Meghan Markle’s New Netflix Cookery Show Begins Filming Today—But Not Where You’d Expect It to Be Shot

Over the weekend, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in Florida, where Harry was spotted filming for his new Netflix show about polo, announced last week. And, just as production is underway for that series, Meghan’s Netflix series about cookery—which is, like polo is for Harry, a hobby and passion of hers—begins filming today, The Daily Mail reports.

In his column for the outlet, Richard Eden wrote that cameras go up for the show on April 16 (today)—but added that “viewers hoping that it will give them a glimpse into Meghan’s enviable lifestyle are going to be left sorely disappointed,” he wrote, adding that the show “will not be filmed at the home she shares with Prince Harry.” The as-of-yet untitled show—which will “celebrate the joys of cooking and gardening, entertaining and friendship,” according to Netflix—“is to be shot at another property in their expensive California neighborhood,” Eden added, citing a source that told him “Netflix has rented a house in Montecito for filming.”

Over the years—and especially during the pandemic—followers have gotten glimpses inside the walls of Harry and Meghan’s Spanish Revival-style mansion in Montecito, which they moved into in 2020. The home boasts, according to Eden, “nine bedrooms and 19 bathrooms. It also has a gym, bar, five-car garage, and other amenities.”

Today is a big day for Meghan: in addition to her new show’s production beginning, the first product offering from her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, was announced. The Netflix cookery show ties into the brand, and to Harry and Meghan’s apparent new strategy to focus on individual projects, a la cookery for Meghan, polo for Harry. Going forward, Eden wrote that future projects for the couple will “reflect their differing professional interests and talents and are the result of significant thought about their future direction and careers,” his column read. A source Eden cited claimed “They are both working on their own things. They are fully supportive of each other’s concepts and ideas, but they are different from one another—they have different meanings.” 

Harry and Meghan inked a reported $100 million deal with Netflix back in 2020; it is set to expire in 2025 (no word yet on whether it will be renewed). In addition to their six-part docuseries Harry & Meghan, released in 2022—which still holds the record for the most viewing time of any Netflix documentary in its debut week, amassing a whopping 81.55 million hours—Harry and Meghan have also released the documentary series Live to Lead and Heart of Invictus, about Harry’s beloved Invictus Games. The Sussexes also paid a hefty sum for the film rights to Carley Fortune’s novel Meet Me at the Lake, and these two new his-and-her shows will mark the couple’s fourth and fifth offerings with the streaming giant.

Meghan will serve as an executive producer on her show, which will be directed by Michael Steed, who worked on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Meghan’s showrunner is Leah Harison, who was a producer on Selena Gomez’s HBO cooking show Selena + Chef.

For his part, Harry’s show will be “shot primarily at the U.S. Open Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida, at The USPA National Polo Center," according to Deadline, which added that "the series will explore the world of the sport, which is known primarily for its aesthetic and social scene.” The publication also said that “It will pull the curtain back on the grit and passion of the sport, capturing players and all it takes to compete at the highest level.”

No release dates have been announced as of yet for either show.