After severing ties with Spotify in 2023, Meghan Markle will return to podcasting with a new series and new distribution deal. The former senior royal has inked a partnership with podcast network Lemonada Media where she will reportedly deliver fresh content in a new format. It’s reported the Suits alumni will host and develop a completely new programme, yet the details and name of which are unannounced.
As part of the affiliation, Lemonada will re-release the former Spotify exclusive show, Archetypes, across all podcasting streaming platforms. “I’m proud to now be able to share that I am joining the brilliant team at Lemonada to continue my love of podcasting,” the Duchess of Sussex said in a statement. Touching on her first foray into the popular digital broadcasting medium, Markle added: “Our plan to re-release Archetypes so that more people can now have access to it, as well as launching a dynamic new podcast are well in the works.”
“I’m so eager to be able to share it soon,” the mother-of-two concluded.
The alignment with Lemonada Media—a female-founded company—demonstrates Markle’s commitment to delivering unique stories that tackle the complexities of womanhood. Lemonada’s current roster includes Jennette McCurdy, who reentered the cultural zeitgeist last year with her best-selling memoir of parental abuse and child stardom “I’m Glad My Mom Died”, and actress-cum-comedians Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Sarah Silverman.
“As we’ve started development with The Duchess of Sussex, we are blown away by her collaborative spirit and clear vision, along with her deep desire to build compassion and community through this work,” explained Lemonada’s chief creative officer and co-founder, Stephanie Wittels Wachs.
Markle’s second venture into podcasting comes after she and Prince Harry “mutually agreed to part ways” with her reported $20 million deal with Spotify. As reported by the Wall Street Journal at the time of Archetype’s axing, the Montecito-based couple allegedly didn’t meet “the productivity benchmarks required to receive the full payout from the deal.”
The announcement comes off the heels of Markle’s surprising TikTok cameo for an unexpected skit with Californian-based coffee company, Clevr Blends.
This latest move could prove to be a step towards Markle achieving her alleged “Hollywood reinvention”. It’s been speculated that the 42-year-old has plans to return to social media by reactivating her now-defunct Instagram account, and may even make a cameo appearance on the reality series The Kardashian. When life gives you lemons(ada), right?
