Highlights
- The Gentlemen attracted 3 million UK viewers for its season two premiere
- That is 500,000 fewer viewers than the first season’s opening
- The drop comes after controversy surrounding reports that Meghan Markle could join the series
The Gentlemen has lost 500,000 UK viewers between its first and second season premieres, with the latest figures arriving after a major controversy surrounding reports of Meghan Markle joining the Netflix series.
The second season attracted 3 million viewers in the UK during its first seven days, according to official figures from Overnights.tv via Barb. That represents a 15 per cent drop from the 3.5 million viewers who watched the first season premiere in March 2024.
However, there is no evidence to suggest that the controversy surrounding Meghan directly caused the decline.
The timing has nevertheless put fresh attention on what happened behind the scenes and why the Duchess of Sussex became linked to the show in the first place.
How Meghan became linked to The Gentlemen
Reports claimed that Meghan was being considered for a role in the third season of The Gentlemen, with suggestions that creator Guy Ritchie was developing a part specifically for her.
A potential deal was also reported to be worth more than £1 million.
The speculation quickly became a talking point in the UK, with some reports claiming that the backlash over her possible casting had become too strong for the role to go ahead.
Royal commentator Tina Brown later wrote that the UK reaction had become so intense that continuing with the casting had become “untenable”.
She also suggested that the situation could damage Meghan’s prospects of making an acting comeback in the UK.
But a later report from Page Six offered a very different version of events.
Sources claimed that Meghan may never have received a formal offer for the role. According to the report, the situation began with a conversation involving the show's casting director, which was allegedly interpreted as more concrete than it actually was.
The story then developed from reports of “preliminary conversations” into claims that Meghan was “in talks” to join the series.
The cast had their own reaction
The rumours also prompted some memorable responses from the show's cast.
Theo James, who leads The Gentlemen, was asked about reports of Meghan joining the third season and joked that the speculation left him “intrigued and mildly aroused”.
He later dismissed the reports as “a lot of hot air”.
James also joked to Town & Country that Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, was joining the series and would play his love interest.
Netflix UK scripted chief Manda Levin was similarly guarded when asked about Meghan at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
“All bets are off,” she said.
Ray Winstone, another member of the cast, was even more blunt when asked about the possibility on The Romesh Ranganathan Show.
“What, in The Gentlemen?” he replied.
So what does the 500,000-viewer drop mean?
Despite the weaker UK opening, The Gentlemen is far from being in trouble at Netflix.
The second season recorded 6.7 million views globally during its first four days and reached third place on Netflix's English-language TV list.
Netflix has also confirmed that the show will return for a third season, meaning the UK audience decline has not changed its plans for the series.
The 500,000-viewer drop is therefore significant, but it should not automatically be linked to the Meghan controversy.
For now, the more intriguing question is what happened to the casting story itself. What began as reports of a potential Meghan role grew into a major UK debate, even as questions remained over whether she had ever been formally offered the part.
And while The Gentlemen has lost some of its UK audience, Netflix clearly has no intention of walking away from the show.
