In one of the early episodes of the new Netflix limited series “Maid,” the main character laments that she will need someone to watch her toddler daughter while she goes to interview for a housecleaning job. You see, she can’t pay for childcare — the reason she’s seeking a job in the first place is so she’ll be able to afford it. This scene perfectly encapsulates the catch-22 that is her situation as a single mother and abuse survivor trying to escape poverty.
Inspired by Stephanie Land’s memoir, “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive,” created by Molly Smith Metzler, and executive produced by Margot Robbie, the show stars Margaret Qualley as Alex, a young mom struggling to get by after leaving her emotionally abusive partner, Sean (Nick Robinson). She was able to remove herself, and her daughter, from a dangerous environment, but there isn’t really anywhere else to turn. Alex has a car and a little cash, but no job, no reliable family or friends, no support system, and no professional skills. Her first night away from Sean, she and her daughter sleep in their vehicle.
Alex is able to get some help from Social Services, but it’s hardly a panacea. Accessing SNAP or subsidized housing means being buried in paperwork and red tape. The only job lead she finds is the aforementioned cleaning gig: one shift a week for a service that takes a cut, and requires employees to provide their own supplies and transportation. In the world of “Maid,” as in this one, the social safety net has quite a few holes.
As if all this were not enough, Alex also deals with a custody battle. Between her lack of resources and the fact that emotional abuse isn’t taken as seriously as physical abuse, the court sees her as the irresponsible parent, and Sean the stable one.
To be frank, “Maid” is a frickin’ deluge of bad luck and crappy options for Alex. But, thankfully, the show does not succumb to misery porn — nor is it a cartoonish depiction of working class life. In fact, for all the grim topics it touches upon, it’s also pretty funny. Alex’s natural sarcasm is heightened whenever she faces the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the public sector, and whenever she has to deal with her hippie mom (Qualley’s real-life mother, Andie MacDowell). In one particularly memorable scene, Alex has trouble following the lawyers’ jargon during a custody hearing; all she hears is “legal legal legal” as they drone on, a la “Peanuts.”
“Maid” can be a tough watch, especially since Alex keeps doing the “right” thing — leaving her abuser, only using welfare services until she’s back on her feet, working hard at whatever job she can find, putting her daughter’s wellbeing above everything else — in a system that is flawed at best, harmful at worst. But between Qualley’s engaging, naturalistic performance and its many real-world parallels, it’s a show that has to be seen.
“Maid” is now available on Netflix.
