In Margo's Got Money Troubles, as in the deflating new season of Euphoria, an OnlyFans account is a catalyst for high drama. Pregnant after an affair with her slimy professor, creative writing student Margo Millet (a best-ever Elle Fanning) decides to set one up to support herself and her child. This invites a lot of scrutiny from the people in her life. When her father, Jinx (Nick Offerman), a former pro wrestler with an opiate addiction, walks in on her taking risqué photos, he tells her, "This is not something an honourable person does." Her mother, Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer), an ex-Hooters waitress who raised her as a single parent, says: "You're giving people everything they need to decide that you are a piece of trash!" If that sounds a little melodramatic, then I should add that this particular screaming match plays out in Vegas during Shyanne's hen do, with both characters wearing headbands topped with miniature penises that bobble about when they move their heads. Safe to say that cuts through the tension quite a bit.
Unlike Euphoria, which wields OnlyFans primarily as an opportunity to stick Sydney Sweeney in positions that would make the writer of the Kama Sutra blush, Margo's Got Money Troubles is actually interested in what lies beyond that initial wave of shame. It's clearly a viable way for Margo to make enough money to give her son, Bodhi, a comfortable life. She has been sacked from her restaurant job, and is not in a position to turn her writing into a source of income. So what now?
Thanks to some sharp, funny writing and some immaculate performances, this series is the best recent instalment in the Nicole Kidman Televisual Universe, and it might well be Apple's greatest original series, too. It's written by David E Kelley, one of US TV's most prolific hitmakers, whose credits include Ally McBeal and Big Little Lies. Kidman features in a brilliant guest-starring role as Lace, one of Jinx's wrestling buddies. But the show belongs primarily to Fanning, who has to nail every note of the emotional spectrum as a young woman forced to grow up fast, as well as Pfeiffer and Offerman, who add layers of depth to a pair of imperfect parents who could otherwise feel like clichés. For a show that at times skews toward silly, there are some admirably grounded moments. Take the second episode, for example, which depicts Margo struggling through the painful haze of early motherhood on her own (it reminded me of that excellent, bracing series finale of Girls).
Clearly, there's a lot more to Margo's Got Money Troubles than OnlyFans. The relationships between Margo and her parents are fascinatingly complex and it could well hold our attention without that big dramatic secret. But it's refreshing to see a modern social taboo explored with empathy and genuine curiosity. Jinx and Shyanne both eventually lower their weapons, though it's unclear whether it's a "don't ask, don't tell" situation, or if their minds are truly changed. But we begin to understand OnlyFans stardom through Margo, who turns her account into a genuinely fulfilling creative outlet. She styles herself as an alien called Hungry Ghost, and tells stories about her with increasingly elaborate sets, mostly made, improbably, in her flatmate's bedroom. Margo later tells naysayers in her life that what she's doing is "art", and after watching what goes into it, it's hard to disagree with her.
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NETFLIX
BEEF
A heavyweight return for the surprise hit of 2024. This time, a young, working-class couple played by Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny fall foul of a rich, unhappily married pair (Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan).
DISNEY+
GET BACK
I've been on a Beatles tear lately thanks to Ian Leslie's insightful and revealing book John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs, so I'm dying to revisit this long, meditative series about a band in crisis.
HBO MAX
THE COMEBACK SEASON 3
Lisa Kudrow's excellent mockumentary about a washed-up sitcom star trying to cling on to the limelight decades after the fact.
BBC IPLAYER
MINT
British rapper Loyle Carner makes his acting debut in this beautifully shot series that transplants the plot of Romeo and Juliet to Scotland's criminal underworld (available on Monday 20 April). |
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When I spoke to Graham Norton for his GQ Hype cover, I was keen to debunk some conspiracy theories that had surfaced about the now-iconic Taylor Swift-led episode of his show that aired in October last year. First of all, there's a moment where Swift's lead single from her album (which didn't drop until the day after filming) plays. Domnhall Gleeson clicks his fingers, Greta Lee bobs her head, apparently along to the melody. Many people on TikTok think the song isn't actually playing, but was added in post-production. True or false? "The song was not playing," Norton told me over lunch. "That was Domhnall Gleeson messing. The song was embargoed 'til the next day." The other is about Lewis Capaldi, who says on the show that he was told he couldn't talk about his upcoming release after Norton brought it up. Internet sleuths seem to think Taylor Swift's team have barred other musicians from speaking about their releases on the same show. "No," Norton says, "that was his own people telling him, 'Don't talk about the EP because we haven't announced it yet.'" So there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth, kids. |
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GERRAN HOWELL IS OBSESSED WITH... GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE |
"I've got into the habit of rewatching it once a year. It's completely mad, I'm not sure anything else in comedy quite gets away with what it does." |
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