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| If You Loved Margo’s Got Money Troubles, These Series Deliver the Same Brutal Honesty. (Credits: Apple TV) |
Margo’s Got Money Troubles doesn’t pretend life is tidy. Created by David E. Kelley, the Apple TV+ comedy-drama throws Elle Fanning’s Margo into a spiral of bills, bad timing and even worse decisions, then dares you to judge her for surviving it. It’s sharp, uncomfortable and oddly funny in places you didn’t expect to laugh.
Naturally, viewers have been hunting for shows that hit the same nerve—stories where young women make questionable choices, deal with family baggage, and somehow keep going anyway.
Online reaction has been split in the most predictable way possible. Some fans praise the show’s blunt take on financial survival and modern independence, calling it “too real for comfort”.
Others reckon it leans a bit too hard into chaos-for-the-sake-of-chaos. Still, one thing’s clear: audiences are hooked on flawed women navigating messy lives.
If that’s your lane, here are 14 shows that tap into the same energy—equal parts struggle, humour and questionable life decisions.
14 Shows Like Margo's Got Money Troubles
1. SMILF (2017–2019)
Frankie Shaw’s SMILF doesn’t sugar-coat anything. Bridgette Bird is juggling motherhood, ambition and a complete lack of stability, often making choices that feel like they’ll backfire—and usually do.
It’s chaotic, a bit reckless, but brutally honest about trying to survive when nothing lines up. If Margo feels like she’s winging life, Bridgette practically wrote the manual.
2. Rain Dogs (2023)
Rain Dogs leans into the discomfort. Daisy May Cooper’s Costello is trying to raise her daughter while relying on a friendship that’s equal parts support system and emotional liability. It’s raw, slightly absurd and deeply human. Much like Margo, Costello isn’t chasing perfection—she’s just trying to get through the week.
3. Maid (2021)
Few shows hit harder than Maid. Margaret Qualley plays a young mother navigating low-paying work, unstable housing and a system that doesn’t exactly offer a safety net.
It’s less comedic than Margo’s story, but the core is identical: survival first, dignity later. Every decision carries weight, and none of them are easy.
4. Fleabag (2016–2019)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge turned emotional chaos into an art form. Fleabag is sharp, self-aware and quietly devastating beneath all the humour.
Like Margo, Fleabag makes choices that complicate her life, then has the audacity to joke about it. The fourth-wall breaks just make the spiral more entertaining.
5. Shameless (2011–2021)
If Margo’s life feels unstable, the Gallagher family in Shameless raise the stakes. Led by Emmy Rossum’s Fiona, the show explores survival in its messiest form—family loyalty, financial stress and constant damage control. It’s loud, chaotic and surprisingly heartfelt when it wants to be.
6. Single Drunk Female (2022–2023)
This one swaps financial chaos for personal reset. Sofia Black-D’Elia’s Samantha is forced to rebuild her life after hitting rock bottom, moving back in with her mother and confronting her past. It’s awkward, funny and painfully relatable—especially when growth doesn’t come with a neat timeline.
7. Better Things (2016–2022)
Pamela Adlon delivers a quieter, more reflective take on messy adulthood. As a working mum, Samantha is constantly balancing career, children and her own sanity.
There’s no grand solution here—just small wins, daily frustrations and the ongoing question of whether any of it is working.
ICYMI: Where Was Margo's Got Money Troubles Filmed?
8. Workin’ Moms (2017–2023)
Workin’ Moms brings the chaos into a group setting. Catherine Reitman’s Kate and her circle are juggling careers, identity and motherhood with varying degrees of success. It’s honest about how impossible “having it all” actually is—and how everyone’s faking it just a bit.
9. Casual (2015–2018)
Living with your brother while trying to fix your life? That’s Casual. Michaela Watkins’ Valerie navigates dating, parenting and personal reinvention, all while sharing space with someone who’s doing the exact opposite. It’s awkward, insightful and quietly chaotic in the best way.
10. Motherland (2016–2022)
This British sitcom turns parenting into a battlefield. Anna Maxwell Martin’s Julia is overwhelmed, under-supported and constantly trying to keep up appearances. It’s sharp, slightly savage and painfully accurate about the pressures of modern motherhood.
11. I’m Sorry (2017–2019)
Andrea Savage plays a version of herself who overthinks everything—and then makes it worse. I’m Sorry thrives on social awkwardness and self-inflicted chaos, proving that sometimes the biggest obstacle in life is your own brain.
12. Starstruck (2021–2023)
A chance hookup with a celebrity sounds dreamy until reality kicks in. Rose Matafeo’s Jessie is juggling jobs, rent and a wildly inconvenient romance. It’s charming, grounded and refreshingly honest about how fantasy and reality rarely align.
13. Insecure (2016–2021)
Issa Rae’s Insecure captures that in-between stage of life where nothing feels settled. Careers stall, relationships wobble and self-doubt creeps in at the worst times. Like Margo, Issa is figuring things out in real time—and occasionally making things worse before they get better.
14. Girls (2012–2017)
Before Margo, there was Girls. Lena Dunham’s series follows a group of twenty-somethings making questionable decisions in New York, often with confidence they absolutely shouldn’t have. It’s messy, divisive and brutally honest about growing up without a clear plan.
What ties all these shows together isn’t just the chaos—it’s the refusal to pretend life makes sense. Whether it’s money struggles, complicated families or decisions that spiral fast, these stories lean into the discomfort and find humour in the fallout.
So, which one hits closest to home, and which one had you thinking “that’s a terrible idea” while still rooting for them anyway?