TV's Portrayal of Online Sex Work: From 'Euphoria' to 'Margo's Got Money Troubles'

A New Yorker article examines three spring TV shows that tackle digital sex work: Apple TV+'s 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed,' HBO's 'Euphoria' Season 3, and Apple TV+'s 'Margo's Got Money Troubles.' 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' stars Tatiana Maslany as Paula, a divorced mother who uses a camboy (Brandon Flynn) for companionship; the show hinges on the ordinariness of paid intimacy online. 'Euphoria,' created by Sam Levinson, follows Rue (Zendaya), Jules (Hunter Schafer), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), Maddy (Alexa Demie), and others five years after high school, converging around sex work as a generational vice. The season features a strip club, OnlyFans, and a sugar daddy, but the article criticizes its sensationalism and lack of character depth. 'Margo's Got Money Troubles,' created by David E. Kelley, stars Elle Fanning as a young single mom who starts an OnlyFans; the show empathizes with creators but is seen as overly optimistic. The article notes that OnlyFans remains banned from Apple's App Store despite the show's presence. It also mentions that 'Euphoria' employs former porn actress Chloe Cherry as Faye, and that the artist Petra Collins claims uncredited contributions to the show's visual style.