Meghan Markle's cooking show, Netflix deal may be in danger after 'Polo' docuseries flop

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Meghan Markle’s rumoured cooking and lifestyle show may get buried by Netflix.

The Duchess of Sussex and husband Prince Harry recently released a five-part docuseries “Polo” as part of their reported five-year, US$100 million deal with the streaming service inked in 2020, which offered “an unprecedented look into the players’ lives on and off the field.”

However, critics and viewers have panned the release.

“It’s a show about privileged people showing us exactly how privileged they are, which means there isn’t a lot of drama to be found,” a Guardian critic wrote.

A public relations executive said the series is about “tone deaf, out of touch, self absorbed elites.”

“It’s a pompous portrayal of privilege posing as a documentary,” Eric Schiffer, chair of Reputation Management Consultants, told Newsweek. “It feels fake. You could almost see an ad, ‘Polo the new cure for insomnia, brought to you by royalty.’

“They’ve made it the new frontier of unrelatability. This ensures polo becomes even less popular for regular people. It just reeks of entitled and is disconnected, unrelatable.”

On Rotten Tomatoes, viewers ripped into the series, which is averaging less than two stars out of five.

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“This is a despicable display of the out of touch mentality this team of charlatans have,” one viewer wrote.

Another added that there was “nothing engaging” about the show.

“The characters are shallow, despicable people who indulge in casual animal abuse, they have no self-awareness and as someone said earlier, it could almost be a spoof except for the fact it is devoid of any humour or charm.”

It appears executives at the streaming service are unimpressed with reaction to the final product as well.

“There won’t be another deal,” a source told Britain’s Daily Mail about Netflix’s future commitment to the Royal couple. “There may be one-offs but that’s it.”

Another source in California called the series a “make or break” venture.

“People say Netflix are exhausted. It’s so much work with her and, bluntly, the ‘deliverable’ does not seem to be worth it.”

Other sources suggested the show may get the green light in the new year if it boosts her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, which was unveiled last March.

However, since the brand launch, there has been no specific date for the series, which intends to celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship.

Meanwhile, Meghan reportedly was not in attendance at Oprah’s surprise party for Gail King’s 70th birthday over the weekend as some insiders say top celebrities don’t want to be seen with the Duchess of Sussex.

“A-listers are now actively keeping away from them and events they are apparently going to attend,” a source told the Daily Mail. “One told me, “It’s not a good look to be around them.”