Meghan Markle‘s Netflix series has been nominated for an Emmy Award and experts are calling the nod “somewhat baffling.”
Months after “With Love, Meghan” was canceled by the streaming service, the Duchess of Sussex earned her first-ever Emmy nomination. On Wednesday, Markle took to Instagram to celebrate the news.
“A huge congratulations to the amazing crew, producers, and team who worked on ‘With Love, Meghan’ on @netflix We are nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle Series!” she captioned her post.
Hilary Fordwich, British royals expert, told Fox News Digital she was shocked by the nomination due to the “lackluster” response from the audience.
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“Well not so surprising when one considers these award bodies reward high profile players who might garner the awards attention. Nevertheless, given how polarizing MM is & that the show had completely lackluster ongoing watching views, it is somewhat baffling,” Fordwich said.
She continued, “The really weak commercial traction of her show, with dreadfully low on-going watching demonstrated by lack of audience appeal, doesn’t warrant such an award, but no doubt it will garner the aforementioned media attention.”
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According to Fordwich, Markle will most likely use the publicity from her Emmy nomination to fuel her next project. “This would only be a public-relations win, which is a far cry from a concrete future media contract,” she said.
Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube’s “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered,” agreed with Fordwich and believes this nomination will help Markle’s career.
“The nomination is helpful because it gives Meghan something tangible to point to in meetings with studios, networks and advertisers. Hollywood values third-party validation,” Schofield began. “But one nomination doesn’t erase years of inconsistent commercial results.”
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She continued, “The industry ultimately cares about whether you can consistently attract audiences, deliver projects on time and generate returns. That’s still the bigger question surrounding Archewell. Parodies on TikTok generated more eyeballs than ‘With Love, Meghan’ on Netflix. That’s undeniable.”
Schofield doesn’t believe that Markle’s Emmy nomination erases the criticism. However, she does believe it gives her supporters “a credible talking point.”
“However, one nomination shouldn’t be exaggerated into a sweeping endorsement from Hollywood. There’s a meaningful difference between earning a nomination in a competitive category and fundamentally changing your standing within the entertainment industry,” she said.
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Doug Eldridge, founder of Achilles PR, told Fox News Digital that whether Markle wins the Emmy is not relevant – the nomination is impactful enough.
“She will always be introduced—at least as it pertains to entertainment circles—as ‘Emmy nominated actress and lifestyle personality, Meghan Markle.’ That isn’t predicated on the strength of her ratings or whether she eventually wins or loses; it’s an affectation and one she will likely leverage,” Eldridge said.
“Put differently, in 2026, anyone can publish a book—and in so doing, change their social media bio to read ‘published author’—but that is not the same thing as being a ’New York Times best-selling author,'” he continued.
“Either way, they’ll update the bio to reflect their perceived accomplishment.”
Eldridge believes that her Emmy nomination has helped her optically, but not within the industry.
“In terms of optics among fans, yes; for key stakeholders and decision makers within the industry, no,” he began. “Not every athlete who qualifies for the Olympics will earn a medal; but each has earned the right to be introduced as an ‘Olympian’ for the rest of their life. In that sense, the intro is the accomplishment—a literal one in a million.”
Eldridge continued, “Markle can’t leverage this within the industry, but from an optics standpoint, she can reposition the magnifying glass into the sun, in hopes of shining brighter in the eyes of her prospective fan/consumer base.”
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“‘If I wasn’t great, I wouldn’t be nominated. If I wasn’t likable—and therefore, marketable—I wouldn’t be nominated.’ For Markle, the true value-add of this nomination doesn’t reflect on her entertainment aspirations, but rather, on her fledgling lifestyle empire,” he concluded.
When “With Love, Meghan” premiered on Netflix in March 2025, it drew largely negative reviews from critics despite generating significant public interest. The show’s first season earned a 38% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a “generally unfavorable” rating on Metacritic, though it still attracted enough viewers for Netflix to green-light a second season.
Markle will find out whether she takes home her first Emmy when the 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are held on Oct. 30, 2026, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.
