Martha Stewart is adding another platform to her media empire. On August 24, iHeartPodcasts and Netflix announced that “The Martha Stewart Podcast” is expanding to Netflix, alongside a brand-new companion series called “Martha Cooks,” with both launching on the streamer this week.
FAQ
When does Martha Stewart’s podcast launch on Netflix?
Episodes begin streaming on Netflix starting Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
What is “Martha Cooks”?
A new Netflix series pairing Stewart’s podcast conversations with cooking segments, launching alongside the podcast’s Netflix debut.
Is the podcast leaving iHeartPodcasts?
No. The audio version continues to be distributed by iHeartPodcasts, with Netflix adding a video-forward version on top of it.
The Netflix Deal, Explained
“The Martha Stewart Podcast” has built a loyal audience on iHeartPodcasts with Stewart’s characteristically direct interview style, and the Netflix expansion gives that same content a much larger built-in audience. Rather than replacing the existing show, the deal layers a new home on top of it: the audio podcast keeps running through iHeartPodcasts as before, while Netflix subscribers get a video version of the conversations along with the new “Martha Cooks” companion content.
The move also reflects a broader shift among podcast hosts toward video-first distribution. Audio-only podcasts increasingly compete for attention with video podcasts that let viewers watch the conversation rather than just listen to it, and striking a deal with a platform the size of Netflix gives Stewart’s show that video presence without her having to build and market a standalone video channel from scratch.
What “Martha Cooks” Adds
“Martha Cooks” is being positioned as a cooking-focused companion series rather than a standalone competition or talk show, folding recipes and kitchen demonstrations in around the same conversational format that has defined her podcast. It’s a natural extension for Stewart, whose entire brand has always sat at the intersection of cooking, entertaining, and lifestyle advice, and it gives Netflix a low-risk way to test more of her content with its subscriber base beyond a single show.
Martha Stewart’s Ever-Expanding Media Empire
Stewart founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in the 1990s and has spent the decades since moving fluidly between magazines, daytime television, e-commerce, and now podcasting and streaming, adapting her brand to whatever platform her audience is actually using at the time. The Netflix news is the latest example of Stewart, now in her eighties, continuing to add new media ventures rather than slow down. She’s stayed visible in pop culture well beyond her original Martha Stewart Living roots, from her Snoop Dogg cooking specials to her Skims campaign and now a growing podcast-to-streaming pipeline. Each new venture tends to introduce her to a younger audience that may know her more from viral clips than from her original daytime television run, and the Netflix deal looks designed to do exactly that.
Why Netflix Wants More Food Content
The deal also fits a broader pattern of Netflix leaning further into food and lifestyle programming rather than treating it as a side category to scripted series and film. Cooking competition formats and celebrity-fronted food content have consistently performed well for the platform, and a built-in personality with Stewart’s decades of brand recognition, and an audience that already trusts her opinion on cooking and entertaining, is a lower-risk way to expand that slate than developing a format from scratch. It also gives Netflix a way to reach an older, more lifestyle-oriented viewer base that its scripted originals don’t always target directly, broadening the platform’s appeal beyond its usual core demographic.
What to Watch For Next
With both the podcast’s Netflix debut and “Martha Cooks” launching in the same week, the early episode lineup and guest list will be the first real signal of how Netflix plans to position the content within its crowded lifestyle and food category. Stewart has leaned into pop-culture crossover moments in recent years, from her Snoop Dogg cooking specials to a Skims campaign that introduced her to an entirely new, younger fanbase, and the Netflix deal looks built to keep that momentum going rather than treat this as a one-off licensing arrangement. Expect more details on episode counts and a release cadence to follow shortly after the August 26 premiere.
Where This Leaves Stewart’s Broader Brand
The Netflix expansion adds to a media portfolio that already spans magazines, a home goods line, television specials, and a growing e-commerce presence, and it reflects how much of Stewart’s continued relevance now depends on meeting audiences on whichever platform they’re already using rather than expecting them to seek out a single flagship property. For a personality whose career began in print and broadcast television decades before streaming existed, the willingness to keep restructuring her media footprint around new formats, video podcasts included, has become as central to her brand as the lifestyle content itself.
