From creator/showrunner Ellen Rapoport and executive producer Paul Feig, the 10-episode HBO Max Original comedy series Minx takes place in 1970s Los Angeles and follows self-proclaimed feminist Joyce Prigger (Ophelia Lovibond), as she pursues her dream of putting out a magazine that will change the lives of women. When she crosses paths with Bottom Dollar porn publisher Doug Renetti (Jake Johnson), Joyce quickly realizes that, in order to achieve her goal and further the feminist revolution, she might need to do things a bit differently than she expected, thereby turning her original vision into the first erotic magazine for women.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Feig talked about how he got involved with this series, being a big fan of Rapoport and her approach to telling this story, bringing together such a great cast to bring these vibrant characters to life, why this series was such a hard sell to a network, never crossing the line into being lurid with the material, and that there is a plan, if they get to keep telling this story in possible future seasons. He also talked about his desire to still get his monster movie Dark Army made and why it’s been a challenge.

Collider: How did this project come about for you? How did you get involved? How did it come to you?

PAUL FEIG: We’re big fans of Ellen Rapoport, at our company, and when Ellen brought this pitch in, the minute I heard it, I was like, ‘We have to do this.” It all made sense. It’s shocking, but it’s funny. The characters she pitched were amazing. I love that this is based loosely on a true story. I grew up in this in the sixties and seventies, and I remember when Playgirl magazine came out. I remember how my cousins were so enraptured by it and buying it. I remember going to the 7/11 and seeing them behind the counter, hidden behind pieces of wood because the moral majority was cracking down on all that. I just was fascinated by that story, but it was really the characters that Ellen came up with. It’s a show about the American dream and about underdogs trying to make it. They’re just having to make it in a business that people look down upon, which made them even more of the underdogs to me. I loved the character of Doug because that could have gone in a very sleazy, ugly way, but the way that she wrote it, and then the way Jake Johnson plays it, he’s a very well-meaning hero. He says things where you’re like, “Okay, I wish you wouldn’t talk like that, but your point is made, and I think it’s a good point.”

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Image via HBO Max

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With Doug, I kept thinking, “Stop making me like you.”

FEIG: I know, exactly. He’s a guilty pleasure, which I love about Doug. He’s so smart because he knows his business, but he’s also smart enough to listen to somebody he doesn’t necessarily agree with because he can see when they’re right. He can see how Joyce could make his product better, and make it not just the one thing. It can be smart and have the titillating parts to it too. I think it’s such a great metaphor for how to get successful in life, not coming in and being like, “You’re terrible. Don’t tell me what to do.” It’s all about compromise and working together, which is a lovely message to put out. It just happens to be in this really crazy, out-there world.

You talked about how Doug could have been this sleazy character, but he’s not. It’s the same thing with Joyce, who could have easily been an unlikeable character, but who’s actually someone that you really root for. Is the success of that in who you cast? You’ve had tremendous luck with so many of the casts and ensembles that you’ve put together and worked with, over the years. Is that a big part of it, with something like this?

FEIG: It starts in the writing. You’ve gotta have it in the writing, but then it can all hit the rocks, if you don’t have the right cast members. We looked for a long time for Joyce, and then Ophelia [Lovibond] just hit the home run. She’s like the new Mary Tyler Moore. You’re coming into this really outrageous world, and every time you think she’s gonna get so uptight that she blows it, she is smart enough to go, “Okay, let me listen to him,” but also strong enough to stand up for her herself and say, “Here’s why I don’t like that, but I’m not gonna stonewall you. Let’s find our middle ground, so we both can do it and get what we need out of this.” That’s just the absolute spirit of good compromise that becomes a success in the American dream.

It really feels like that with all the characters. They’re all very different than what you expect them to be.

FEIG: They’re all like positive, smart, upbeat characters. In anything I work on, whether I direct it or produce it, I just want it to be good-natured and uplifting, ultimately. It can get super dark and super weird and very R-rated, but to me, that’s all in service of it being honest. If somehow we did this show at a place where you couldn’t show nudity, it would feel like the most false show world. That’s what this magazine does, so we can’t just cut away from it all the time. I also love how that becomes something that’s not titillating at all. They’re at work, they get naked, we take pictures of them, they have other lives, and there are other things they’re talking about. I love that the show is never snickery. It’s just about people at work.

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Image via HBO Max

It’s funny that we’re still talking about how unusual it is to have full-frontal male nudity on a show. When True Blood came out and seemingly had more male nudity than female nudity, everybody celebrated that. And then, Game of Thrones and Euphoria had that, but it seems to have all stayed within HBO. First of all, is it nice to be able to tell a story that you’re not constrained by those boundaries, but at the time, are you surprised that you’re still talking about those being boundaries?

FEIG: Yeah, I’m always surprised at all the things we’re still talking about. I’m still having to field questions about, can women be funny? What year is it? What century are we in? We tried to sell this show everywhere, and everybody loved it, but nobody would take it because they were afraid of that. HBO Max came out of the ashes for us because, originally, before they existed, we pitched at [another network], who couldn’t do it because of their standards. I got it because they’re under certain constraints. So, we were dead for a year. Every month, I would talk to Dan Magnante at my company and go, “I can’t believe we can’t sell Minx. How can we not get that on the air? It’s so good.” Suddenly, in the middle of the pandemic, HBO Max wanted to do it and I was like, “Game on.” I will forever be indebted to them for letting us do this, and letting us do it in the way that we knew it had to be done.

Did you ever genuinely think it definitely wasn’t going to happen, or did you always have hope that it would work out somehow?

FEIG: No, I was pretty certain we were dead. Not that I didn’t keep hoping we would come back, but I’ve just had that. I’ve had a couple of other projects where I’ve been like, “How can nobody take a chance on this? It’s so good.” The problem is, a lot of times, in our business, you can pitch things, but you can’t make people see it. You can even show them lookbooks and do trailers, but a lot of times, they go to the worst version in their head of what it could be, even though we would never do that, so you’re always fighting that. That’s why you always wanna get to do a pilot. Then, you can be like, “Here’s the tone. This is how we want it to feel.” And then, they’re like, “Oh, I didn’t get that, at all. I didn’t think it was gonna be that.” You’ve really gotta handhold people. It’s not their job to be able to figure that out, but at the same time, you’re like, “Just take a chance and let us show you what we’re thinking, and then, if you decide you don’t like it, fair enough.”

Is that the same thing you’ve been going through with Dark Army? I’ve been talking to you about that project for awhile now, and it seems crazy that that’s not been made yet.

FEIG: Yeah, exactly. That’s one that’s driving me crazy. The problem with that is that some people read it and think it’s too expensive. I never saw it that way, but that’s what I hear. I’m still working on it and trying to get it to that sweet spot, but it’s hard. I don’t even want to tell you about a couple of other things that we can’t get sold. It’s like, “Oh, my God, who wouldn’t want this?” But probably every producer in town feels that way too.

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Image via HBO Max

But you’re still holding out hope on Dark Army?

FEIG: Yes, of course. Yes. I have to make a monster movie. I have to make my monster movie.

I love how this show evolves into what is essentially a workplace comedy. There are some really terrific ensemble characters in this. Are there some of the ensemble characters that you most enjoy and that you would love to see more of?

FEIG: That’s the thing, it’s such a deep bench. I’m just so happy when they’re all together. Their interplay is so lovely. I’d love to see each one of them have their own story. Bambi (Jessica Lowe), alone, is so fascinating to me. And with Joyce’s sister, Shelly, played by the great Lennon Parham, I just love her take on the world. She reminds me very much of my mother, who was just so excited by working women. That was her whole thing. She worked at my dad’s store and helped out with that, but when I first met my wife, who’s a talent manager, my mom was just enthralled with that because she loved professional women. She found that really exciting. That’s what I love about Shelly. She’s really into this because it’s more exciting than what she feels her life is, and it starts to change her and make her more confident and make her be able to speak out.

What’s it like, as a producer, to figure out how to do some of the scenes that are more objectifying. Whether it’s the auditions for the magazine or the photoshoots, how do you create an environment, so that your actors feel safe and comfortable?

FEIG: First of all, we have the great Rachel Lee Goldenberg directing. She directed the pilot. Originally, I was gonna direct it, but I got busy on this movie that I had to do in London, and then I was like, “I think we need a female filmmaker to do this, so that she can have that eye on it and make sure we avoid those pitfalls.” But then, it all comes from the source material. It’s never a lurid show. There are no storylines in this show that are gross or predatory, or anything like that.

The first time you enter Bottom Dollar, you expect it’s gonna be lurid, but instead, they’re just smoking and pushing things around and putting makeup on naked people. What I love about it is that this show is immediately not sexy. It’s just a bunch of people, standing around waiting to do their job. That immediately diffuses it, and the show really doesn’t ever go past that.

There’s one episode where a celebrity is brought in, who really wants it to be lurid and have this lurid take, and it just grosses everybody at the place out, from Doug on down, because that’s not what their magazine is. That’s what’s so great. They’re doing this magazine to fill a market, but nobody feels exploited. In our world, that’s how we face it. Pardon the pun, but it’s a show about how the sausage is made. You’re getting the nuts and bolts of a business that could be any business. It’s not a glamorous world.

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Image via HBO Max

Have you had conversations with Ellen Rapoport about the bigger picture for Minx, as plans from more seasons? Do you have a good sense of what a second season would be?

FEIG: Yeah. When you set up a show and you go in and pitch it, you have to be able to pitch up to Season 3 and Season 4. Not in great detail, but to go, “Here’s where this show is going.” So, yeah, we definitely know where it’s going. I can’t tell you, but it’s good. It’s a very long-term story that will surprise you, along the way. Ellen is so brilliant, she’s got it all mapped out.

What can you say to tease where things will end up, this season?

FEIG: I don’t wanna give a lot of way, but one thing I can say that I love is that you really watch Joyce come into her own. That’s what I find really exciting about the second half of the season. There are moments where you’re just like, “Oh, yes! She’s owning it. She’s figuring it out.” The fact that she’s really owning it is exciting.

Minx is available to stream at HBO Max.