Netflix has delayed start of Meghans show

[Viviennemary]

Just seen on Sky News. Breaking News headlines. Delayed because of the wild fires didn't say if this was technical difficulties or it would be a bit crass to launch a frothy type lifestyle show with all the devastation. Anyway it might be shelved for good with any luck.

If you reread my post, you will find that I wrote that the popularity of the show was ‘not wholly due to Meghan obviously.’

Love her or ‘dislike’ her, criticise her or praise her, an extraordinary amount of people read about her and talk about her. She has an extraordinary amount of articles written about her because people want to read about her. We can debate the why, but the fact is she holds interest for a great many people and media outlets all over the world would not be writing, or talking about her to the degree that they do if people weren’t interested in her.

Gina Torres was fabulous in "Firefly". Must add Nathan Fillion was a bit of alright as well. His outfit! Perfection.

I also liked Gabriel Macht in an old, short lived series called "The Others" - not the Nicole Kidman movie, but about people with psychic abilities.

I was glad to start watching it when Netflix streamed because of these two, but only made it to halfway(?) though the second series. I couldn't watch any more. I'm too old to be bothered watching WHAT WAS TO ME - and yes, capitals for emphasis that it's just how I personally found it, and I'm sure that it was wonderful and I'm a mud-dwelling, illiterate Philistine - the poorly conceived, written and developed relationship between MM and the blond and bland male ingenue.

Sorry for that mess of a sentence.

I found Suits on one of the small print channels in the Radio Times. It’s extremely lightweight and silly, the clothes are more compelling than the actors.

Undoubtedly MM was the reason people watched it on NF, it just isn’t good enough in its own right.

I agree with this, but the interest is not a positive one mostly. It’s a sort of ‘what awful choices are they going to make next, what appalling things will they say?’ Sort of interest. They are genuinely fascinating for all the wrong reasons.

Yes Nathan fillian was definitely " a bit of alright " 😉 .

Thanks for this , I didn't think it would be for me .

If all publicity is good publicity, Harry and Meghan have absolutely nailed it.

Unfortunately for them, all the 'clapbacks' via People magazine would indicate they don't believe this.

I'm fascinated by the Suits 2023 phenomenon. I watched Suits on normal TV for the first two seasons, but it just didn't hold my interest. When it went to Netflix, they really tried to sell it. It appeared on my recommended list for most of the summer even though I rejected it. I believe there were strikes around that time so nothing much new was being produced and Suits represents 9 seasons of cheap filler TV for NF. The Meghan link was clearly useful, to draw you in, but agree that Gabriel Macht and Gina Torres are the main draw.

Is Meghan going to be in Suits LA?

@jeffgoldblum You and I have similar aged children! I loved Fringe. It was on TV a few months ago and dh and I just feel back into it.

Someone added up MM's screen time in Suits, and it averaged out around 2 minutes per episode over the seasons she was in it - before Rachel was written out because she was not a compelling enough character to survive bland blond boy's (Mike, was it?) departure. I can see why people watched it on Netflix, it's not exactly challenging, and I have no doubt MM was the initial draw for many, but I doubt her 2 minutes (much of it being objectified) was what kept them watching.

I can recommend The Good Fight if you like US legal drama.

It's one of the few things I haven't rewatched! It went downhill at the end sadly! ( they all seem to ) bones , Boston legal , house ! All good late night viewing with troublesome babies 😊

That's reaching quite a bit.

Suits did well because it was a light, long running drama of the type which aren't really made anymore. Also, it streamed during the writer's strike, when there was little new content to watch. Meghan's presence may have drawn attention to the show, but people won't have continued to watch because one cast member married a prince. They'll have watched because they liked the show.

I disagree that Meghan draws an audience in her own right. Her podcast got big audiences initially then dropped off because it just wasn't very good. Spotify ended their contract. I suspect the 'lifestyle show' will go the same way. Initial high viewing figures out of curiosity, but it won't sustain an audience and NF will drop them too. Her Instagram has fewer than 2 million followers, which is a piddling number really. Getting clicks on gossip sites does not equate to people actually buying what you are selling.

It’s fascinating though because she absolutely drives clicks and traffic and interest as herself – her existence as a celebrity makes money for other people, but she’s unable to monetise that interest for herself. Partly because much of the interest is hate-watching, gossip-watching, but largely because she has no follow-through – instead of resurrecting The Tig, she started ARO, which went nowhere. Remember 40x40, whatever happened to that? Archewell Audio has died a quiet death. The Archewell Foundation is very sporadic. I’m amazed Archewell Productions has made anything at all, so credit there for completing projects, but did she really need five years to make the cooking show?

I can’t think of another celebrity who earns so many headlines and tabloid cover stories but doesn’t have the equivalent interest in their actual work.

That isn't necessarily a good thing though is it ? If the articles are highlighting disasters, flaws and lies then no or is all publicity good publicity?

Meghan's role on Fringe was interesting. The character was introduced in a way that suggested she was going to be a supporting role for a while, then she disappeared and was never seen again. I wonder if that was just as she got cast in Suits?

I noticed her character because I saw Fringe after she married Harry. I do think she attracts people to projects in that they are curious and so give things a watch. I don't think though that anyone has the power to keep people invested long term if the projects aren't that good.

Agree. It is the ‘reality TV’ aspect people are interested in, not the projects themselves.

I hadn't heard of her, but I had heard of Suits before her relationship with Harry became public, because then teen DS had been watching it. I don't know if he found it by chance (suggested by NF because he likes police procedurals) or if it was doing the rounds amongst teens.

I've still not watched it. Edited to add: either back then or when NF pushed it again (yes @JADS it was during the writers' strike, when new content was delayed)

Her Instagram has fewer than 2 million followers, which is a piddling number really. Getting clicks on gossip sites does not equate to people actually buying what you are selling

She's making no effort at all on Instagram at the moment.

Yes, the start date of WLM has been put back, but instead of seeing that as an opportunity to grow the Insta following - eg with posts that show/explain what you're doing eg about the fires, ongoing relief efforts (to show it wasn't flash in pan photo op), prep for Invictus - there has been absolutely nothing since the first three posts at the start of the month. I get that the original plan had to be abandoned - but surely she (and her team) can create new content to fill the gap (and grow her following) until its time to restart the WLM run in?

I can’t think of another celebrity who earns so many headlines and tabloid cover stories but doesn’t have the equivalent interest in their actual work.

Katie Price springs to mind 😬
Maybe not quite as prominent these days but she's been generating stories for a long while now.

I'd never even heard of Suits before she teamed up with Harry. People are interested because they are waiting for it all to go pear shaped. I must say I thought they'd be divorced by now. Still I suppose I was wrong.

Oh my god, yes! That made me do a real-life 😬 face: to go from being the new royal It-girl and have your wedding televised with people cheering you through the streets to being the Montecito Katie Price is quite the comedown. I expect money helps soothe the embarrassment but it’s going to run out eventually, and then what? On a cringe-factor scale I think she’s still got less to be embarrassed about than Liz Truss, but she’s getting there. And I had high hopes on 1 January, she’s really shat the bed in less than a month.

Good point. She hasn’t parlayed the interest in her into anything truly remarkable in regards to her Netflix stuff. At least not for 2 plus years, now.

The H&M Netflix doco series was very good imo, but that is over 2 years old now. Harry’s Heart of Invictus documentary series was excellent but I’m not sure how much Meghan had to do with the production side. At any rate, the Invictus doco was never going to draw a big audience. So many people just aren’t interested in wounded veterans trying to heal physically and emotionally. People missed out on something special imo. Since then she hasn’t been able to get anything, for herself, off the ground.

I do think she’s had a very busy 5 years since leaving the UK. When she left she had young baby Archie, she moved countries twice, houses 3 times, she had a miscarriage and then Lily, she’s done the Netflix stuff, and her charitable endeavours so she’s been busy. I think people tend to forget she had had a lot on her plate and just like to fall back on the ‘Archewell, one hour of work a week’ criticism.

Hopefully the cooking show will be something that she can parlay into something substantial for herself.

Yes, no wonder her Instagram numbers have stagnated. There's nothing to follow!

Did she think a mini video of her frolicking on the sands was going to sustain an audience? Or is she just incredibly lazy? She was capable of hard work before her royal days, so maybe it's sheer entitlement, literally? I'm a Duchess now so don't have to lower myself to actual work?

Unless she uses the next month to build up interest in her show, any momentum there was has been lost and she'll have wasted the extra time. But she never does anything to promote any of her 'projects' so I doubt this will be any different. Another reason I can't see NF renewing their contract.

So much of what is written and spoken about Meghan is made up. Rumour and gossip is repeated so often, and by so many, that it develops the air of truth. I’m not saying Meghan is uncritisizeable (is that a word?). Like everyone she has her faults but I think she’s been treated badly by traditional media and social media. I’m not sure that people are able to effectively parse the truth of Meghan from the fiction that is recycled endlessly. For example, Meghan is Mail Online’s ‘most popular subject, they published nearly 1700 stories about her in 2023.’ The Mail online does not traffic in positive Meghan articles. and Mail online is just one media outlet.

I do think it’s bad publicity but I do still think she can turn this around. People have short memories, more so now then ever. She’s certainly on very many people’s radar. If she produces something that most people find truly interesting, the negative views of Meghan could become positive ones. Some would still cling to their negative view of her of course. But that’s true of any person in the public eye. There are always going to be detractors.

I do think she’s had a very busy 5 years since leaving the UK. When she left she had young baby Archie, she moved countries twice, houses 3 times, she had a miscarriage and then Lily, she’s done the Netflix stuff, and her charitable endeavours so she’s been busy. I think people tend to forget she had had a lot on her plate and just like to fall back on the ‘Archewell, one hour of work a week’ criticism.

I’m not sure I agree with you. They didn’t do this as you or I would, they had staff to make things easier. They pay other people to take the strain.

The miscarriage I discount, despite the drama she created over it. It was very early, a few weeks in, (timing confirmed in Spare before you ask), sad, but many of us have been there and survived. Two kids, but with help and time for date nights and regular couples holidays and travel.

What charitable endeavours? What Netflix stuff? None of it amounting to much.

Even if you consider she’s been busy, she hasn’t been effective.

I do think she’s had a very busy 5 years since leaving the UK. When she left she had young baby Archie, she moved countries twice, houses 3 times, she had a miscarriage and then Lily, she’s done the Netflix stuff, and her charitable endeavours so she’s been busy. I think people tend to forget she had had a lot on her plate and just like to fall back on the ‘Archewell, one hour of work a week’ criticism.

Yes two young children. She could have just been a mum for a few years and lived off their millions a bit more modestly and privately. BUT she has been paid a huge amount of money to do rather more than that.

I’m not sure that people are able to effectively parse the truth of Meghan from the fiction that is recycled endlessly.

On the contrary, 'people' are well able to make judgements on the basis of a person's observable actions over a period of several years.

How did you form your own opinion of Meghan? Do you have access to sources of information which other 'people' do not?