Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos simply couldn't resist showering Meghan Markle with praise, speaking as though she were the undisputed queen of streaming.
With a straight face, he boldly proclaimed that Markle is underestimated in terms of her cultural influence. Cultural influence? If selling out overpriced Hermès blankets and making a pair of shoes disappear from store shelves overnight counts, then sure. But storytelling and artistry? That’s another matter entirely. It seems more like product placement and relentless brand promotion than any meaningful contribution to entertainment.
Once known for groundbreaking content, Netflix has increasingly become a bargain bin of mediocrity, occasionally redeemed by an international hit. Yet, Sarandos apparently believes that aligning the platform’s brand with Meghan Markle—a woman whose most notable cultural impact seems to be perfecting the art of playing the victim—is a strategic masterstroke. One has to wonder what kind of pitch she delivered to secure that staggering £100 million deal. Did she arrive teary-eyed, lamenting her perpetual mistreatment? We’ve all seen her talent for emotional appeals, particularly when there’s an audience willing to listen. Perhaps that was all it took to convince Sarandos to greenlight the investment.
If Meghan truly held the cultural clout that Sarandos suggests, then why did her Netflix series Live to Lead struggle to garner even 2.6 million views globally? Meanwhile, an obscure teen drama managed to amass over 24 million views in just four days. And let's not even mention her Instagram following—2.5 million might be respectable for an influencer, but it hardly qualifies as global icon status. If she were truly a cultural powerhouse, brands would be lining up for endorsement deals. Instead, there's been near silence, aside from a single overpriced lifestyle brand that few seem to care about. If everything she touches turns to gold, then where are the lucrative contracts? The numbers simply don’t add up.
Despite Sarandos’ public support, it’s worth remembering that Netflix itself allowed comedian John Mulaney to take jabs at the Sussexes during one of its own events. That wasn't a coincidence. The company is well aware that its royal investment hasn’t paid off, and Sarandos’ praise feels like an attempt to justify what is increasingly looking like a costly miscalculation. From the start, Netflix's deal with Meghan was a sinking ship, with millions funneled into a brand that quickly lost steam. Co-CEO Greg Peters even led the decision to cancel a behind-the-scenes miniseries tied to Live to Lead simply because there was no audience for it.
Now, reports suggest that Meghan is feeling betrayed by Netflix. The platform likely hoped for something akin to The Real Housewives of Windsor, banking on the idea that keeping her around might eventually lead to a royal reality show. The problem? Women like Queen Camilla, Princess Catherine, Duchess Sophie, and even Sarah Ferguson aren't interested in playing that game. Dignified women don’t trade in their reputations for fleeting clout. As a result, Netflix is now saddled with an expensive misfire, and Sarandos is left scrambling to convince the public that Meghan still matters.
One has to wonder what Sarandos truly thinks behind closed doors. Does his wife roll her eyes every time he pretends that Meghan is a cultural icon? Netflix’s ill-fated deal with her has become a cautionary tale of overhyped investments. The company thought it was securing a game-changer, only to end up with someone adept at spending other people’s money. While Sarandos might continue defending the deal in public, it's safe to bet that Netflix executives are regretting ever believing in the Markle magic. And now, as her era at Netflix winds down, it seems the company is more than ready to move on—finally realizing that the hype was never worth the price.
