Well well well! In the months since Spotify ended their contract with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, there were some rumors that maybe Meghan was getting out of the podcasting business. Her sole podcast for Spotify, Archetypes, was a big success, even temporarily dethroning Joe Rogan from the top of the podcasting charts. I thought Archetypes got better as it went along – Meghan is a quick learner, and she was figuring out in real time what she wanted to do. All of which to say, I wanted her to do another podcast and I was sad that it looked like she was over it. But she’s not over it! She just signed on to Lemonada Media, a female-run company. The best part is that Archewell solely owns Archetypes, so Lemonada will now platform Archetypes Season 1, plus Meghan is apparently working on a new pod.

Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex is staying in the podcast business. The Duchess, otherwise known as Meghan Markle, has signed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media, the company behind Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The move will see her launch a new podcast series and Lemonada will also distribute her previous Spotify series Archetypes to all podcast platforms.

It comes after her and her husband Prince Harry parted ways with Spotify last year. There are no details of the show yet, but Meghan will host the as yet untitled series.

Archetypes, which was previously a Spotify exclusive, will be rolled out to all audio platforms with Lemonada distributing. The series has recorded over 10M downloads, around a million listens per episode and debuted as Spotify’s No.1 podcast in 47 countries around the world when it launched in August 2022. The series, which is produced by her and Prince Harry’s Archewell Productions, won a People’s Choice Award for The Pop Podcast of 2022 and Markle won best entertainment podcast host at the Gracie Awards.

The deal is a coup for Lemonada Media, which was founded in 2019 by Jessica Cordova Kramer, a former executive producer at Pod Save America producer Crooked Media, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs, cofounder of theater company Rec Room Arts.

“I’m proud to now be able to share that I am joining the brilliant team at Lemonada to continue my love of podcasting,” said Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex. “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.”

“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. 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,” added Lemonada’s CEO Jessica Cordova Kramer.

“As we’ve started development with The Duchess of Sussex, we are blown away by her collaborative spirit and clear vision, along with her deep desire to build compassion and community through this work. The Lemonada team felt immediate kinship with Meghan and the Archewell Productions team, and we are delighted to be working together,” added Lemonada’s Chief Creative Officer Stephanie Wittels Wachs.

[From Deadline]

The only thing the Derangers have at this point is that Meghan’s Lemonada deal probably doesn’t pay as well as the old Spotify deal, which the Sussexes signed in 2020 (during the podcast boom). To that I say: it speaks volumes to me that Meghan prioritized a smaller, female-run company rather than, say, Audible. Meghan probably could have gotten more money if she wanted to go with a larger platform. She chose not to. I also love that Meghan still feels like she has something to say – she wasn’t scared off by her experiences at Spotify, nor was she scared off by the ridiculous smear job from Salt Island. Good for her! I feel like the second go-around will probably be more streamlined and she’ll be more confident about what she’s doing and what the voice of the show will be. Also: it’s amazing that Archewell owns the Archetypes archive. LMAO!

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Photos courtesy of Cover Images.