Money Problems

## Episode guide

"**Money Problems**" is the second episode of the second season of *Maddox* and the sixteenth episode of the series overall. It premiered in 2023.

## Synopsis

Jet takes up a part-time job to support his family. Boogie throws his hat in the ring for student council.

## Plot

In the waiting room of the hospital, Jet tries to ease his sister Chloe’s anxieties about the news they’re about to hear while his brother Hayden is occupied with his Nintendo Switch, much to their mother Evelyn's chagrin. Eventually, the family is informed by a doctor that the family that Evelyn's husband and the kids' father Will's pancreatic cancer has progressed to stage IV. Evelyn stresses about entering the workforce after having been a stay-at-home mom for so many years. Jet promises to help support her and the rest of the family however he can.

The school is adorned with Ancient Greece-inspired decorations, including cutouts of Greek columns and busts. Over the intercom, Lucy, who heads the *Good Morning, Maddox!* team, announces the student council elections. With Rob’s support, Boogie decides to run for a seat. When the two go to the junior class sign-up sheet, they’re met by Kelsey, who unsuccessfully tries to convince Boogie not to run by reminding him he doesn’t care about student council. Lucy asks Hakeem and Ehsan for a collaboration between *Good Morning, Maddox!* and The Reel Deal, in which The Reel Deal provides a video feed for the radio show. Hakeem and Ehsan accept.

After school, Jet starts his new part-time job at The Cool Down, where Jaz also works to gain more independence from her parents. Jaz tells Jet to give Boogie advice on being a better partner. When Jet tells Jaz she can’t trust that his advice will be any good, Jaz challenges him to show his date skills for her, to which he agrees on the condition that it is low budget.

Later that week, the student campaigns are in full force. Boogie has the support of the basketball team and the cheerleaders, while Kelsey has the support of Alphabet Soup thanks to Mars and Andrea advocating on her behalf. Kelsey worries that it is not enough. Meanwhile, Lucy hosts interviews with Hudson, the expected student council president, and Debby, the frontrunner for one of the junior class seats, with Chloe's help. The interviews are filmed and projected by Hakeem, Ehsan and freshman Caleb, who Ehsan commends for fixing some early technical mishaps.

Jet hosts his casual date with Jaz at The Cool Down after it has closed for the day. The two share a smoothie and fries as they eat burgers and dance around the restaurant as they clean it together. As they sit on the countertop at the end of the night, Jet expresses admiration towards Jaz for taking a waitressing job, admitting that he’s only doing it because his dad is sick. He receives a call from a panicked Chloe about his dad. Before he leaves, he tells Jaz that her family hasn’t dimmed her light and that she should shoot higher in her relationship.

On Friday, fellow *Good Morning, Maddox!* members Noelle and Rachel announce the student council election results. As expected, Hudson is the student council president, while Debby has won one of the junior class seats. Boogie beats out Kelsey for the other junior class spot, while Ezra and Kaz Genszky are the freshman class representatives. When Boogie tries to congratulate Kelsey for a campaign well-run, she calls him a fraud and walks off. Rob calls her a sore loser.

## Credits

### Cast

#### Starring

* Wesley Carter as Hakeem Franklin
* Julia Chee as Andrea Salazar
* Samir Devani as Ehsan Patel
* Emily Leung as Kelsey Ma
* Teanna Mathers as Jaz Miller
* Rosalía Mejía as Lucy Suárez
* Simon Olliges as Jet Webster
* Cleo Robinson as Debby Murphy
* Brandon Whitehead as Boogie Forman
* Tanner Paige Wise as Mars Maddox

#### Recurring

* Lily Campbell-Jones as Evelyn Webster
* Taylor Kaufman as Rachel Simmons
* Georgina Kwok as Noelle Wong
* Colton Rodiek as Hayden Webster
* Joel Seidman as Caleb Blumenthal
* Shannon York as Chloe Webster
* Jeffrey Yu as Hudson Wong
* Brayden Ziegler as Rob

## Trivia

* This episode takes its name from the song "Money Problems" by Max Frost.
* This episode marks the first appearances of Rosalía Mejía as Lucy Suárez, Cleo Robinson as Debby Murphy, Lily Campbell-Jones as Evelyn Webster, Taylor Kaufman as Rachel Simmons, Georgina Kwok as Noelle Wong, Colton Rodiek as Hayden Webster, Joel Seidman as Caleb Blumenthal, Shannon York as Chloe Webster and Jeffrey Yu as Hudson Wong.
	+ The characters Rachel Simmons, Noelle Wong and Hudson Wong previously appeared in *Young Adults*. While Georgina Kwok reprises her role as Noelle, Rachel was previously portrayed by Autumn Pesch and Hudson was portrayed by Weilu Fan.
* This is the first episode in which Kaz Genszky is mentioned, though he does not appear.