Meghan Markle finally unveils first Spotify series – 16 months after £18m deal

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MEGHAN Markle’s first solo podcast will be released this summer – more than a year after she and Harry signed an £18million deal with Spotify.

The Duchess of Sussex announced today she’ll be looking into labels and stereotypes “that try to hold women back” for the series.

Meghan Markle has announced that her first solo podcast is on the way this summer
She and Harry signed an £18million deal with Spotify back in December – but have since released just one podcast

She’ll host the show, Archetypes, and speak to historians and experts.

The Sussexes were given a bumper pay-out by the streaming giant back in late 2020.

But in January 2022, HOAR revealed Spotify was taking the project “into its own hands” as content from the couple failed to materialise.

Initially, a “full-scale” launch of shows was promised in 2021. However, the year came and went without any further update.

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Bosses then stepped in and began recruiting in-house staff to help.

Fans have been questioning when more episodes would be coming.

Harry and Meghan’s only podcast effort so far has been a 35-minute ‘holiday special’ in December 2020, featuring celebrity pals such as Elton John and James Corden.

It means that, so far, they’ve been paid £500,000 for each minute of content.

Matters looked as if they could be derailed again two months ago, when the pair came under pressure to ditch their mega-deal after Spotify was accused of hosting anti-jab content by US comedian Joe Rogan.

But they decided to stick with the company instead, telling fans they were committed “to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis”.

In a trailer released today, Meghan said: “This is how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us… but where do these stereotypes come from?

“And how do they keep showing up and defining our lives?”

The duchess, previewing the type of guests who will feature, adds: “This is Archetypes – the podcast where we dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.

“I’ll have conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narratives.

“And I’ll talk to historians to understand how we even got here in the first place.”

MEG-A DEAL

Spotify and Archewell Audio said: “Spotify and Archewell Audio both value responsible stewardship of the audio landscape, and as explained recently, are committed to working closely to support transparency and strong principles of trust and safety.”

In January, Neil Young reportedly offered Spotify an ultimatum to remove either his work or The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, which has been known to air vaccine-sceptical views.

When the singer later left the streaming platform, Joni Mitchell announced the same move “in solidarity” with his decision.

At the time, the Sussexes’ charitable foundation said they had talked to the platform about their concerns.

Last week, a spokesperson for Archewell Audio confirmed its first series would air in the summer and that they had been working closely with Spotify towards policies aimed at minimising the spread of misinformation.

Meghan has long been a campaigner on female empowerment.

Spotify and Archewell Audio described her conversations with typecast women as “uncensored” and said the duchess would delve into the origins of stereotypes.

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Former Suits actress Meghan is also an executive producer on the series, along with Ben Browning, Archewell’s head of content, and Rebecca Sananes, Archewell’s head of audio.

The podcast will be produced by Archewell Audio in partnership with Gimlet Media for Spotify.