Ophelia Lovibond in “Minx” (insert: Paul Feig)
Courtesy of Starz; Dominik Bindl/Getty Images
Last May, Ellen Rapoport’s workplace comedy Minx, which garnered some buzz thanks to the parade of private roles in the pilot episode, received huge support from the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer in the form of a second-season renewal. then called HBO Max. But in December, the platform (now just called “Max”), led by WBD CEO David Zaslav, reversed an unprecedented money-saving move and canceled the show’s second season with just a week of filming left.
The cancellation of Minx raised alarm bells in the live-action script division, which was written off for tax reasons, much like a number of animation titles earlier in the year. It also ushered in a new, unsettling era in the streaming age for creators and their crews, who now faced not only the usual wave of renewals, with shortened seasons and reduced runtimes left, but also the possibility of their show being pulled from a year could be streamers with no space for display elsewhere.
It’s an issue at the heart of the ongoing Writers Guild strike that began May 1st and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA negotiations, which were recently extended to July 12th. Apparently Minx was a part of this larger industry trend, and has certainly been impacted by the ongoing work stoppage, as Rapoport continued to strike with her fellow writers during the show’s second season press tour. But executive producer Paul Feig tells the Hollywood Reporter that the popular series about the employees of a low-budget porn publisher and the feminist who helps them launch an adult magazine for women wasn’t quite the story fans were hoping for think.
In fact, when news of the cancellation broke, Minx producer Lionsgate and members of the show’s creative team, including Feig, were already aware that a number of interested distributors were on their doorstep – including Starz, the show’s current hometown. It also wasn’t the first time Minx had to brave industry odds to make it to the silver screen.
Before the start of season two, Feig spoke to THR about the show’s initial struggle to get into theaters; What made his cancellation (and reinstatement) typical and atypical for the industry? why he’s glad the show now exists on a linear channel; and why he not only loves Minx’s approach to inclusion, but also the depiction of sex and sexuality.
“Minx” was eventually canceled while you were producing the second season at HBO Max before it was announced that it would be picked up by Starz. His near-death was part of a larger trend toward cutting costs in networks and platforms over the past year, but this isn’t your first attempt at canceling the company. Did what happened with Minx feel like something new to you?
Yes and no. Any time a show gets canceled or postponed or whatever, there’s hope it’s going somewhere else, and that gives you a little boost. Then there’s dealing with the injustice, but then there’s acceptance. Going all the way back to Freaks and Geeks, it’s a critical show that had all these fans, but we were still the lowest-rated show on NBC. It’s very hard for me to say, “How dare you!” You say, “Okay, I think I understand the business rationale.” And we’re in a business, and once you don’t understand that show business always is still a business, really prepare yourself for a lot of heartache. It makes you think differently. At the same time, Minx was always a phoenix. We couldn’t sell this show at all in the first season. We took it everywhere. I can’t tell you how many boardrooms we’ve been in – streamers, networks, everywhere – with [showrunner and creator] ellen [Rapoport] brought huge stacks of Playgirl magazines and scattered them all over the table.
Everyone would laugh, we would look at them. We would leave them things. I always thought, “Who wouldn’t take over the show?” and nobody would pick it up. They were just afraid of it for various reasons. Some I think because of the theme, some just because it was a 70’s show – we’ve heard a million different reasons. So we all walked away and said, “It’s dead,” and it was dead for months.
Then HBO Max came out of the blue and said, “We want to do the show.” So I’ll always give them credit for doing that for us and then giving us a second season. So when the show actually got canceled when we were just a week from the end of production, it was a real kick in the head. But I give them credit for saying, “But end the season. Stop filming the show and stop posting.” They could have just pulled the plug if they wanted to save money, but they didn’t . And we knew Starz were fans of the show, so it wasn’t a total joke. But at the same time, I’ve had it before. That’s what happened with Freaks and Geeks. MTV wants Freaks and Geeks, but they want to do it for about a quarter of the budget. It’s like, “Well, we can’t do that.”
You’re now on Starz, where you’ll get a streaming and linear component to your release. While it’s not the days of Cancel Bear yet, you’re also now in a time where performance data is less transparent and there might not even be a show a year from now. How important is it to you to have Minx on a linear channel for Season 2?
It’s all. I mean that’s all we were looking for. I’ve always said I’d rather sell a show to QVC — the first scripted show on QVC — than buy a cool streamer that nobody’s heard of because we want people to see our stuff. Unless you’re a painter who burns his paintings when he’s done, that’s the only reason we do it. We want as many people as possible to see it, as many people as possible to enjoy and find it. Something very frustrating happened to me when I was doing a show I created called “Other Space” for Yahoo Screen. Yahoo started this thing that would become their online service and ordered three shows. We made it and put so much into it. But in the end they only promoted it on Yahoo. When I went into that, I thought, “We’re going to do the traditional marketing campaign,” and then they didn’t do that. It’s just so frustrating that we have this great show and nobody knows it’s there. So it’s about how people can access a show.
In the second season it becomes even clearer, however The writers of Ellen and the Minx capture the nuances of the character experiences and their storylines are very intentional. While some storytellers may fall into a great, succinct view of race or gender because they’ve hired more inclusively. Where do you think Hollywood stands in terms of active awareness and engagement in inclusive storytelling?
I think the good storytellers are very aware of that, and I think people are becoming more aware of that. But not that much is done. Actually, it’s either, “Oh, look at what we’ve done. We’ve met this or that quota,” but there’s no understanding as to why you’re doing that, or it’s not organic. Nowadays you have to be aware of all these things. I personally love the “wake” movement because it makes everyone aware of it. It increases the pressure. The people who get upset about it are people who just don’t want to think about it. But you have to think about it, because we represent everyone, and you don’t want anyone to feel underrepresented or portrayed in a way that isn’t necessarily exploitative but also just indulgent — like, ‘There you go. Here are your crumbs, let’s go.”
I really owe it to Ellen for being so aware of this. It’s something we try to do with everything at my company, but she’s the one who has to embrace it and make it work. I’m always amazed at how nuanced these scripts are and how well she executes that tenet. It’s very confident, and it has to be, because if it’s not, then you get to the situation you spoke of where you stumble and do the right thing. That’s great, but it would be better if you knew why you’re doing the right thing.
The show drew a lot of attention in its first season due to its frontal male nudity The show was much more about talking about sex and sexuality serious but open way. It’s a different approach than the genderless or hypersexualized binary of some current film franchises and TV shows. How does Minx exist for you outside of this binary?
I love how sex positive our show is, but in an almost innocent way. Because, at the end of the day, it’s a workplace comedy about people who are in the sex trade, but from a time when – I’m far from saying that’s innocent – they weren’t what an ugly thing it is these days sometimes can be. I’m talking about internet porn and the things that are so extreme now. There are certain shows that really try to push that line and I have absolute respect for that. But at the same time it seems, I don’t know, like you’re almost trying to get the audience to like it or to shock people when you see it. I don’t like shocks unless I can shock you to make you laugh. I think that’s why I fell in love with the idea of this show from the start.
I grew up in the 70’s and remember Playboy and Playgirl magazines. I remember the entire moral majority. And all of a sudden you go into 7-Eleven and there were things pertaining to the magazines that used to be open. It brings in all the conversation and controversy about how sex is portrayed in our lives, but in a way that isn’t going to alienate our audience like some shows that other people really like, but in a way that I’m just going to say : “I can” I can’t handle this. It’s too much about young people having sex. It’s not fun for me, especially as an adult.” Our show is sex fun. It’s an entertaining portrayal of sex and sexuality. Bambi (Jessica Lowe) is such a great character and she’s so outspoken. She and Shelley are in this relationship, but she thinks it’s kinda cool. I think that’s the kind of sexual positivity I want to see because it’s fun and silly but meaningful.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Minx Season 2 launches July 21 on the Starz app, streaming and on-demand platforms, and the linear channel.