Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles is one of the best — and maybe my favorite — novels of 2024. It belongs to my favorite genre: the found family. I love when messy, lonely people estranged from their own families manage to find their people and, along the way, find themselves.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles also happens to be very Gen Z. It’s about a twenty-something woman, Margo, who drops out of college after she’s impregnated by her married English professor. As a single mom facing financial hardship, she turns to OnlyFans to make a living. Along the way, she reconnects with her estranged father, a retired professional wrestler whose career offers Margo a roadmap for her own. He’s battling addiction; she’s trying to build a better life for her child while navigating a strained relationship with her judgmental mother, who marries a religious nut and absorbs his personality.
A24 secured the rights, and the series will air on Apple TV+ in 2026. Nicole Kidman reunited with her frequent showrunner, David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies), and they even brought in his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer. Kelley, Kidman, and Elle Fanning are producing, and they’ve put together a hell of a cast.
Fanning will play the title character, Margo. She’s perfect. Kidman has a smaller role here — and one that’s actually dissimilar to her other television work. She plays a mediator involved in the custody dispute between Margo and the college professor, who will be played by Michael Angarano.
Michelle Pfeiffer will play Margo’s glamorous, sort-of white-trash mom, and Greg Kinnear will play her shitty, religious husband. Thaddea Graham (Bad Sisters, Sex Education) will play Margo’s roommate, who introduces her to the idea of OnlyFans.
And finally, Nick Offerman is perfectly cast as the estranged father — a drug-addicted former professional wrestler who wants to finally have a real relationship with his daughter. Laura San Giacomo, Rico Nasty, and the always-exceptional Marcia Gay Harden round out the cast.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles is currently in production, just wrapped filming, and hits Apple TV+ in 2026. In the meantime, I cannot recommend reading Rufi Thorpe’s novel enough.
