Meghan Markle's Netflix cooking show was initially marketed as a heartwarming cultural exchange through food. However, it quickly became clear that it was yet another installment of "The Meghan Show," where the featured guest might as well have been an afterthought.
This time, the unfortunate supporting act was none other than Mindy Kaling, who found herself trapped in what was meant to be an interview but instead felt more like an extended Meghan Markle monologue. Reports suggest that Meghan dominated the conversation, steering it repeatedly back to—no surprise—herself. Producers were allegedly forced to dub in questions Meghan was supposed to ask Mindy because she had been too engrossed in her own storytelling to engage in an actual dialogue. If you listen closely, you can almost hear the exhaustion of the post-production team as they splice in generic sound bites like, "Tell me about your childhood," in a desperate attempt to create the illusion of a conversation.
For the second episode of the series, Mindy Kaling arrived at Meghan’s rented estate for what was advertised as a charming cooking session. Instead of an intimate exchange over food, the experience turned into what could best be described as a Meghan Markle TED Talk—only with fewer insights and a lot more self-congratulations. Despite Mindy’s own impressive accomplishments as an actress, writer, and producer, she was left with little room to speak. Instead, she was subjected to an endless stream of Meghan’s personal anecdotes, including nostalgic musings about her childhood science teacher, reflections on motherhood, and, of course, her well-documented struggles as a duchess-turned-lifestyle guru. By the time Mindy finally managed to get a word in—just fifteen minutes before the episode ended—she shared a heartfelt memory about her childhood love for restaurants and food. However, even this moment felt orchestrated. Meghan’s question prompting the story was clearly inserted in post-production, making it painfully obvious that she hadn’t even bothered to feign interest in real time. The awkwardly placed voiceover—"What kind of things did you like to do as a kid?"—sounded as natural as a scripted infomercial, and the choppy editing only emphasized the forced nature of the interaction.
Behind the scenes, things were reportedly even more chaotic. Sources claim that Mindy had to endure multiple retakes as Meghan’s ever-changing expectations disrupted the flow of filming. At one point, Meghan allegedly picked up a knife—yes, really—and dramatically declared, "No one knows me as that." Whether she was referring to a particular title Netflix had been instructed to use or simply indulging in her ongoing habit of rewriting her own narrative on the spot remains unclear. One thing, however, was certain: Mindy Kaling was not about to challenge Meghan in her own carefully curated domain. She smiled, nodded, and likely counted down the minutes until she could make a graceful exit.
Once the cameras stopped rolling, insiders claim that Mindy was absolutely furious. The endless retakes, the forced enthusiasm, and the realization that she had been reduced to nothing more than a prop in Meghan’s ongoing self-promotion left her seething. Reports suggest that she vented her frustration to crew members, allegedly remarking, "I thought I was here to have a conversation, not to attend a Meghan Markle fan club meeting."
At the end of the day, this show was never about cooking, nor was it about Mindy Kaling, or even the guests who reluctantly step in and out of Meghan’s glitzy echo chamber. It was, and always will be, about one thing: Meghan Markle, the brand. If that requires heavy-handed audio editing, multiple takes, and turning a guest into little more than a background spectator, so be it. In Meghan’s world, every show is a one-woman show—whether the audience realizes it or not.
