In the teaser for the upcoming Netflix series “Maid,” single mother and aspiring writer Alex (Margaret Qualley) tells a friend about a book she’s working on. It’s about a woman who “lives in a big, beautiful house. The kind of house that’s on the cover of magazines.” This woman has a personal trainer and a financial advisor, and enjoys hot stone massages and reads first-edition books whenever she pleases. “No long lines to stand in, no time cards to punch, she has the luxury of time,” Alex describes. “She has time to bake seven pies from scratch, if she wants to.”
This character’s life is one Alex seems to dream of, and one that’s very different from her reality. Alex is an abuse survivor in the middle of a difficult divorce, and cleans the kinds of houses she fantasizes about in order to support herself and her toddler daughter. She needs SNAP cards to get groceries and has to contend with her irresponsible mother (Qualley’s real-life mother, Andie MacDowell).
The show is based on Stephanie Land’s bestselling memoir, “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive.” “When writers look to adapt material for the screen, we look for a hero. Someone who fights like hell, against all odds, to reach a goal. It’s usually a title reserved for superheroes. But I found a hero in Stephanie Land’s memoir,” “Maid” showrunner, exec producer, and writer Molly Smith Metzler said. “A riveting account of a single mother who leaves an abusive relationship and finds herself broke and homeless, ‘Maid’ is a story about back-breaking hard work and the power of a mother’s love.”
‘I wrote a book so people who struggle to get by could see themselves represented in an authentic way, and they could feel less alone. ‘Maid,’ the series on Netflix that was inspired by my book, continues that legacy in ways that absolutely blow my mind,” added Land, who also serves as an EP.
Nzingha Stewart, Lila Neugebauer, Helen Shaver, and Quyen “Q” Tran are among the series’ directors, and the writers include Bekah Brunstetter and Michelle Denise Jackson. Margot Robbie also exec produces the show.
Qualley counts “My Salinger Year,” “Fosse/Verdon,” and “Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood” among her more recent credits.
“Maid” premieres October 1 on Netflix.
