‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ Premiere Review: Charming But Struggles To Capture The Novel’s Magic

Margo’s Got Money Troubles is destined to be one of the most popular and talked about shows of the year. The series follows Margo Millet (Elle Fanning), who after having an affair with her English Professor, gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby. With an eccentric mom and obtuse roommates, Margo soon finds out that raising a child is not as simple as she might have thought and that every system is set up against her.

To make money fast Margo joins OnlyFans, which ends up only causing more complicated emotions and issues to rise, but it might be just the right tool to get money to raise her child. Based on the best selling novel by Rufi Thorpe, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is certain to charm its way into your hearts and make you rethink your perception of some taboo topics. Read our full review for Margo’s Got Money Troubles below. 

I read Margo’s Got Money Troubles earlier this year in anticipation for this adaptation. What I was met with was a beautiful, clever, and deeply human portrayal of people trying their best. The most compelling part of the series was its use of point of view. Switching from first person to third person depending on which story was being told, because Margo thought using third person made the hard times easier to tell. It was incredibly playful and a reminder of the importance of form when it comes to writing. That being my favorite aspect of the novel made me incredibly interested in how this series would adapt such a beautiful text. Though I have to say I am a little disappointed, because the show does nothing to bring to life this unique style of writing in the book. They could have hired another actress to play older Margo, to narrate or even act out those scenes to show how this is a piece of reflection, but there was no attempt to bring what made the novel so exceptional to life. 

The book is very quirky and clever due to Margo’s internal monologue, so to transfer that to a visual format the creators decided to change Margo very fundamentally as a person. The show is way more comedy centric than how I read the book. More reliant on making every character a wacky version of themselves rather than a normal person you would know. Margo is special because she is smart and has great ideas, not because she is an outwardly snarky and deadpan person. Elle Fanning is doing a really good job, but this is not the character from the book, which left me missing the person I read about. 

Yet there are a lot of positives. Though he only enters the show in episode three, the shining star is Nick Offerman as Margo’s ex pro wrestler dad Jinx. He plays this character near perfectly so far, having this intense teddy bear energy with a deep innate sadness lingering under the surface. It is my favorite performance I have seen from the actor so far, and he barely has any screen time. I am mostly excited to see the rest of his performances in future episodes, because I can already tell he is going to eat up every moment. The show also looks great, with a lot of nice pops of color and it uses its budget purposely and perfectly. Also implores a great soundtrack that supports the tone that they are personally going for. Most of my personal gripes with the show are from its failure to bring the book to life. 

When the next episode comes out this Wednesday, I am hoping I can detach my expectations because I think the show is really good. It is not the best at adapting the material so far, but it is charming and incredibly well acted. I can whole heartily say that there is so much more story the show has to cover and it is only going to get more interesting from here. The show is far from perfect, but is still quality television that is sure to be one of the stand out shows of 2026.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles is created by David E. Kelly and stars Elle Fanning, Nick Offerman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Greg Kinnear, Thaddea Graham, and Nicole Kidman. The first three episodes premiered on Apple TV on April 15. 

Thanks for reading our review of the premiere episodes of Margo’s Got Money Troubles. If you liked this article, make sure to check out more reviews here at Feature First.