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Just renewed for a second season, Margo’s Got Money Troubles stars Elle Fanning as the title’s Margo, an 20-year-old aspiring writer who becomes pregnant following a brief an affair with her married English professor. Her mom, Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer), is supportive but pretty negative about Margo’s future prospects, while her estranged father, Jinx (Nick Offerman), is willing to pitch in and help out now that he’s out of rehab. Still, she needs money if she’s going to manage it all, and so takes to OnlyFans (and, at this point, who amongst us hasn’t?). Stream Margo’s Got Money Troubles on Apple TV, and then check out these other shows following women who make bold choices in the face of upheaval.
Sex Education (2019 – 2023)
There’s a fair bit of sex on TV (having migrated from the now largely sexless big screen), but that’s not the same thing as sex positivity. In this British comedy-drama, Asa Butterfield and Gillian Anderson star as an insecure, shy teenager named Otis and his mother, Jean, a frank and sometimes painfully honest sex therapist. When a school bully needs some sex advice, Otis dispenses some of the wisdom he’s picked up from mom, eventually making a name for himself around school by selling his knowledge as expertise. It’s a funny and charmingly raunchy show, treating sex with humor and positivity, and it features a great will-they-or-won’t they couple in awkward Otis and the more fearless Maeve (Emma Mackey). The tone is similar to that of Margo, as is the sense that sex is simultaneously funny and fine. Stream Sex Education on Netflix.
Single Drunk Female (2022 – 2023)
Samantha Fink (Sofia Black-D’Elia) is a 28-year-old alcoholic who hits absolute rock bottom in the form of an embarrassing public meltdown. Committing to sobriety, she moves back to Boston with her strict and controlling mother (Ally Sheedy) and reconnects with her best friend, Brit (Sasha Compère). Of course, for all of that sounding like a good idea, it also puts her right back in the environment that contributed to her drinking in the first place. Funny and humane, this is another show about a messy, complicated young woman trying to get a fresh start following a life-changing event. Stream Single Drunk Female on Tubi.
Weeds (2005 – 2012)
A classic of the crime-in-the-suburbs genre, Weeds finds a single mom making herself a success in a business that the broader society might frown upon. Mary-Louise Parker stars as Nancy Botwin, a recently widowed mom who’s desperate to maintain the upper-middle-class lifestyle once provided by her husband. She can’t really handle the idea of giving up the conspicuous consumption to which she’s become accustomed, so she decides to make some bank for herself. And what better way to do that, particularly in the LA ‘burbs, than by selling weed? (Obviously, the show was made and is set before the drug was legalized for recreational use in 2016.) Like Jon Hamm’s Coop, Nancy is just not ready for her family to give up on nice things. Stream Weeds on Prime Video.
Fleabag (2016 – 2019)
This critical favorite stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the title character (she’s only ever referred to as “Fleabag”) in a comedy-drama about a free-spirited, deeply angry single young woman living in London and sharing her romantic ups and downs via confessional asides to us, the audience. She falls, rather reluctantly, for “The Priest” (Andrew Scott)—she’s a confirmed atheist and he’s, obviously, not, so the relationship is appropriately messy. Like Margo, Fleabag definitely has money troubles, going from art theft to running a struggling (you won’t be surprised to learn) Guinea pig-themed café. Waller-Bridge won separate Emmys as the star, creator, and writer of the series. Stream Fleabag on Prime Video.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017 – 2023)
Mrs. Maisel was one of Prime’s first and buzziest original series, a comedy-drama from Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls) about the title’s Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a New York housewife of the late 1950s who discovers a talent for stand-up comedy. Inspired by the real-life careers of comedians like Totie Fields and Joan Rivers, the show is both warm and funny, with great performances and dialogue; it also achieves something rare in being a show about comedy that’s actually funny. Mrs. Maisel and her milieu are obviously far different from that of Margo, but there are similar themes involving funny, complicated women saying “fuck it” to life and career expectations. Stream The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Prime Video.
A Virtuous Business (2024)
This charming South Korean comedy-drama show takes us to a rural village in the impossibly long-ago 1990s, where four women from different backgrounds decide to make a go of selling sex toys and other adult-type products door-to-door. None of the women is in a particularly desperate situation, which, here, makes things even more interesting: They’re all engaged in an entirely taboo (certainly at the time) industry to make a few extra dollars, or for a bit of fun on the side—a solid reminder that sex-adjacent work isn’t only for those in dire straits. Stream A Virtuous Business on Netflix.
What do you think so far?
P-Valley (2020 – )
A soap opera in southern-gothic style set at a strip club in a Mississippi backwater? In terms of tone, this drama is leagues away from Margo. And yet, there’s connective tissue in the stories of women who have strayed well outside the confines of polite society, and don’t much care if you like it or not. P-Valley follows the lives (and dramas) of the people working at the titular strip club in the Mississippi Delta, the secret ingredient being creator and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall, who very deftly blends juicy soap opera elements with an appreciation for the talents of these dancers, as well as deft commentary on the struggles of poor and Black Americans in the South. A long-awaited third season is coming later this year. Stream P-Valley on Prime Video and Starz.
Vida (2018 – 2020)
Two very different Mexican-American sisters move back to their childhood home in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles following the death of their mother (the “Vida” of the title)—who they soon discover had been married to a woman. Mom left the daughters controlling shares of the bar she owned, but also a big chunk to her wife, forcing Lyn and Emma (Melissa Melissa Barrera and Mishel Prada) to make nice with a woman they didn’t know existed. The comedy-drama explores the intersections of queer and Latinx identities from the perspective of women, with a not-disproportionate emphasis on the importance of sexuality (the show is as horny as it is smart). Stream Vida on Hulu and Prime Video.
I May Destroy You (2020)
Series creator/writer/co-director and star Michaela Cole plays a social media influencer turned novelist struggling to reclaim and rebuild her life after she is raped. It’s a meaningful, but frequently very funny comedy-drama about the darkness that threatens to overwhelm a woman’s life, and the long road back. Stream I May Destroy You on HBO Max.
Casual (2015 – 2018)
Valerie Meyers (Michaela Watkins) is recently divorced, so she takes her daughter and moves in with her single brother, Alex (Tommy Dewey). Reconnecting with family is always fun so, ya know…definitely uncomplicated. He’s the founder of a dating site, and helps her get back into the dating scene while she helps him find some meaning in his relatively untethered life. Like Margo, Valerie is picking up her life after a significant upheaval and figuring out what she wants from life. Stream Casual on Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, and Tubi.
