Rufi Thorpe's novel Margo's Got Money Troubles follows an aspiring writer who has an affair with her college professor, gets pregnant, drops out of school, and embarks on a career as an OnlyFans model, both to support herself as a single mother and as a creative outlet. It was published almost two years ago, and seemed an obvious contender to be adapted for the screen. That kind of project takes a while, so the Apple TV version of Margo has the coincidental timing to debut in the same week as the third season of Euphoria, which also features one of its characters exploring the idea of using OnlyFans to make money.
Alan Sepinwall
Whether this quirk of scheduling will helps or hurt Margo in its quest for viewers (and Emmys), it provides a useful comparison point. Where the Euphoria subplot about Cassie exploring OnlyFans is primarily designed to titillate and to satirize the public image of actor Sydney Sweeney, Margo's Got Money Troubles uses the idea in a much more thoughtful and poignant fashion, while also managing to be substantially funnier. Though it wasn't intended this way, it's a classic example of the old Jean-Luc Godard idea that the best way to critique a movie is to make another movie. In the title role, Elle Fanning is frequently in the nude or appearing in various fetish scenarios, but it never feels gratuitous or exploitative. And the show has actual things to say about sex work, motherhood, economic anxiety, and found family, while also being a raucous time and a great showcase for Fanning, Nick Offerman, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Nicole Kidman, among others.