Meghan Markle’s new Netflix Christmas special, With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration, is receiving heavy criticism just days after its debut. The one-hour episode features the Duchess of Sussex hosting celebrity friends for festive crafts and cooking, aiming to create a warm, cosy holiday vibe. While some viewers appreciated the seasonal atmosphere, critics across major outlets were far less impressed.
The Times offered one of the harshest assessments, calling the special “unfathomable.” Writer Hilary Rose described the episode with biting humour, saying, “It’s unfathomable: four pointless crafts, three random ‘friends’, two unseen kids, one English prince and a duchess in a pear tree, or at least making pear syrup.”
She continued with another jab, adding, “I can only assume that the part where she puts on monogrammed red pyjamas and talks about quiche Lorraine in a My Fair Lady accent was a fever dream.” Rose also mocked the simplicity of the cooking segments. “We learn that red is a festive colour and that if you don’t like cheese or pepper, you might not like a dish consisting of cheese and pepper.”
The Telegraph gave the special just one star, arguing that Meghan “tries way too hard.” Anita Singh wrote that “Meghan, as ever, tries way too hard. The programme is quite mad and a little bit sad.” The outlet suggested that the special feels more like casual online content than a polished holiday show.
The Independent was equally unimpressed. Reviewer Hannah Ewens described the episode as dull “background noise,” writing, “It’s not a real special by any stretch, but some YouTube content or the radio that you might put on in the background as you do your tree or wrap your presents.”
She added that the special feels like “white noise to dull the senses,” comparing it to something out of Stepford Wives and noting that it does not offer anything “informative, fun, enjoyable or even aspirational.” Even The Guardian, which offered a slightly more generous two-star rating, warned viewers to “brace themselves,” signalling that expectations should be kept firmly in check.
Despite Meghan’s attempt to create a warm, inclusive festive experience, the special has stirred more criticism than holiday cheer. Whether future episodes or projects will fare better remains to be seen, but for now, With Love, Meghan is off to a rocky start.
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