Meghan Markle's new podcast is reportedly "in production," but the Duchess of Sussex is struggling to attract big-name talent to her second talk fest outing. In response to this development and allegedly "other factors," the venture with Lemonada Media has been "pushed back."
"They're afraid that her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, and her new Netflix series could conflict with the promotion that they’d really like to go into this new podcasting venture," royal expert Kinsey Schofield told an outlet.
"There is, I would suspect, not a lot of money on the line here or there would be pressure and bigger expectations for Meghan to execute this," she added when highlighting one of the project's many differences with the ultra-lucrative Spotify failure.
Schofield continued: "We saw that with Spotify. There was a countdown clock. When they only got 13 episodes out of the Sussexes, they gave them the chop. There are sources telling the Daily Mail that Meghan has a list of very high-profile guests scheduled to participate in her new podcast, but does she?"
The entertainment expert then observed: "Very high-profile guests usually have their diaries filled months in advance," before sharply criticizing the ex-working royal by quipping: "Meghan should know, she used to be that [high-profile]."
"Lemonada is an audio-first podcasting company, so Meghan won't get all the bells and whistles that Spotify offered," Schofield shared. "But with only 50 or so shows on their roster, Meghan will likely get way more attention and will have more control."
The Montecito mother-of-two will be in the company of award-winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus and comedienne Sarah Silverman, both of whom have podcasts with the small network. It is unknown if Lemonada will be able to secure the Duchess big names like Mariah Carey and Serena Williams, whose appearances failed to make a dent in the ratings of Spotify's "Archetypes," which was axed by the streamer along with Meghan and Prince Harry's contract in June 2023.
Authenticity and passion" are the two keywords Lemonada CEO Jessica Cordova Kramer revealed, which strikes a sharp contrast with Meghan, who was accused of "faking" her "Archetypes" interviews in an investigative report, and coming off multiple times as "forced" and "fake" when talking to celeb guests.
Schofield also pointed out how the "overproduction" of "Archetypes" was one of many reasons why it likely failed. "I expect she’s probably going to have less cooks in the kitchen, because I think that was one of the reasons it took so long to get content out. Too many people had a say in that final product."
"With Lemonada [being] such a small startup compared to the million-dollar pressure of Spotify ... maybe Meghan can find an authentic voice and rhythm easier," she concluded.
GBN interviewed Schofield.
