Meghan Markle’s Netflix return: Duchess ‘will start filming new cookery show in a few weeks time’ to coincide with launch of American Riviera Orchard – after streaming giant’s executive revealed Sussexes are working on new projects
Another Meghan Markle Netflix show is on the horizon and is set to ‘start filming within weeks’ it was revealed today, just hours after the Duchess launched her new luxury lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard.
The Duchesses’ new project, said to align with her now defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, has been launched to coincide with a new cooking show said to be taking place on the streaming giant, sources claimed.
It comes after the bosses of Netflix revealed that Britons ‘devour’ any content released by the Sussexes’ and that the couple had a ‘bunch’ of new projects lined up.
An insider told the Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden: ‘Meghan is starting to film her Netflix show in a few weeks’ time. It will tie in with the American Riviera Orchard brand.’
Another source added: ‘It’s a lifestyle and cooking brand called American Riviera Orchard.
‘The brand is meant to coincide with the launch of a new cookery show for Netflix. Meghan will be making, and selling, products such as jams. And at some point there will be a book and blog etc.’
The Duke and Duchess signed a five-year agreement with the California-based streaming giant in 2020 worth an estimated $100million (£80million) but in recent months there has been speculation that their contract renewal was under threat.
It came after their £15million Spotify contract ended last year and Meghan’s doomed animation Pearl was dropped by the television streaming giant last May.
Yet the Sussexes now appear to be back on track to secure a deal after Netflix’s chief executive announced last month that the California-based royals have a ‘bunch’ of new Netflix projects lined up including a film and tow other ‘unscripted’ projects.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliam said that Meghan’s business launch on Instagram last night hinted that the couple’s Netflix contract is set to be renewed.
A new Netflix documentary is on the horizon for Meghan Markle just months after the streaming giant announced its working on a ‘bunch’ of new projects with the couple (pictured announcing the winner of the Archewell award yesterday
Last night, Meghan posted a video on Instagram to launch her new luxury brand American Riviera Orchard. Sources claim her new Netflix show will mirror the business
The couple’s first launch on Netflix was their six-part documentary ‘Harry and Meghan’ which was released in 2022 where the pair made swipes at the royal family
He told the Daily Express: ‘What is significant here is the link with Netflix. This implies that they may keep the content which expires next year, they omitted mentioning it on their news website.
‘This is pivotal for them. Let’s see what American Riviera Orchard leads to for the Sussexes.’
Meghan’s new brand launch and talk of her cooking show comes just months after close friend Omid Scobie claimed that the Duchess could eventually become the new Martha Stewart.
The author suggested in November that Meghan could follow in the footsteps of the famed 82-year-old American TV cooking and lifestyle personality.
Mr Scobie – often dubbed ‘Meghan’s mouthpiece’ – said she was focusing on building ‘something more accessible, something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, life’s simple pleasures, and family’.
Other sources also told Page Six that Meghan was trying to align herself with other lifestyle stars such as American cook and author Ina Garten or American interior designer Joanna Gaines.
Hollywood insiders told the outlet they thought Meghan’s latest Netflix project would be something close to the heart holding similarities to her now defunct lifestyle blog The Tig.
One industry source said: ‘From what I understand, I think Meghan will take on Martha Stewart, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ina Garten and play them at their own game.’
Meghan’s new project is said to have been in the works for more than a year – and will feature ‘all the things that are close to her heart’
Last night, Meghan’s brand, American Riviera Orchard, was launched on Instagram and has bene likened to her now defunct blog The Tig
The plush video comes alongside a series of nine cryptic Instagram posts, making up the logo of the brand alongside the name: ‘American Riviera Orchard Montecito’
Meghan’s video on Instagram last night started with a washed-out video of a woman arranging white and pink pastel flowers
Meghan’s new launch comes just days after the CEO of Netflix broke his silence over the speculation that the Sussexes’ would be dropped announcing that Britons ‘devour’ any content about the pair.
He told US business magazine Forbes that the couple are ‘great at getting attention’.
‘The documentary we did on them [Harry and Meghan] is still one of our most watched documentaries of all time on and huge, particularly in the UK, where people just devour everything about them,’ he said.
‘They are controversial but that’s usually a good thing.’ He added: You may love them or hate them, but you’re watching.
‘And I do think that they are also going to be very strong storytellers, with great exposure to media in terms of what people want to talk about, what they think about, and they’re great at getting attention.’
Weeks before Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bajaria also stepped out to defend the royals amid the ongoing speculation, revealing that Harry and Meghan ‘actually have a bunch in development’ under their Archewell Productions arm.
She told the audience at Next on Netflix that the couple had also been working on some projects with Brandon Reigg who is the vice president of the company’s unscripted and documentary series.
Reigg, who joined in 2016, oversaw the company’s expansion of reality TV, including popular shows Queer Eye and Love is Blind.
In August last year, Harry released his latest series Heart of Invictus, which featured athletes preparing for the 2022 edition of the games and saw him speak about mental health struggles
in August last year, Harry released his latest series, Heart of Invictus, which featured athletes preparing for the 2022 edition of the games
Bosses of Netflix revealed that Britons ‘devour’ any content released by the Sussexes’ and that the couple had a ‘bunch’ of new projects lined up. Pictured: Harry and Meghan in 2018
Speaking at a Netflix promotional event in Hollywood she said that the Sussexes were working on ‘a couple of unscripted things’ – thought to be documentaries – plus a film and a series which are all in ‘very early development’.
Specific details on the shows remain unknown, but the film could be related to Harry and Meghan’s planned £3million adaptation of the Carley Fortune’s romantic novel Meet Me At The Lake.
Despite the reassurances of the couple’s Netflix success, some of their critics are still claiming the pair would not succeed in securing a new contract.
Just hours ahead of Meghan’s new brand launch, Fox News commentator Lee Cohen told GB News America that Netflix did not want to admit they had hired ‘talentless grifters’.
He said: ‘Netflix doesn’t want to admit that they picked talentless grifters in Harry and Meghan.
‘In the end, all they care about is the Sussexes’ ability to attract viewers. Unfortunately, as you know, they can attract attention like a car crash. Painful to watch, but you can’t turn away.’
The couple’s first launch on Netflix was their six-part documentary ‘Harry and Meghan’ which was released in 2022 and caused controversy with its series of swipes at the Royal Family.
Netflix dropped the couple’s animation Pearl which led to the above description of the film being swiftly cut from the pair’s website in May 2022
The Duchess of Sussex launched her ‘passion project’, a website called The Tig, back in 2014, naming it after her favourite Tignanello red wine
To her devoted fans, Meghan opened up about her struggles of not fitting in during her time at High School, filling her lunch times with endless extra-curriculum activities just so she did not have to ‘eat lunch alone’
Three weeks after, their second Netflix production was released, ‘Live to Lead’, which was about global leaders who fought for social justice.
But in May, Netflix dropped Meghan’s planned animated series Pearl as part of a wave of cutbacks prompted by the streaming service’s drop in subscribers.
Then in August last year, Harry released his latest series, Heart of Invictus, which featured athletes preparing for the 2022 edition of the games and saw him open up about his mental health struggles after returning from military duty in Afghanistan.
Last month, however, sources at Netflix were said to be surprised when Harry’s documentary appeared on the channel’s rival Hulu, in what appeared to be a slap in the face.
A senior source at Netflix told the Mail the pair were still under contract but were surprised by the move, adding that the Prince would have had to sign a release to allow ABC to make it into a documentary for Hulu.
A glitzy video was released to Instagram last night to mark the launch of Meghan’s new business perhaps giving an insight into what could be seen on the alleged cooking show.
The clip started with a woman arranging white and pink hydrangeas before fading to reveal it is in fact Meghan cooking in the stunning kitchen.
It continues with an image of a woman in a long dress, backlit through an Italian-style corridor leading outside, set against Nancy Wilson’s 1960 tune I Wish You Love.
The new company is set to be an expansion of The Tig, her blog which was previously described as a ‘passion project’ when she launched it in 2014, naming it after her favourite Tignanello red wine.
While the site was up and running it was filled with insights into her old life, including relationships with her estranged father and best friend Jessica Mulroney. She closed the blog down after meeting Prince Harry.
MailOnline has contacted Netflix and Archewell for comment.
