Meghan Markle is back in the podcast game — with a new partner.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, inked a partnership with podcast network Lemonada Media. That comes after Spotify‘s exclusive podcast deal withPrince Harryand Meghan’s Archewell Productions ended in mid-2023 with the couple having had delivered just one show — the Markle-hosted interview series “Archetypes” — under the agreement.
Under the new deal, Lemonada will distribute the first season of Markle’s “Archetypes” series for all audio platforms, starting in the spring of 2024. The company also will develop a new, as-yet-untitled original podcast series hosted by the Duchess of Sussex.
“I’m proud to now be able to share that I am joining the brilliant team at Lemonada to continue my love of podcasting,” Markle said in a statement. “Being able to support a female-founded company with a roster of thought provoking and highly entertaining podcasts is a fantastic way to kick off 2024. 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, and am overjoyed to be joining the Lemonada family.”
“Archetypes,” in which Markle explores the labels that try to hold women back, will be available across all podcast platforms for the first time off Spotify. Lemonada is overseeing ad sales and distribution for the series. To date, “Archetypes” has had over 10 million downloads/listens, with an average of nearly 2 million listens per episode, and debuted as Spotify’s No.1 podcast in 47 countries around the world.
“We are beyond honored that Meghan has trusted us to help democratize access to ‘Archetypes,’ and that so many more people around the world will have access to the series soon,” said Lemonada CEO and co-founder Jessica Cordova Kramer. “Meghan’s talent as host, creator and conversationalist is unparalleled and we are thrilled to co-create a new series with her that fosters her approach to creating art that matters.”
“Archetypes” joins Lemonada’s lineup of podcasts including “Wiser Than Me With Julia Louis-Dreyfus,” which was named the 2023 show of the year by Apple; Jennette McCurdy’s “Hard Feelings”; “Funny Cuz It’s True With Elyse Myers”; Gracie award-winners “Last Day” and “Believe Her”; “Choice Words With Samantha Bee”; “In the Bubble With Andy Slavitt”; “Add to Cart With Kulap Vilaysack and SuChin Pak”; and reality show “Being Trans.”
Archewell Productions was founded in 2020 by Prince Harry and Meghan to produce programming that “informs, elevates and inspires.” The company, which is repped by WME, also has a partnership with Netflix.
Sources had said Harry and Meghan wanted to move away from exclusive Spotify distribution to find a new home for their audio projects. Spotify had expected more content to come out of its pact with Archewell three years into their agreement, which was reportedly worth $20 million.
In the wake of the news about Spotify’s deal with Archewell coming to an end, Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer (which Spotify acquired in 2020), said on his self-titled podcast that Spotify should have launched a podcast with Harry and Meghan called “The Fucking Grifters.” “I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories,” Simmons said.
