Meghan Markle spent years building a lifestyle empire in California, and it has not gone quite the way she planned.
It failed miserably.
And now everyone knows about the meeting with Gavin Newsom that backfired on Markle.
The Move Nobody Saw Coming
Word of the potential casting comes as Markle and Prince Harry, who have been living in California for the past six years, announced earlier this week that they would be returning to the UK for an extended period of time.
The former *Suits* star is reportedly in “advanced discussions” to join the cast of the Netflix series *The Gentlemen*, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The part is being written for a potential third season, which has not officially been announced yet at the streamer. No details on her role have been released, but Markle reportedly met series creator Guy Ritchie “through mutual acquaintances.”
Deadline, which first reported Markle’s potential role in *The Gentlemen*, said the talks are in “very early stages” and are still “hypothetical” because *The Gentlemen* has not yet been renewed for a third season, citing unnamed sources.
Season 2 of *The Gentlemen* premieres September 3, with all eight episodes dropping at once. So the show she is reportedly eyeing does not even have a confirmed third run yet. That is a lot of moving parts for a very public reinvention.
In a 2022 interview with *Variety*, Markle said she was “done” with acting. “I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not,” Markle said.
That was four years ago. Intentions, it turns out, have a shelf life.
Markle’s failure in the United States was so complete that California Governor Gavin Newsom laughed off her request to get appointed to fill Kamala Harris’ Senate seat after Kamala became Vice President in 2021.
The Brand That Lost Its Backer
The acting news does not exist in a vacuum. It comes after a string of setbacks that paint a less glamorous picture of the Sussex California experiment than the couple’s PR machine preferred.
Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand As Ever and Netflix ended an equity partnership in early March 2026, marking a major landmark in the Duchess of Sussex’s six-year relationship with the streaming giant.
After moving to California, the couple signed an overall deal with Netflix that resulted in several docuseries, including *Harry & Meghan*, *Polo*, and *With Love, Meghan*. That pact was downgraded to a first-look deal a year ago.
Traffic to Meghan Markle’s As Ever online shop fell 46 percent during the first six months of 2026, with monthly visits dropping by about 124,000, according to data from a digital intelligence platform. That is not a brand on the rise. That is a brand running out of runway.
Critics of Prince Harry and Markle took to X to share how they feel about the news, with one writing, “Netflix got Markled enough and has cut ties.”
Say what you want about anonymous posts on X, but that one landed.
In 2022, Meghan shut down the possibility of a return to acting, telling *Variety* that she was “done.” Then the lifestyle brand lost its biggest corporate partner. Then the web traffic cratered. And now she is reportedly in talks to play a character in a British crime drama that has not even been officially renewed for another season.
What This Really Tells You
There is a pattern here worth paying attention to, and it does not require much reading between the lines.
The Sussex brand was always built on a paradox: walk away from the institution that made you famous, then spend years monetizing the story of walking away. The docuseries, the podcast, the lifestyle show, the jam — all of it traded on royal adjacency while loudly insisting the royal chapter was closed.
It is not entirely clear why the couple is moving, but the BBC reported they are not expected to return to their roles as working royals, and they are thought to be relocating to a non-royal residence outside of London.
So they are going back to Britain without the titles doing any real work for them. And the acting role Meghan is reportedly pursuing films in the UK, which is either a remarkable coincidence or the actual reason for the move, depending on which report you believe.
Some reports claim that the role on *The Gentlemen* is a primary reason for the surprise move, calling it “a key part of the puzzle.”
That framing matters. If the acting opportunity is driving the relocation rather than the other way around, then the California lifestyle brand era was a detour, not a destination. The Netflix partnership is gone. The overall production deal got downgraded. The web traffic numbers are sliding. And the woman who told *Variety* she was “done” with acting is now reportedly in advanced discussions to join a Guy Ritchie crime series.
None of that means the talks will produce a deal. Sources told one publication that the deal was not done yet, especially with the Netflix series not yet officially renewed for a third season. A lot has to go right before Meghan Markle is actually appearing on screen in *The Gentlemen*.
But the direction of travel is clear enough. The California chapter is closing. The brand pivot did not deliver the independence the Sussex camp was promising. And the one thing Meghan Markle actually knows how to do professionally — perform in front of a camera on a scripted set — is suddenly back on the table.
Hollywood has a long memory, and so does the British press. The return to the UK, if it happens the way reported, will not be a quiet one. The tabloids that covered the exit in exhaustive detail will cover the return with equal enthusiasm. King Charles, per one report, was first made aware of the plans and is pleased he will have more opportunity to see his son and grandchildren, though there will be no alterations to Harry or Meghan’s status within the royal family.
That last part is worth underlining. No change in status. No rehabilitation of the royal relationship. Just a move back to England, a crime thriller in early discussions, and a lifestyle brand now operating without its biggest backer.
The Sussex reinvention machine is still running. Whether it has enough fuel left is the question nobody in that camp wants to answer out loud.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter; Deadline; TVLine; Newsweek; Fox News; Forbes