Meghan Markle has started 2025 with a bang. On New Year’s Day, the Duchess returned to Instagram for the first time in seven years with the launch of her new account @meghan – and a short time later shared the trailer for her upcoming lifestyle show.
The eight-part show is set to premiere on 15 January and will see Meghan inviting friends and famous guests to a California estate, where she shares cooking, gardening and hosting tips.
One famous face set to appear in the series is Mindy Kaling – and she has shared some behind-the-scenes details about the project ahead of its launch.
Mindy was asked about her involvement as she walked the red carpet at the Golden Globes. And she revealed the surprise text Meghan had sent her.
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The Office actress said she received the message two months after she had given birth.”I was on maternity leave after having my third child last year when Meghan texted me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to come be in my show and come out to Montecito and have me cook for you?'” Kaling shared with Deadline . “And I was like, ‘Yeah — that sounds perfect,'” she said.
Mindy also didn’t hold back when praising Meghan’s cooking skills. “Unsurprisingly, she kind of blew me out of the water,” she said. Meghan’s recipes, she added, were “really accessible” – even though Meghan has a flourishing garden and chickens.
“She has a garden from scratch, which I could never do, and chickens,” Mindy noted. “They would all die if I tried to take care of chickens!” The star also addressed Prince Harry’s cooking skills, adding: “I heard he’s actually a pretty good cook. He knows his way around a kitchen.”
Not everyone is quite as enthusiastic about Meghan’s new series, however. Some critics have questioned how relatable the content really is – and the Duchess’s credentials to front such a show.
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Royal historian and expert Dr Tessa Dunlop told the Mirror : “It is all too easy to mock Meghan and the perfect world she presents in her new Netflix trailer: shiny (slightly) famous friends, effortfully fresh food, Insta-ready images.
“But worry not, apparently this is just what the Duchess does: in her words ‘I have always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it.’ And no, she is not talking about Prince Harry , who this time is lucky enough to make an appearance alongside his influencer wife and her millennial chums. According to chef Roy Choi, ‘they are family now’, which doesn’t bode well given the Sussexes’ track record with their nearest and dearest.
“See, I told you it was easy to mock. I mean, come on, a reality series in which one of the richest women in the world is pretending she can teach us ‘little tips and tricks’. Demonstrating how ‘we can incorporate these practices’ into our domestic lives, as she meanders through her sun-dappled kitchen garden, retro basket in hand, before attending those designer bee hives, dripping with honey. It’s so out-of-reach for the vast majority, it is laughable.”
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