The news that Meghan Markle's Netflix show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy award surprised journalist Fran Winston. The nominations were announced on Tuesday, July 14, with The Duchess of Sussex's cooking series “With Love, Meghan” among the nominees in the Outstanding Lifestyle Programme category.
Winston argues that a win for Markle would be a disaster for lifestyle television and set a very low bar for what it takes to produce such programmes. She describes the show as sycophantic and twee, and says it does not deserve a nomination.
Competition and voting concerns
The show is up against A Different Breed, George to the Rescue, The Motherhood and The Wizard of Paws. Winston states that any of these far superior shows deserve to win. The award is voted for by a panel, not viewers, and she fears that panel members may favour Markle due to her royal connection.
Winston references past awards injustices, such as Judy Garland losing the Oscar to Grace Kelly in 1955, which Groucho Marx called the greatest robbery since Brinks. She also mentions that Rocky winning Best Picture in 1977 over All the President's Men, Network and Taxi Driver was not universally considered deserved.
Impact on programming
Winston warns that a win would encourage producers to commission more similar content, which would only harm viewers. She notes that Netflix already dropped the show, and that the public does not want to see more of Markle's out-of-touch hosting advice with rented friends in a rented kitchen.
She concludes that a win would lead to more narcissistic people showcasing fake lifestyles on television, and that the voting panel should avoid making that mistake.
