As Ever #2 Whatever

[PrettyFlyforaMaiTai]

I noticed the old thread is almost full so thought we could start a new one to carry on the discussion about the rebrand and merching.

Are you an ‘As Ever’ or ‘Whatever’?

link to the old thread: www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_royal_family/5277002-as-ever

If , not all, do you think this is to try and help viewing figures. By which I mean I am sure the initial viewing figures will be enormous just because of the hype , from fans , to people who like that kind of escapist lifestyle stuff to people like me who will be watching it out of pure curiosity and shitz'n'giggles (& yes I will watch the first one hands up - I just know myself ) . But I suppose as long as the viewing figures are high Netflix don't care why you are watching just that you are.

I think initial viewing figures will be high. Not sure about 'enormous'. Those of us who follow her shenigans closely tend to overestimate the level of general interest in her I reckon.

And I think NF do care why you are watching. Yes, they do have some subscriptions which include ads, so the more who watch the more who will see those ads if they've signed up for them. But their main income stream is subscriptions, and people aren't going to sign up to NF to 'hate watch' a lifestyle show.

Dropping all the episodes at once is an interesting choice I agree. Even if it's fantastic, a 'lifestyle' show doesn't really lend itself to the 'binge' model. It's not like you're waiting with bated breath to see what happens next. I really do think NF just want to dump this show and indeed this contract. The fact that it was initially scheduled to launch in January, a terrible time for a sunny lifestyle show, also supports this theory.

Is there ever a good time to launch this show? The US currently has a severe egg shortage because of bird flu and I’m predicting reactions to her show to keep on bringing this fact up.

Their USP is effectively offering a box set service, so it's not unusual for them to drop a whole series at once. For their most popular shows, like Stranger Things, they have split the series in two, dropping each half on different dates a week or two apart. They did that with the Harry and Meghan docusoap.

I don’t think that we should read into the whole series being immediately available. I imagine that NF want to deal with the inevitable reaction to this show quickly rather than drag it out.

Goodness who would want to watch even one episode? I couldn't even watch 30 seconds of that video launching As Ever.

My grandfather, who came to the US as an undocumented migrant at the age of 20 with no English and no formal education past the age of 12, was frequently referred to as a hustler by my parents. Grandpa worked long hours and started several small businesses. He was also, according to my mother, the only person she met who did well with the stockmarket as he was given investment tips by his customers.

A decade after my grandfsther died, financially secure and with loving kids and grandchildren, one of my father's childhood friends told us how my grandfather had regularly. helped out in his local immigrant community. We had never heard these stories.

I've always thought of a hustler as someone who works hard, seizes a good opportunity, and maintains positive networks. It's not always bad to be a hustler. What matters is how you do it and the end result.

Once the truths came out it showed how naive and unprofessional Oprah is as an interviewer.

I couldn't the lack of fact checking. The headlines alone....

EDA H&M have, over the last 5 years, exposed so many of the machinations that American A-listers employ. Buying awards, "donating" to each others' charities, charity skimming, PR tit-for-tats... Oprah was their first victim.

I can't wait to watch the first episode 😂 especially if I can join you lot in a watch a long. That isn't just because it it MM, I always enjoy watch a longs on the TV threads.

NF always drop several episodes - however what will count is the percentage of people that watch it all.

A watch along of episode 1 could be fun 🙂
Do we know how long these eps are yet?

I like the idea of the watch along!

I think there will be plenty of hate watching from people/media outlets who actively don't like her, as it will provide laugh along content. And her stans will watch it and lap everything up she says and does, the light shining out of her spatula and sophistication glowing from her armpits or whatever puke inducing phraseology they will use. But as pp said, I don't think the vast majority people care about her at all, so will not be signing up to Netflix/watching her sprinkle mint on donuts with a bunch of nobodies.

Oh Dammit. I'm in.

I’m super late to this thread, it’s been really interesting to read everyone’s posts and comments.

I think the first episode of With Love, Meghan will have good viewership (people who are curious, invested for their You Tube channels, genuine fans and the opposite end of the spectrum) but overall I doubt it will do well. People won’t watch every episode unless they’re huge fans. I think the average viewer hours will therefore be disappointing regardless of whether they drop all episodes at once or one a week.

To me (maybe only me!) hustle means con. A hustler is a con artist and they have a mark. Some could argue that Harry was a mark. Anyways, it’s not complimentary. Although I recognise that it may mean something different to Gen Z and their urban language.

Count me in!

I probably won't be able to watch a whole episode but I'll certainly be on these threads to get the analysis.

It got boring and repetitive for a reason……

When does it actually start? The episodes tend to drop first thing in the morning, so the watch along crowd will need to coordinate a time.

And will there be a no spoilers thread? I don't want to know in advance what she's sprinkling on this week's donut, I want to be surprised!

I'm not even sure there'll be that much 'hate watching'. The first episode maybe, but people who really dislike her won't want to add to the ratings, and anyway you'll be able to see the 'good' bits on social media within hours.

I don't think her 'celebrity friends' are going to entice too many viewers either. Abigail Spencer and Mindy Kaling may be talented, but nobody is really interested in watching them faff about a rented mansion gushing over a Victoria sponge.

I wish French and Saunders were still going, or Victoria Wood was still alive. They could make a great pastiche of this.

I'm so nosy that I will actually watch it

I'm relying on other people to watch it because I don't think I can bear to.

Ulrika Jonsson's Nigella spoof is still a classic nearly 2 decades on.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

If Oprah did know what a fraud she is and allowed the interview to go ahead, she was taking quite a risk with her reputation. She didn't need the money. I maintain she was conned by Meghan. A possible scenario is that she was keen to do the interview as a route to other royals, the themes for the content were agreed by staff on both sides, Oprah thought during the rehearsal that she'd got a scoop with the racism story, then the penny dropped during the recorded interview, based on the passport and real wedding ceremony details.

Her business won’t launch until months after the show!

Page six:

‘Sources told us that the As Ever lifestyle products won’t be ready for sale until a few months after the show’s launch.
As Page Six previously revealed, the mom-of-two has teamed up with Netflix to sell her products. Contrary to reports, we are told there won’t be any pop-up installations or branded cafes at malls across the country.’