Michelle Pfeiffer and a toddler named Elle Fanning first crossed paths as screen partners in the early 2000s, in a story that explored matters of adulthood, parenthood, and the value of love and family amid the chaos of life.

Fanning was playing a younger version of her sister Dakota, then seven years old, who was making her major feature-film debut. The role was that of the daughter of a man with an intellectual disability, played by Sean Penn, fighting to secure custody of her in I Am Sam. Pfeiffer portrayed the father’s sharp-tongued lawyer.

A quarter of a century later, Pfeiffer and Fanning are starring in the new TV series Margo’s Got Money Troubles, an adaptation of Rufi Thorpe’s 2024 novel that has them revisiting many of the themes that first brought them together.

The series, which is now streaming on Apple TV, was developed for television by prolific producer David E. Kelley, Pfeiffer’s husband. It stars Fanning as the titular character, Margo Millet, a recent college dropout and aspiring writer from a working-class background who, after becoming pregnant with her professor’s baby and being left to parent solo, is forced to figure out how to make ends meet.

She finds a financial lifeline as a creator for OnlyFans, the subscription-based platform made famous by adult content.