Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer’s show is refreshingly great.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles—a new Apple TV series, based on the novel by Rufi Thorpe, about a young single mother who turns to OnlyFans to provide for her budding family—was made by people who know good TV. When the adaptation was first announced, it was revealed that the show would be produced by A24, helmed by David E. Kelley (the creator of The Practice and Big Little Lies), and executive produced by Nicole Kidman, as well as both Elle Fanning (who stars as Margo) and her sister Dakota. It’s thanks to this stacked lineup, along with a stellar cast that includes Nick Offerman, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Greg Kinnear, that Margo’s Got Money Troubles takes what could be a bundleful of clichés and turns it into a wonderful show that’s as charming as it is rewarding to watch.

The series, which premiered this week with the first three of eight episodes, follows the titular Margo, a wide-eyed college student who gets knocked up by her weaselly literature professor, Mark (Michael Angarano). Margo decides to keep the baby, much to the dismay of Mark, who is married with children (see weaselly!) and doesn’t want any lasting evidence that he slept with a student, and of her mother, Shyanne (Pfeiffer), a former Hooters waitress who is in the process of sanitizing herself to appear worthy of her boyfriend, a church leader named Kenny (Kinnear). When Margo finally has her baby, Bodhi, the consequences of her actions wind up driving most of her friends away, save for one of her roommates, Susie (Thaddea Graham). Simultaneously, Margo’s decision to have Bodhi also brings someone back into her life: Jinx (Offerman), her estranged father, a former pro wrestler who is recovering from opioid addiction. With her responsibilities mounting but no way to pay for them after dropping out of school and struggling to find a job, Margo begins to make sexually suggestive content on OnlyFans (with the help of two other OF creators, played by Lindsey Normington and the rapper Rico Nasty). When this job too begins to cause trouble for Margo, Lace (Nicole Kidman), an old friend of Jinx’s, steps in to help. What follows is the story of an unconventional family, formed by a ragtag group of misfits with Margo as its nucleus, all trying to survive while maintaining at least a shred of dignity.

The trials and tribulations of young, single motherhood! Suffering addicts with hearts of gold! Sex work without stigma! Found family! What I just described may sound like the most boilerplate CW show (and I say this as a noted lover of the CW and CW-esque shows). But it’s to Margo’s credit that what could otherwise make the series feel like an ordinary teen soap instead work refreshingly in its favor. Rather than getting bogged down in melodrama and emotional spectacle, the show has a refreshingly light touch grounded by realism and humor. Despite its protagonist’s rough circumstances, this series is, ultimately, about hope; every lovingly crafted character maintains the belief that they deserve to find something better, even when they’re going through the hardest moments of their lives.

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Fanning is, as always, great as the narrative center, hitting all of the beats well, both as Margo’s beleaguered self and as her racy content-creator self, who prefers a touch of the avant-garde in her sexy offerings. Pfeiffer is also wonderful as the conflicted Shyanne, who consistently views the state of her daughter’s life as a personal indictment on her own perceived failure as a single mother to Margo. The show makes full use of Pfeiffer, giving her some great one-liners—“There are no victims in Bloomingdale’s!”—as well as a number of opportunities to showcase her lovely singing voice. Offerman’s portrayal of Jinx, a father struggling with addiction and regret over time lost, is beautifully heartbreaking and avoids falling into the loud dramatics common to addiction narratives. Kidman is hilarious as Lace, whose background and involvement I won’t spoil but is worth watching to witness. But the MVP award of a great cast goes to Graham, whose turn as Susie, Margo’s wrestling-obsessed, cosplaying roommate, is endlessly charming. Susie’s role as Margo’s sole remaining friend and Bodhi’s part-time caregiver is a salvation—one that comes not without sacrifices and suffering of her own, which Graham portrays with nuance and care.

It’s the rare show that knows exactly how to take a bunch of common tropes—complicated mother–daughter relationships, the highs and lows of addiction and recovery, the harsh realities of young parenting—and turn them into something greater. Even if there isn’t anything particularly novel about Margo’s Got Money Troubles, it’s all the richer for how well it comes together. Falling and getting back up, as Margo and her loved ones learn, doesn’t come without humility or humor or heartbreak. Margo may have some troubles, but, thankfully, Margo doesn’t.

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