Maid (miniseries)

Maid (miniseries)
Maid is an American drama limited series created for Netflix by Molly Smith Metzler. The series is inspired by Stephanie Land's memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive. Its story focuses on a young mother who escapes an abusive relationship and struggles to provide for her daughter by getting a job cleaning houses. It premiered on Netflix on October 1, 2021.
It received critical acclaim, with praise going towards the writing, tone, and performances (particularly Qualley's), and became Netflix's fourth most-watched show of the year. Its accolades include three Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including acting nomination for Qualley, and three Golden Globe nominations, specifically for Best Limited Series, as well as Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film (Qualley) and Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film (MacDowell). In addition, Qualley was also nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In addition, the American Film Institute named it one of the ten best television programs of 2021.
Premise
Alex leaves her abusive boyfriend, moves into a shelter with their toddler daughter, and gets a job cleaning houses for Value Maids. The show follows Alex's struggle to raise a young child, deal with an abusive ex-boyfriend and her own dysfunctional family, and navigate the red tape of government assistance, while working as a maid and dreaming of a future as a writer. The story takes place near Seattle with Alex frequently taking a ferry to the fictional Fisher Island.
Cast and characters
Main
Margaret Qualley as Alexandra "Alex" Russell, a young mother who leaves her emotionally abusive boyfriend, taking her two-year-old daughter Maddy and getting a job working as a maid.
Nick Robinson as Sean Boyd, Alex's abusive ex and the father of her daughter, Maddy.
Anika Noni Rose as Regina, a wealthy client of Alex's
Tracy Vilar as Yolanda, Alex's boss at Value Maids
Billy Burke as Hank, Alex's estranged father
Andie MacDowell as Paula Langley, Alex's mother who has severe bipolar disorder
Recurring
Rylea Nevaeh Whittet as Maddy Boyd, Alex and Sean's lively toddler daughter who turns three years old in the sixth episode
Xavier De Guzman as Ethan, Sean's best friend
Raymond Ablack as Nate, an acquaintance from Alex's past
BJ Harrison as Denise, the woman who runs the domestic violence shelter
Christie Burke as Tania, a friend of Sean and Alex
Toby Levins as Basil, Paula's boyfriend
Guest stars
Aimee Carrero as Danielle, a woman staying in the domestic violence shelter whom Alex befriends
Mozhan Marnò as Tara, Alex's lawyer
Théodore Pellerin as Wayne, Alex’s Tinder date
Episodes
Production
Development
On November 20, 2019, Netflix gave production a series order inspired by New York Times best-selling memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land. The series was created by Molly Smith Metzler who was also an executive producer alongside John Wells, Erin Jontow, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Brett Hedblom, and Land. Production companies involved with the series consisted of John Wells Productions, LuckyChap Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television. Directors of the series included Wells, Nzingha Stewart, Lila Neugebauer, Helen Shaver, and Quyen "Q" Tran. The limited series was released on October 1, 2021.
Casting
In August 2020, Margaret Qualley and Nick Robinson were cast in leading roles. On September 14, 2020, Anika Noni Rose joined the cast in a leading role. In October 2020, Andie MacDowell, Tracy Vilar, and Billy Burke joined the cast in leading roles. On November 25, 2020, Xavi de Guzman joined the cast in a recurring role. Aimee Carrero landed a role as Danielle, who is a fellow survivor of domestic abuse and becomes friends with Alex, Margaret Qualley's character, at the women's shelter.
Filming
Principal photography for the series began on September 28, 2020, and concluded on April 9, 2021, in Victoria, British Columbia.
Reception
Audience viewership
According to Netflix, Maid has been viewed by estimated 67 million households, becoming the streaming service's fourth most-watched show in 2021. In the streaming rankings for the week of October 4 to 10, Maid doubled its viewing time from the previous week and climbed to second place behind Squid Game with 1.9 billion minutes of viewing time. The series was watched for 469.09 million hours in the first 28 days of release.
Specifically, in the Netflix's Top 10 TV English titles ranking, during its debut week, Maid placed at number two just two days after its release with 61.08 million hours viewed. The following week, it topped the chart and garnered 166.52 million viewing hours. In its third week, it ranked at number two and generated 129.28 million viewing hours. The series remained in the chart for 13 weeks until December 26, 2021.
Critical response
Maid received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 94% approval rating with an average rating of 8.2/10, based on 49 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Maid takes great care with its sensitive subject matter to craft a drama that is not always easy to watch, but undeniably powerful, grounded by an outstanding performance by Margaret Qualley." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Kristen Lopez of IndieWire gave the series an A and wrote, "We need more stories like this and, hands down, Maid deserves all the acclaim it gets." Reviewing the series for Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall gave a rating of four out of five stars and said, "Parts of it are deliberately difficult to get through, yet the show is surprisingly watchable given the nature of the story, and at times even light and charming. Much of this is a credit to Qualley, who delivers a movie-star-level performance."
Violence researcher Margunn Bjørnholt wrote that the series has received acclaim for "the way it depicts the violence and for painting a nuanced picture of the violent boyfriend."
The American Film Institute named the series one of the ten best television programs of the year.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
2020s American drama television miniseries
2021 American television series debuts
2021 American television series endings
English-language Netflix original programming
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows filmed in Victoria, British Columbia
Television shows based on books
Television shows set in Washington (state)
Bipolar disorder in fiction