The Duchess of Sussex is staging Christmas in a sparkling show packed with celebrities, anecdotes and recipes. Can Meghan win over fans with her cheery celebrations? She sure is trying. San Francisco, California (dpa) – Wearing a black jumper, Meghan dances through a row of undecorated Christmas trees. Only the best will do for the Sussex home; the tree must be large and lushly green before it is decorated. "Once a year, you can do the tree thing," she says, laughing, before finding the right fir tree and decorating it with glittering baubles in the following scene. It's a highly traditional start to the show by Prince Harry's wife. And now, you can watch her cook and bake her way through a nearly 1-hour long show on Netflix. In "With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration," Meghan invites viewers to a "festive wonderland full of warmth, traditions and lots of joy," the streaming platform says. Guests include chefs Will Guidara and Tom Colicchio, as well as tennis player Naomi Osaka. This all sounds promising, but the show may still struggle in terms of viewers. The first two seasons of the series were savaged by critics, who slammed the shows for lacking authenticity, calling the productions contrived, smug and cloying. Can Meghan turn things around by stirring in a touch more reflection? 'Joyless as coal in a Christmas stocking’ She is trying. In this special, the Duchess of Sussex cooks up all kinds of recipes, makes Advent calendars for her children Archie and Lilibet, serves festive cocktails and gets her hands dirty with cookie dough and beetroot – all to the sound of Christmas music. She also tells stories from her childhood and raves about her mother's Christmas dinner. She laughs as she steps in front of the camera in red pyjamas to announce her next two guests. But despite all her efforts, some aren't buying all that Christmas fever. Even before the release, the British media responded with frosty critique. Watching Meghan skip among the Christmas trees pretending to be cold, you have to "secretly admire" the project, which seems almost like "a deliberate provocation," The Guardian wrote. Rather than genuine joy, Prince Harry's wife served up "a sterile imitation of suspiciously flawless baked goods, fake smiles and artificial emotions," The Telegraph reported. The series presented a celebration "without any soul" and was "as joyless as coal in a Christmas stocking." Meanwhile The Times slammed what it called "meaningless crafts," implausible conversations, going so far as to dismiss the show as a "fever dream." A kiss for Harry We also get to see Prince Harry, standing in the kitchen. He raves about his mother-in-law's Christmas dinner, as Meghan prepares it. Viewers are even treated to a kiss, in a rare scene of this kind of the couple. Meghan and Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, renounced their royal duties more than five years ago and now live with their children in the US. Harry's relationship with his father has long been seen as broken though there were recently indications of an initial rapprochement. After leaving the British royals' inner circle, Meghan and Harry signed a contract with Netflix and brought several projects to the screen. In the summer, they extended their collaboration and signed a multi-year first-look deal. And the platform seems eager as ever to turn out further productions. Meghan's love of Christmas is nothing new. She has been photographed in the past decorating a Christmas tree that was a good four or five metres tall. And she has also celebrated Christmas with the royal family, joining the traditional festivities in Sandringham, despite all the differences, the Telegraph noted. "I love the holiday season," she says in the trailer. Will viewers share the love? The following information is not intended for publication dpa pba xxde arw
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