Maid

Domestic abuse is the subject of this Netflix series. Margaret Qualley plays Alex, the mother of Maddy, who is running away from Sean (Nick Robinson) her controlling alcoholic husband who is mentally abusive, especially when he's had a few. Alex packs up Maddy in the middle of the night to escape their trailer home only to be swept up in a bureaucratic nightmare of social services. Alex has nothing, no job, no schooling, nothing. To qualify for housing, she needs a job and lands temporary employment as a maid - hence the title of the show. Alex's mother is Paula, played by Andie MacDowell (Margaret Qualley's actual mother). Paula is an artist also living in a trailer and she is bipolar. Alex's father is a born again Christian who is remarried with a new family, an alcoholic abuser himself. The show is packed with sad characters, a ton of mental illnesses and depressing situations all around - if that sounds grim, it is. Surprisingly I found the show rather uplifting - maybe uplifting isn't the term. I was happy to cheer for Alex, who remained, for the most part, positive and resilient enduring one terrible hardship after the next. Margaret Qualley is fabulous as is the entire cast. After you finish Squid Game, here is another great show about financial inequality (as well as domestic abuse, bureaucracy, mental illness, PTSD, and lots more fun). Ultimately though, the show is about the power of a mother's love (and the dream of becoming a writer) to overcome the toughest of obstacles. Catch this fabulous show on Netflix.