HBO Max’s new series Minx is set in the world of journalism and 1970s sexual liberation. But is it based on a true story, or at least true events?
minx, the new HBO Max series from Ellen Rapoport and Paul Feig, has all the makings of a great new comedy series, and its 1970s setting begs the question of whether it’s based on a true story. The answer to this question is more nuanced than it may seem. The new series features Ophelia Lovibond and Jake Johnson starring as a comically mismatched duo while they attempt to make waves in the journalistic world of 1970s Los Angeles. But there’s much more to Minx than that.
Minx primarily follows Lovibond’s character Joyce, an intelligent young feminist from Los Angeles who is determined to shake up a journalism industry dominated by the male gaze with a magazine that publishes articles about feminist issues plaguing women of the 1970s. Unable to swallow the medicine Joyce is peddling, most publishers reject her proposal until she meets Doug, played by Jake Johnson (known to most as the novel-writing Nick Miller from New Girl). Doug, a low-rent smut publisher, suggests that they couple her pieces about feminist issues with full-page spreads of male nudity: a challenge to the male gaze that permeates most of the magazine world.
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Doug’s idea is the core premise of Minx: Joyce and Doug form an unlikely partnership as editor and publisher, the foundation of which creates the world’s first women’s erotic magazine (the eponymous “Minx”), which seems to be heavily influenced by the real- life story of the European publication Suck. Suck, known as the first European Sex Paper, was an indie pornographic magazine that explored sexuality on the queer spectrum, as well as the concept of free love, coupling its erotic imagery with the poetry of Michael McClure and John Giorno. In Minx, Lovibond (known for playing Carina, who aides the Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy), fills the role of McClure and Giorno at the new publication. Additionally, as is referenced in Minx’s trailer, Joyce’s story is set against the backdrop of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, and seemingly influenced by a locale that laid the groundwork for other titans of sexual liberation, including Playboy’s Hugh Hefner.
Originally founded in 1969, around the same time that Minx takes place, Suck was at the forefront of countercultural publications. It was founded by a consortium of political activists, models, and feminists, including one of its most noteworthy contributors and co-founders Germaine Greer, a leading voice in 20th-century radical feminism. It seems highly likely that Lovibond’s character Joyce is heavily influenced by Greer, and her partnership with Johnson’s Doug is based in part on Suck’s amalgamation of founders from different walks of life.
Minx (which joins a plethora of new streaming content on HBO Max) also hints that much of what Joyce and Doug’s publication ignites is outrage rather than feminist liberation. Much of this outrage seems to come from politicians and residents of Pasadena and the larger San Fernando Valley. In this way, Minx pays homage to the Valley’s long history of hosting pornographic publishers and other trailblazers who contributed to the sexual liberation of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
So, while Minx is not directly based on a true story, it is heavily influenced by a real-world publication. In addition, Minx seems to take much of his character inspiration from the people involved with Suck and other magazines and publications of the same fashion. All of these elements work together to create a fleshed-out world, leaving minx ripe for commentary on both the feminism of the 1970s and modern-day feminism alike.
minx releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.
About The Author
Jack Philsinger
(47 Articles Published)
Jack is a writer with an eclectic background in television and feature development. He studied at New York University, earning a degree in Film & Television with emphasis on writing and producing. His writing has been published in a collection of academic essays (Mercer Street) and has also been awarded prizes both in California and New York (Tony Hawkins Award for Radio Drama. DTASC, Honorable Mention). His interests include film, television, tabletop gaming, and spending as much time as possible with his cat, who is just great.
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