Meghan Markle’s new festive special gets poor ratings from major outlets

Critics call Meghan Markle’s Christmas special Netflix show ‘pointless’ and ‘insipid’

By F. Qureshi
December 05, 2025
Meghan Markle’s new festive special gets poor ratings from major outlets
Meghan Markle’s new festive special gets poor ratings from major outlets

Meghan Markle’s new Netflix special, With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration, is facing strong criticism after its release.

The one-hour Christmas episode shows the Duchess of Sussex hosting celebrity friends for festive crafts and cooking.

While some viewers enjoyed the cosy vibe, many critics were unimpressed, with The Times calling the show “unfathomable.”

Hilary Rose penned, “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.”

“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,” she added.

“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.”

Giving the episode only one star, The Telegraph said Meghan “tries way too hard,” and The Independent described it as dull “background noise.”

The Telegraph’s Anita Singh shared her take on the episode, “Meghan, as ever, tries way too hard. The programme is quite mad and a little bit sad.”

“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,” penned Hannah Ewens of The Independent.

“White noise to dull the senses. It’s all a little Stepford Wives; not informative, fun, enjoyable or even aspirational. Because the people watching this, including me, will never have a Christmas like this,” she added.

The Guardian was slightly kinder with two stars but still warned viewers to “brace themselves.”