If you missed it in April and May, now’s the perfect time to watch Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Apple TV’s original series about a young single mother who finds a surprising source of income — and creative outlet — on OnlyFans. Based on the novel by Rufi Thorpe, Margo stars Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer and Nick Offerman, and takes a sharp and funny look at the shame, glory, and complexity of female sexuality in a world where it can be sold as entertainment from your living room.
The story follows Margo Millet (Fanning), a promising college freshman whose dreams of becoming a college-educated writer are thwarted when she falls pregnant with the baby of her English professor (a wonderfully slimy Michael Angannaro.) The daughter of a single mother herself, Margo can’t bring herself to terminate the pregnancy and falls madly in love with her new son Bodhi. The problem: She finds it impossible to land a traditional job when saddled with a newborn. As you follow her story, the decision to start an OnlyFans makes perfect sense. Those around her, however, aren’t as understanding.
In episode 4, one of Margo Millet’s new OnlyFans colleagues gives her a piece of advice. “You’re gonna get messages saying that you should kill yourself, or destroy your p*ssy with a cheese grater. So [find a] really deep well of strength and just tap in, you know?”
Fanning imbues Margo with that deep well of strength without sacrificing vulnerability or realism. In some ways, Margo’s strength and scrappiness are weaknesses. Her inability to hold her tongue frequently lands her in trouble, especially later in the season when a custody battle with Bodhi’s father ensues. Margo comes by that toughness honestly — her father Jinx (Offerman) is a retired pro wrestler, and her mother Shyanne (Pfeiffer) is a former Hooter’s waitress who raised her mostly alone.
‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ • Apple TV.
One of the show’s most poignant themes radiates throughout the season, without ever being overtly discussed — it’s the battle for control over Margo’s body and sexuality. The first intimate scene we see between Mark and Margo depicts him debating whether he’s more aroused by her forearm or her legs, seemingly breaking down her body into parts. When Margo tells Mark that she’s pregnant, he quickly assumes she’ll get an abortion, but when challenged he asserts he would never tell a woman what choice to make with her body. Yet his preference is clear: When she doesn’t comply with his wishes to terminate the pregnancy, he completely cuts contact. Mark makes it clear that whatever interest Margo held for him as a lover is no longer present once she’s a mom. Yet when Margo starts using her sexuality for her own benefit and making money on OnlyFans, Mark reappears — suddenly interested in his son’s welfare, once Bodhi’s mother is outed as someone who displays her body online. In addition to fighting for her right to raise her son, Margo ends up fighting for her right to use her sexuality as she sees fit.
Margo comments on more than just sexuality and motherhood. Class and money are leading characters, too. But surprisingly, Margo is also a show about how we are all “content creators.” The series opens with a young Margo acting out an elaborate scenario with dolls, as present-day Margo’s voice over explains that as a child, she practiced her make-believe “with a vengeance.” Almost everyone in the series is putting on some kind of performance, from Shyanne’s playacting as a devout churchgoer to impress her fiancé Kenny (Greg Kinnear) to Jinx’s “carny lifestyle and career as a fabulist.” Margo’s kindhearted roommate Suzie (Thaddea Graham) is passionate about cosplay and creates elaborate characters, and Bodhi’s dad Mark is a mediocre poet who wears the costume of academic grandeur. As a series, Margo seems to ask the viewer — why are some forms of entertainment more legitimate than others? “We’re all just putting on a show,” says Jinx to Margo, once he learns to accept her career choice. And in the guise of her OnlyFans persona, HungryGhost, Margo puts on quite a show indeed.
‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ • Photo: Apple TV.
Early on, Mark asserts that if Margo has a baby, her chances of becoming a successful writer will be ruined — and it’s perhaps true that academic circles might turn up their noses at Margo’s new vocation. But when she sheds the trappings of “legitimacy” to focus on this new platform, her creative mind shines even brighter than it did in her freshman literature class. In a mix of videos for TikTok, Instagram, and OnlyFans, HungryGhost emerges as an alien, brand new to earth, who requests that followers feed her “memes and tinfoil and old-timey film strips […] your boredom, your sadness, your anxiety. I will eat it all.” Director Alice Seabright plays expertly with mediums as she depicts Margo’s videos, seamlessly integrating these new forms of storytelling with traditional TV visuals. In the first TikTok, Ghost’s spaceship lands on the home of OnlyFans stars KC (Rico Nasty) and Rose (Lindsey Normington), who note immediately that “she looks like a bad bitch.” A confrontation ensues involving stolen Sun Chips and silvery alien vomit. It’s bizarrely captivating.
Jinx detects that Margo’s character and videos work under the basic “principles of narrative,” equating them to wrestling terms like the “baby face” and the “heel.” This raises the question — what is the difference between entertainment, art, and pornography? In the era of OnlyFans, the old “I-know-porn-when-I-see-it” rule seems inapplicable. Margo’s content is clever, funny, and artistic — and it also features nudity. Margo frequently states that she’s not making porn and that she’s not a sex worker, despite being accused of “internalized whorephobia” by KC and Rose. In fact, Rose says, there’s no difference at all. “All sex work is art,” she tells an overwhelmed Margo. “Performance, fantasy… art.”
As Margo grows more confident in her role as a creator — and starts making real money on the site — she learns to put aside shame. The world tries to condemn her choices, from becoming a young single mother to showing her body online, but she makes them core parts of her identity for which she refuses to apologize. Ultimately, she eschews ignominy in favor of glory and pride. Showrunner David E. Kelley, along with the stellar cast, infuses every step of this journey with humor, heart, and sweetness.
