May 4, 2026 3:12pm PT

How ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ Unique Opening Credits Scene Was Created (EXCLUSIVE)

AWARDS HQ May 4, 2026: Variety's TV Week Is Under Way! Disney's Toast to TV, Emmy Producers Announced, More!

Michael Schneider

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Michael Schneider

Variety Editor at Large

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Greetings from Variety Awards Headquarters! Today is May 4, 2026, which means it’s 3 days until the May 7 entry deadline for programs that identify as Primetime programming by virtue of genre and were originally presented June 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026. It’s also 38 days until nominations-round voting begins on June 11; 49 days until nominations-round voting ends on June 22 at 10 p.m.; and 67 days until Emmy nominations are announced on July 10. And looking far ahead, it’s 133 days until the 78th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14 on NBC.

Welcome to May, or as I like to point out, the busiest month of the year for us TV folk. FYC season is in high gear, including this week’s Variety TV Week — hope to see all of you out there for our events of the week; I’ll be moderating several panels at our TV Fest on Wednesday and our Night In The Writers Room on Thursday — so come say hi! And you’ll probably see me moderating a few more things in the coming days, including at a big Sony FYC event on Wednesday. (Also, a thank you to all the kind words for folks who attended the “Tucci In Italy” panel I moderated on Saturday. It was a blast chatting up the Tucc!)

Next week is the New York upfronts, so I’ll also perhaps see some of you East Coasters in Gotham. Like I said, a busy month! So without further ado, let’s get going!

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EXCLUSIVE: How ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ Unique Opening Credits Scene Was Created

If you’ve seen Apple TV’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” you’ve probably been super curious about the show’s very unique opening credits sequence (which plays out along with “Blow My Mind” by Robyn). It’s the work of Peter Anderson Studio, which uses a mix of practical sets, mechanical rigs and CG to create something visually pretty interesting.

Creative Director Peter Anderson tells AWARDS HQ that he calls the opening sequence “Assault Course of Life.” Says Anderson: ” It’s a surreal, textured obstacle course built from the chaos of Margo’s life, where overdue bills become towering buildings, sunglasses form a tunnel of watching eyes, baby bottles spin, and swinging gavels threaten to knock her off course. A deliberately DIY 3D Margo hurtles through it all, climbing, dodging, leaping and occasionally failing, in a bonkers gauntlet where the domestic and the fantastical collide.”

Anderson says the way Margo (Elle Fanning) creates an OnlyFans account and content inspired the DIY sensibility of the opening. “We built the sets using original props, costumes and materials from the production wherever possible, from fabrics and baby clothes through to trinkets and her miniature set, and then made additional pieces to match. It let us root everything in her reality while still pushing it into something heightened and surreal.”

The set in the sequence was fully hand built, made from hundreds of modular tiles, each one individually constructed with its own materials, textures and references. “Many had embedded practical lighting, and we included mechanical elements like spinning bottles driven by custom rigs,” Anderson says. “We used original props throughout, alongside our own builds, shot everything physically on a bespoke rig with interchangeable walls and floors, and then combined it with a CG Margo, using a practical stand-in on set, plus subtle digital embellishments to extend and enhance the world.

We could only make something like this because we had real trust and support from everyone at A24, Apple and director Dearbhla Walsh,” he adds. “It brought together a brilliant team across set build, props, textiles, mechanics, cinematography, design and animation, all working in sync, and that shared energy and care is what allowed us to build something this detailed and playful.”

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How 'Margo's Got Money Troubles' Unique Opening Credits Scene Was Created (EXCLUSIVE)