Meghan Markle’s First Emmy Nomination Has Fans Divided Over Whether It’s Deserved
Meghan Markle’s post-royal entertainment career has been a mix of high-profile wins and public scrutiny ever since she and Prince Harry signed with Netflix after stepping back from their roles as senior royals in 2018. The couple’s partnership with the streaming giant was reportedly worth more than $100 million, and it eventually produced ‘With Love, Meghan,’ a lifestyle series built around cooking, gardening and entertaining.
The show, which debuted in March 2025, failed to crack Netflix’s top 300 most popular titles in the first half of that year and drew some harsh reviews from critics. Season one reportedly pulled in 5.3 million views and landed at number 383 on the platform’s engagement rankings, while season two did not appear in the top 1,000 titles for the back half of 2025. Given that track record, few expected the series to land on an awards shortlist.
That is exactly what happened this week. ‘With Love, Meghan’ scored its first-ever Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Lifestyle Program category for the 2026 ceremony, which airs October 30. The series is competing against ‘A Different Breed,’ ‘George to the Rescue,’ ‘The Motherhood’ and ‘The Wizard of Paws.’
Markle wasted no time celebrating the milestone. She thanked the “amazing crew, producers, and team” behind the show in an Instagram post shared on July 15, confirming the nomination as her first ever from the Daytime Emmy organization. The timing felt notable given everything else swirling around the brand this year.
The reaction online was anything but unanimous. Several commenters questioned how the show earned a nomination at all, with one asking “How???? It was a dismal flop according to Netflix charts” and another simply writing “What a joke.” Other critics on X argued the category simply had weak competition, with one person joking they would rather see ‘The Wizard of Paws’ take the win because of its title alone.
Not everyone piled on, though. Supportive fans pushed back on the criticism, with one writing “I loved her show and thought it was amazing!!” and another calling the recognition “well deserved.” The split reactions mirror the show’s reception since it first premiered, swinging between devoted fans of Markle’s cozy aesthetic and viewers who found the format underwhelming.
The nomination also arrives during a rocky stretch for Markle’s broader business ventures. ‘With Love, Meghan’ is not expected to return for a third season, and Netflix and Markle’s As Ever brand parted ways earlier this year, even as the streamer maintains other projects with the Sussexes in development. For now, the Emmy nod gives the series a fresh moment in the spotlight regardless of how the ratings shook out.
Whether ‘With Love, Meghan’ can actually pull off a win against ‘The Wizard of Paws’ and the rest of the field come October is anyone’s guess, so which side of this Emmy debate are you on, deserved recognition or a puzzling nod for a show that struggled to find viewers?
