A series based on Stephanie Land’s memoir “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive” is in the works at Netflix, Variety reports. Molly Smith Metzler, best known for writing on “Orange Is the New Black” and the American “Shameless” and co-producing the latter, will write, exec produce, and serve as showrunner on the project. Land, Metzler, and LuckyChap’s Margot Robbie are among the drama’s exec producers.
Released in 2019, “Maid” chronicles the experiences of “a single mother who turns to housekeeping to — barely — make ends meet as she battles against poverty, homelessness, and bureaucracy,” the source details.
“’Maid’ is a poignant portrait that chronicles Stephanie Land’s strife and victories, and has the power to connect with our members around the world as they identify with her struggles and root for her success,” said Channing Dungey, vice president of original series at Netflix. “We’re excited to share the stories inspired by Stephanie’s book and bring them to life along with WBTV, John Wells Productions, and LuckyChap Entertainment.”
Wells added, “Stephanie tells the searing and remarkably human story of a young woman battling to find a secure future for herself and her infant daughter, Mia, in the face of overwhelming odds and governmental assistance programs of impossible complexity. We’re delighted to be able to partner with LuckyChap, Warner Bros, and the extraordinarily talented Molly Metzler to tell this moving story.”
Land has spoken about who she’d like the book — and now, presumably the series — to reach. “I mean, every member of the Senate and House. I want them to reach under their seats like an episode of Oprah — ‘and you get a book!’ — that would be my dream. And really the people who firmly believe in this false myth that we have that the American Dream is if you work hard enough you’ll make it,” she said. “We need to change that so that it’s not just if you work hard enough, it’s if you work hard enough for a living wage, you might have a better chance at making it but there’s no guarantee.”
The best-selling author acknowledged, “I think a lot of people in the lower-middle class or the upper-working class will be the hardest to break because they’re the ones who have been told this messaging just full of stigmas like, ‘People on welfare are lazy, they just don’t want to work.’ I think that’s where most of the tension is — between people who need government assistance and people who are just over the line and don’t qualify. So I would love to reach people who are just over, or who refuse to accept help because it’s a handout and they’re too proud.”
Also a playwright, Metzler’s stage credits include “Training Wisteria,” “Carve,” and “Close Up Space.”
Robbie exec produces Hulu’s Kat Dennings-starrer “Dollface.” She received an Oscar nod for her acting in “I, Tonya,” which she also produced. You can catch her in theaters now in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and next in Fox News drama “Bombshell,” set to hit theaters December 13. She toplines Cathy Yan’s highly anticipated “Suicide Squad” spinoff “Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn,” which will drop February 7.
