all were with lockdown). Meghan, some of the phrases she used seemed rehearsed to an extent but I think she might have devised them herself rather than done a roleplay with an adviser. A friend of mine also in PR said he reckoned Meghan had rehearsed with Oprah (at least the 'Whatttt?!' part) but Harry hadn't. I'm less sure about that.

@smilesy you make such an interesting point about their overall vibe. There's no lightness to them, no joy. William and Kate are able to exude both, I saw it at the homeless shelter recently and the carol service. They both used to be a lot more uptight but now they have loosened up and exude positivity. H&M don't have that, have never had it in any appearances I've seen. They can do earnestness, but more and more these days they exude a sense of tension and frustration. It's something they need to work on and correct in their public facing personas because, as I said on another thread, you can't sell cooking or a lifestyle brand with tension and frustration. They need to learn how to appear to be joyful.

Thanks - I hadn't realised the actual wedding was televised (I'd misremembered that it was just a bit outside the chapel for arrivals/departures).

Sorry for getting it wrong

No worries - I only remember because it was slightly controversial that it was a big televised production by ITV. Rumor was Andrew was annoyed the BBC declined the honour and he pushed ITV to take it on.

They need to learn how to appear to be joyful

Another gap, then, between words and deeds? Just saying that it's your summer of joy not being enough in itself

The problem with polo (apart from being elitist, unattainable for most, difficult to follow and frankly boring if you are not playing) is that Harry’s vision was one of conveying the excitement of the sport and its intricacies, while Meghans vision was to recreate another tacky reality ‘real housewives’ offering. Whether you like it or not, reality TV sells and shows like ‘made in Chelsea’ and ‘Essex’ did very well. Both Harry and Meghan did produce this and edited a lot of the scenes to create their own particular vision. Unfortunately both visions clashed in a disastrous way with unsympathetic characters and a tortuous un relatable sport.

Whatever is going on behind the scenes, if they want ARO to give them an adequate source of future income (and presumably they do need it to) then they need to learn how to appear joyful. And adopt a sense of humour. Convincingly!

I do think Harry tries to impart a sense of humour, but it's so juvenile and unsophisticated that he comes across as an immature halfwit. Meghan on the other hand is so earnest in trying to identify as an intellectual with her word salad drivel, there is no room for anything witty nor any genuine sense of fun.

This is one of the myriad of reasons they cannot convey any sense of authenticity in anything they do.

Talking of joyousness in cookery shows, you reminded me of all the early TV shows like Graham Kerr the 'galloping gourmet'. You can also still amaze-watch the Craddocks and their bonkers studio presence on You Tube. Piss-head or not, Johnny was a delight with his wine-tasting and a perfect foil for Fanny's stern eyebrows expertise.

And back in the late 60s / early 70s, it was all filmed live in cavernous BBC studios, and it took big personalities to fill those sets.

I don't think either Harry or Meghan have big personalities, nor do they bring happy character traits to the table. They come across to many - and rather crucially, this includes reviewers - as joyless, uninterested in others, poorly-read, derivative, culturally & creatively purposeless, and smug.

Polo as a series seems to encapsulate this, despite focusing the lens on others, which is quite the anti-achievement.

I agree.

Thing is Meghan doing a cooking show will always raise the question Why? She is not known as an accomplished cook or food writer, has never worked in the industry and will be cooking in a huge mansion with a huge budget unlike 99% of viewers. She has not endeared herself to the public with any consistent personality or values and seems humourless and self focused. Why would anyone watch?

This is THE main problem. He is juvenile and somehow always has to try to play for laughs usually as a way to try to make forget the question he has been asked.

The car crash factor.

I see they’ve released a card with their children running into their arms, shot from the back.very blurry and odd. I’m guessing Harry is trying to recreate the shot of Diana being reunited with her boys on board Britannia. Cringe. Lilibet is wearing knee length socks which is quite peculiar.

I'll tell you what makes a cookery show work - if the presenter is feeling visible joy in cooking.

The reason why Jamie Oliver, Nigella, even Ainsley Harriott had the careers they did is because they exude a love of food, and joy in the process. That is what makes them a joy to watch.

Even Gordon Ramsey works because it's clear in his every move that he has enormous respect for the art of creating fine food, and wants it done exactly right.

Does anyone here remember the attempt in the early 2000s to make Sophie Dahl the new Nigella? She got one mini-series and then was scrapped. Not because she lacked charisma or the production values weren't there or the recipes weren't creative - her show had all of that. But she very obviously did not love food. In fact (and this was during her dramatic weight loss period) she seemed downright nervous around the food.

Does MM seem like someone who adores cooking and eating lots of good food? Does she seem like someone whose favourite thing in the world to do is to get her extended family and beloved old friends around a big old wooden table in the golden Cali evening sun and ply them with dish after lovingly cooked dish?

Does this image fit with what you know of MM? If yes, then it could well be a hit. If not...it won't.

A thought popped in to my head reading this.

Nigella also sells the seductiveness of food - lots of slight naughtiness and flirtation.

Might this be MM’s angle? I don’t know if Nigella is shown in US, and I can’t think of a US show that takes that approach.

Half watching a Nigella Christmas cooking thing today. We all know it is much more heavily choreographed than it appears onscreen, but she has presence and most importantly, warmth.

I wrote that last night and got distracted, @GiveMeSpanakopita puts the same thing better. If Meghan and Harry could just stop with the mixed messages (" We are philanthropists! Philanthropists who love polo! And dog biscuits and jam and can we go back to philanthropy now?") and actually settled on a couple of sensible things they actually have some real passion for, rather than a way of generating $$$, they would do better.

The whole Cesta Collective handbag issue has really bugged me. Being a patron of an organisation that has issues down the line is one thing, there is always the get out of "we don't run it" (although Africa Parks is still a disgrace and H is a director) but actually investing money, presumably with the expectation of a financial return at some point is a whole different level of ethical responsibility, especially when you are trying to be taken seriously as having skin in the game of improving the world.

Is Meghan hosting a cooking show - where the cooking will be done by others, or is she cooking? I'm struggling to think of a format that works with a host who has no real experience in cooking or food.

Both Nigella and Delia who were not formally trained chefs were experienced and published food writers for years before they made TV shows.

And Martha Stewart ran a catering business and wrote cookery books before she expanded into the TV personality and lifestyle brand.

I did so enjoy Nigella's slightly x-rated approach to cooking. My American friend recoiled at her take on hygiene - a quick wipe of the hands on a tea towel if you're lucky - but otherwise loved her too. I can only conclude that Nigella was at least at some point aired in the US.
New-ish arrival Nadia Hussain is another one to appreciate for different reasons - she exudes love, the urge to nurture, and a childlike joy in her creations.
Another one for me is Monica Galetti, such an impressive mentor for young professionals, and with a husband who is a well known sommelier, can give us a sense for the complete picture of what it is to create a "grande table" in the French tradition.
I really struggle to think how Meghan can make a cooking series her own. Would there be a lot of couture involved, I wonder?

Agree with all of this. I just watched Nigella make chocolate mousse food porn 😆. I really can’t see Meghan pulling that off. She is far too earnest

I think we've been watching the same programme!

Well, if the trailer of Meghan wafting around in a ball gown is anything to go by, she won't be wiping her hands on a tea towel nor licking her fingers. I just can't envision her tasting something and enthusiastically enjoying it in the way Jamie Oliver or Ina Garten do..

Pulling off the Nigella food porn vibes is very difficult. It's something that really shouldn't work, but it does somehow.

I think if Meghan had developed something around the Grenfell cookbook that could have been a positive springboard, but this is a woman who told us not to get phased by toast, so maybe I am being too generous.

Interestingly I watched a NF documentary on Jonbenet Ramsey and suddenly Polo is appearing next to it on the docu list. Still not recommended as such, but more prominent.

Don't forget meghan's sexy burger grilling video. A long way from the ballgown wafting.