With Love, Meghan Season 2: She Took Notes—And Yet

I’ll give credit where it’s due: Season 2 is better. If you read my With Love, Season 1 review, you know how I felt about the show. I’m happy to report that this time around, I felt the TV show finally picks a lane, stops pretending every guest is a lifelong bestie, and lets actual chefs into the kitchen. It’s more cohesive, more instructional, and far less cringeworthy than Season 1. And still… it isn’t good. It’s gorgeous, controlled, and curiously inhuman—like living inside a luxury Pinterest board that never lets you smudge the marble. Just like Season 1, all I wanted when I was watching this show, was to know and see who Meghan really is, but she refuses to let us in, even a little.

The quick take

Season 2 trades “I’m the teacher” for “I’m the student,” which was the right read of last year’s feedback. The format is cleaner (guest arrives → small, thoughtful gift → real cooking or crafting → a finished spread), the music is peppier, and the pacing doesn’t meander into bee suits and bath salts. I wasn’t rage-watching this time. I was… background-watching. Progress!

What she fixed (and why it helps)

She plays the student, not the expert

With pros like David Chang and Christina Tosi, the show finally imparts technique instead of TikTok pasta cosplay. Watching scratch grahams and elevated s’mores come together? Actually interesting.

The “these are all my friends” bit is dialed down

Season 1’s Stepford-friend patter is gone. Season 2 admits some guests are colleagues or old industry acquaintances (the Chrissy Teigen episode says the quiet part out loud), and some I’ve never met before. This reads as more honest than the forced BFF vibes of last season.

There’s an actual format now

Gift, lesson, make, share. It’s simple, but TV needs bones—and this season finally has them.

What’s still not working (and why you’ll feel it)

It’s still painfully contrived

The coastal-elite crafting (DIY rose water, microwave flower pressing (I’m team old-fashioned way), edible blooms on everything) is beautiful but airless. It often feels like product shots stitched together with polite chat.

Humor vacuum

The show needs a sparkplug. Jokes land like corporate icebreakers (“chai with pie!”). When Tan France gently deadpans or a chef teases, the temperature rises—then drops right back to “isn’t that chic?”

Technique without teaching

Even with chefs in the room, the show drifts past measurements and why-it-works explanations. If you’re going to pull out the gram scale, commit: give me ratios, pitfalls, and fixes, not just vibes.

Making Everything for the first time

I have never made anything for a guest that I haven’t made numerous times before. Meghan makes a lot of things for the first time but she is teaching us how to do it? Again, bring in an expert, and be the student. I also stand on my season 1 recommendation that she should take inspo from the series “Cardi Tries…” and instead have a “Meghan Learns…” or “Meghan Tries…” and make it more of a ‘we’re learning and experiencing this together.’

Soft-ad synergy fatigue

Gifting a masala dabbā to Tan was thoughtful; plating every moment like a catalog isn’t. I don’t mind commerce—just name it plainly because we are used to everyone selling something and we know you are too.

Odd camera choices break the spell

A few car-cam and crew-cutaway moments lean into Reality-TV-101, of which I’m a connoisseur, and this isn’t it. This show’s strength is glossy escapism; keep the lens consistent or let us really behind the curtain and into your life.

The segments that actually worked

• Chang + Tosi (improvised feast): Real techniques, real leadership from pros, and food I’d eat immediately. This is the template.
• Chrissy Teigen (pressed flowers + homemade Cheez-Its): Chaotic? Yes. But the mess and the gram-scale struggle humanized the room for once. (John Legend cameo = unnecessary, but gives me ‘part of the contract’ so fine.)
• Tan France on the beach: A relaxed sit-and-chat with a genuinely thoughtful gift. Still staged, but the rapport mostly carries it.
• Rose-water demo: Frivolous and fun—because it owned being frivolous and fun.

Who will like Season 2 (and who won’t)

• Yes: Viewers who want aspirational, beautifully lit kitchen-craft escapism; fans of guest chefs; people who put Food Network on while they tidy.
• No: Anyone craving personality, laugh-out-loud moments, or repeatable weeknight recipes you’ll cook tomorrow.

If there’s a Season 3, here’s how to actually fix it

• Pick one craft max. Spend the time you save on real cooking beats or relaxed story time.
• More chill moments: Because right now, hanging with you feels like work all the time.
• Be the student in every episode. Let pros lead; lean into curiosity and imperfection.
• Teach, don’t just stage. Ratios, measurements, and what to do when it goes wrong.
• Name the brand wall. If it’s commerce, say so. The audience knows everyone is selling something.
• Let the mess live. We need more takes where the flip fails and the fix succeeds. Unless you’re giving us clips from your practice session.
• Book quick-witted guests. You need one irreverent person per episode to puncture the gloss. Because you’re too stiff and we need moments of humor.

Or—unpopular opinion—pivot back to acting. 

If she isn’t willing to let us into real stories and struggles—or can’t bring genuine humor and vulnerability to lifestyle TV—then why not return to what she’s already good at? I heard she was decent in her acting gigs, and I think that would let her connect through characters without pretending we’re in her actual life.

Verdict

She listened. Season 2 is objectively more watchable: tighter format, better guests, and less “these are all my best friends” theater. But it’s still so curated it barely has a pulse. If she won’t open the door to real stakes, real mess, and real teaching, the most compelling move might be to go back to acting and let the work speak for her. If you want chic background TV while doing chores, queue it up. If you’re looking for soul, humor, and actual instruction, you’ll keep yelling at your screen.