Are we Meiland-tired?

I write this piece with a bit of a flutter in my stomach because it's not fun to fall out of love with your favorites. And believe me: I love the Meiland family. I was an early adopter when it comes to the Meiland family. Watching the Meiland family during the lockdown was the best and, besides wine and chocolate, the only antidepressant available. Seeing Martien buried under scarves, watching tiles being moved, or trying to call dogs to order while Erika shakes her head in disbelief and Maxime groans and sighs... There's not much that can compete with that.

The Meiland machine is running overtime. We see them not once but twice a week, there is a book, there was a column, there were other TV shows that Martien presented, and with the return of the Meiland family to the Netherlands, we suddenly had a reachable pilgrimage site. We took a day trip to the East and now we are doing a little Northwijk. Searching for the family's villa and shopping at Montana in the hope of catching a glimpse of Martien.

All good things come to an end, including the Meiland devotion. Because the family, understandably, no longer wants to haul and tug in the hope of getting an old castle in order and receiving guests, they are diving into a much more fruitful cash cow: themselves. So where the program used to have a natural quest (restoring the castle and converting it into a full-fledged bed & breakfast), we now mainly see... Well, what actually. The Meiland machine, then. We see them rushing from radio interview to meeting with the writer of their book. We see Erika complaining about the million-euro villa (‘I'm kind of stuck in the basement with a laminate floor’), we see Chanel sunglasses, Range Rovers, and brand new MINIs. They deserve it, immensely. But, as terrible as it may sound, it's not really exciting to watch. I miss the goal, the struggle, the truly earned glass (or bottle) of wine at the end of a day where everything went wrong.

To fill the void, the creators show us the making of the Meiland mission. Soon I'll be watching the editing of the next episode. Or I'll see the Meiland family watching their own episode. My humble advice? Just take a nice media break, enjoy the baby, find a house where no one can find you, and then let us search for you. The Hunt for the Meiland family. And when we find you, we'll drink a glass together. And take a selfie together. Because by then, Martien will surely be craving that.