Why Michelle Pfeiffer Was The Only Choice For Apple TV’s Wild New Comedy Explained By Creator

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Michelle Pfeiffer is giving a standout performance in her new Apple TV+ comedy, Margo’s Got Money Troubles. The show’s creator, David E. Kelley, believes she’s the ideal actress for the part.

The series, adapted from Rufi Thorpe’s novel, stars Elle Fanning as a young woman who gets pregnant after an affair with her college English teacher and struggles financially. Living with her mother, played by Pfeiffer, she reconnects with her estranged father, a former professional wrestler portrayed by Nick Offerman, and starts earning money on OnlyFans to provide for herself and her baby.

The new Apple TV series, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, stars Nicole Kidman and Michelle Pfeiffer, who also executive produces alongside Kelley. This project is particularly notable as it’s Pfeiffer’s first collaboration with her husband, Kelley, in three decades – they last worked together on the 1996 film To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. The series, which premiered at SXSW, is receiving rave reviews, currently holding a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

To celebrate the premiere of their show at SXSW, Ash Crossan from ScreenRant spoke with David E. Kelley, Elle Fanning, Eva Anderson, and Lindsey Normington on the red carpet. Kelley, who has won 11 Emmy Awards, revealed that he and his wife have always kept their work lives separate for over 30 years. He explained they preferred to focus on their own careers, wanting to avoid any potential issues that could jeopardize their happy marriage.

Kelley later confessed that when he read Thorpe’s novel, he immediately pictured Margo playing the mother in the series. He gave both the book and script to her, telling her he couldn’t imagine anyone else bringing the character to life, and she agreed after reading it. He explained that what attracted him to Margo and her family was their humor, humanity, and unpredictability, providing a compelling foundation that would make the show unique.

There’s so much TV available now, and a lot of it is actually good. Because of that, a show needs to grab your attention immediately. Luckily, the source material already had compelling characters, which gave us a great starting point. What really made the story special and impactful, though, was how deeply developed those characters were – they felt very real and relatable. We were incredibly fortunate to have Elle Fanning, Nick Offerman, and Michelle Monaghan bring them to life.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles Gave Its Cast Some Important Life Lessons

ScreenRant noted the show features a diverse cast – including former professional wrestlers, Hooters waitresses, and cosplayers – all woven into a deeply personal narrative. They were curious to learn about the extensive research the creators did to bring the story to life.

It’s been a really intense process. The book’s author, Rufi Thorpe, did an incredible amount of research, spending a lot of time and money interviewing OnlyFans creators. Her work also led us to explore professional wrestling through autobiographies and stories. We really immersed ourselves in the world of the book – we watched wrestling, followed people on OnlyFans, and I even went to a cosplay convention in LA. Everything you see on screen has been thoroughly investigated and verified; we made sure we had a solid basis for including it.

The interviewer from ScreenRant expressed their enjoyment of the cast, noting that actors like Nick Offerman are known for specific types of roles, but everyone seemed to be trying something different in this project. They asked if this was a deliberate choice made during casting.

I don’t think it was about finding a specific type of actor. We ended up with a cast who were all incredibly enthusiastic about pushing themselves and trying something new. For example, Nick Offerman trained for seven months and learned to wrestle, even doing his own stunts! He went from his previous role to that in just seven months, fully committed to learning everything. Michelle Pfeiffer was equally dedicated, wanting to create her character’s entire look, right down to the details. Everyone was so eager and got along so well, which created a fantastic environment where they could really challenge themselves and grow.

ScreenRant asked me about the show’s emotional core and all the different layers to my character – like having a dad who used to be a wrestler, a mom who worked at Hooters, and my passion for cosplay. They wanted to know what part of preparing for the role involved the most research or was the most enjoyable.

Working on this project felt a bit like a crash course in motherhood, even though I don’t have kids myself. I have friends who are moms, and we had real babies, River and Graham, on set with us as much as possible. We did use some dolls occasionally, but River and Graham really brought a natural feel to every scene – they’d make noises, cry, or just do something unpredictable that we had to respond to. Being around them and learning about all the realities of caring for babies – like dealing with colic and the challenges of breastfeeding, even the messy parts – was a really immersive experience. I definitely got to take them home at the end of the day, but it was a lot to learn!

ScreenRant asked me about the character I play in the show and what kind of research I did to prepare for the role. They wanted to know what was the most significant thing I investigated to understand my character better.

I play the character of Rose. When I learned about the role – that Rose was a sex worker – I immediately wanted to read the book. I’ve had experience with sex work myself, though it was different, and I wanted to understand the source material. Aside from that, I’ve become a big fan of local pro wrestling in LA. There’s a fantastic group called Circle Six that I regularly go see – they’re performing tomorrow night and are amazing. I never realized how much I’d enjoy it. My dad used to watch WWE when I was growing up, but it didn’t really appeal to me. But being in the audience, especially watching the women wrestle, was so cool. It made me want to try it myself, and I actually got the chance to, and now I’m hooked!

ScreenRant: Would you go that route?

Lindsey Normington doesn’t see herself as a professional stripper. She tends to be very energetic and physical during her performances, which has led to injuries over time. She enjoys pushing boundaries and doing daring things –

ScreenRant: You hurt yourself stripping?

Lindsey Normington enjoyed performing acrobatic moves like splits and walking on the ceiling. While she’s mindful of staying safe, she’s eager to play more characters that involve wrestling, as she found it particularly enjoyable in this production.

Be sure to dive into some of ScreenRant‘s other SXSW coverage with:

  • Sun Never Sets Review
  • Dead Eyes Review
  • One Another Review
  • Dakota Fanning reacting to All Her Fault‘s record-breaking success
  • Kill Me Review
  • Sydney Chandler sharing her ideal Alien: Earth season 2 story for Wendy and the Lost Boys as production ramps up
  • Chandler, Takehiro Hira, Maximilian Lee Piazza & Brian Tetsuro Ivie talking Anima‘s experimental filming
  • Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Review
  • Saviors Review
  • Robin Tunney weighing in on a Mentalist revival after its Netflix resurgence
  • The cast and producer of I Love Boosters hype Boots Riley & Keke Palmer’s “unapologetic” new crime movie
  • Yul Vazquez explaining why he has yet to return to Severance
  • Jake Johnson on the chances of Peter B. Parker getting a Spider-Verse live-action spinoff

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2026-03-14 22:11