There are whispers that the new Binge TV series Strife is based on a true story, however, the statement rings both true and false at the same time.

While Strife is a fictional series, it is loosely based on publisher Mia Freedman’s journey from magazine editor to owner of a digital empire.

For those unfamiliar with Freedman, she worked in women’s magazines for 15 years. She began her career at Cleo magazine as a beauty editor and ended it as the editor of Cosmopolitan. After leaving magazines, Freedman created the lifestyle website Mamamia, which is still extremely successful to this day.

The TV series Strife follows Evelyn Jones’ (played by Asher Keddie) journey of building a hugely popular publication from her lounge room, the same place where Freedman started to create Mamamia.

Of course, the similarities of their paths are stark, plus Freedman’s an executive producer on the show, so is the whole thing based around her?

Is Evelyn Jones based on Mia Freedman?

The show’s journey is based on Freedman’s life, however, the former Cosmopolitan editor has stressed that Strife isn’t a non-fiction recount of her life.

“Nobody is playing me. Asher Keddie is playing a character called Evelyn Jones. Strife is loosely based on my experience of leaving magazines to start a women’s website but it’s not my personal story,” she told Mamamia.

While Strife isn’t a true story, it is based on Freedman’s book memoir Work Strife Balance, which was published in 2017.

“[Strife is] fiction, so it’s not my life. We were all very adamant from the start that we didn’t want Strife to be a biopic. That’s why it’s inspired by the book not ‘based’ on the book. There’s a difference!

“We had a lot more creative freedom to make a compelling show without having to be faithful to any real-life narrative. But the world that we created and the things you see happen on Strife are all true to life — just not necessarily my life.”

How can I watch Strife?

All eight episodes of Strife are available to stream exclusively on Binge.

Stream Strife on Binge.

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