Margo's Got Money Troubles: The Book Behind the Apple TV+ Series
May 17, 2026
Apple TV+‘s Margo’s Got Money Troubles — starring Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman and Michelle Pfeiffer — is based on Rufi Thorpe’s acclaimed 2024 novel. Here is what to know before you watch.
What it is about
Margo, a young single mother with a baby and no money, makes an unexpected decision: she starts an OnlyFans, applying the storytelling lessons of her father — a retired pro wrestler who moves in to help. It is a funny, big-hearted, surprisingly tender novel about modern motherhood, money, and reinvention.
Why it stood out
Thorpe’s book was a critical favourite for its warmth and its refusal to judge its heroine. It turns a premise that could be played for shock into a genuinely moving story about family and survival.
Read it first
The novel’s voice — Margo’s wry, resourceful narration — is its biggest pleasure, and exactly the thing adaptations struggle to capture. Read it before the series for the full effect.
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See our roundup of the biggest book-to-screen adaptations of 2026 for what else is coming.