- This page is about The live-action adaption of the Winx Club. For the franchise, see Winx Club.
Fate: The Winx Saga is a teen drama series based on the Nickelodeon animated series Winx Club, which was created by Iginio Straffi. It is produced by Archery Pictures in association with Rainbow S.r.l., a studio co-owned by Iginio Straffi and ViacomCBS. Fate was developed by Brian Young, who also acts as the showrunner and executive producer.
Iginio Straffi first proposed a live-action version of Winx Club in 2011, after Viacom (owner of Nickelodeon) became a co-owner of his studio and started financing his projects. Before approving production on the series, Straffi gained experience with live-action television shows, working as a producer for Nickelodeon's Club 57. Principal photography for Fate eventually began in September 2019 in Ireland.
Early in production, Nickelodeon's American crew members from the cartoon (including Bloom's voice actress, Molly Quinn) met with the Fate production team and reviewed the pilot script. Rainbow's Joanne Lee also oversaw the show as an executive producer. Apart from them, the crew behind Fate is entirely new to the Winx franchise, and the writers were recruited from teen dramas like The Vampire Diaries.
The series features an ensemble cast based on the characters of the animated show, with Abigail Cowen in the lead role of Bloom. The six-episode first season debuted on Netflix on 22 January 2021 to mixed reviews.
In February 2021, the series was renewed for a second season.
Plot[]
Bloom, a fairy with fire powers, enrolls at a magical boarding school in the Otherworld called Alfea College. There, she shares a suite with Stella (a light fairy), Aisha (a water fairy), Terra (an earth fairy), and Musa (a mind fairy). With the help of her four new friends, Bloom starts to learn more about her past. Meanwhile, ancient creatures called the Burned Ones return to the Otherworld and threaten everyone at Alfea.
Cast and characters[]
Main[]
Comparison of Musa, Stella, Bloom, and Aisha in Fate (top) and in press artwork for the animated show (bottom)
- Abigail Cowen as Bloom, a 16-year-old fire fairy who was raised on Earth by human parents. She is a first-year student at Alfea and Aisha's roommate. She discovers that she is a changeling.
- Hannah van der Westhuysen as Stella, a fashionable light fairy and the princess of Solaria. Unlike her suitemates, she is a second-year student. She initially antagonises Bloom, but later becomes her friend.
- Precious Mustapha as Aisha, an athletic water fairy. She is a first-year student and Bloom's roommate. Aisha tends to defer to sources of authority and has difficulty rebelling against the teachers at Alfea.
- Eliot Salt as Terra Harvey, an earth fairy who is Sam's sister and Flora's cousin. She was raised at Alfea but has trouble connecting with her suitemates, especially her roommate Musa.
- Elisha Applebaum as Musa, a mind fairy who feels other people's emotions. Because of her powers, she tries to put emotional distance between herself and others. She is a first-year student and Terra's roommate.
- Danny Griffin as Sky, Stella's ex-boyfriend and son of the late Andreas of Eraklyon, who is regarded as Alfea's hero. The star of his class, he was raised by Silva and is a second-year Specialist student.
- Sadie Soverall as Beatrix, an air fairy who can manipulate electricity. A first-year student with advanced abilities, she knows much more about Alfea's dark history and Bloom's mysterious origins than other characters her age.
- Freddie Thorp as Riven, a second-year Specialist student who is Sky's best friend. He is romantically involved with Beatrix, while taking Dane under his wing.
- Eva Birthistle as Vanessa Peters, Bloom's adoptive mother. Because of an incident where Bloom lost control over her powers, she is covered in burn scars. Birthistle was only credited as "Starring" in the episodes she appears in.
- Robert James-Collier as Saul Silva, the Fencing instructor at Alfea and Sky's guardian. He was mentored by Sky's father, raising Sky after his death.
- Eve Best as Farah Dowling, the stern Headmistress of Alfea, working behind the scenes to protect her students from threats beyond Alfea's boundary.
- Lesley Sharp as Rosalind, a previous headmistress of Alfea – who has a mysterious connection to Bloom. Sharp was only credited as "Starring" in the episodes that she appears in.
Recurring[]
- Theo Graham as Dane, a first-year Specialist student who befriends Terra, Riven and Beatrix. He has a crush on both Riven and Beatrix.
- Josh Cowdery as Mike Peters, Bloom's adoptive father. Like Vanessa, he does not know that Bloom is a fairy and not his real daughter.
- Alex Macqueen as Professor Harvey, Terra and Sam's father, the botany teacher at Alfea.
- Harry Michell as Callum, Dowling's assistant.
- Jacob Dudman as Sam Harvey, an earth fairy and Terra's brother, who has the ability to phase through walls and objects. He starts dating Musa.
- Kate Fleetwood as Queen Luna, Stella's mother and Solaria's queen.
Guest[]
- Ken Duken as Andreas, celebrated war hero, Sky's father and Beatrix's adoptive father.
Production[]
Development[]
The idea for a live-action adaptation of Winx Club dates back to 2011. Winx Club creator Iginio Straffi first proposed a live version in May 2011, several months after Viacom (owner of Nickelodeon) became a co-owner of his studio (Rainbow) and started financing his projects. At the Ischia Global Fest in 2013, Straffi stated that he was still planning a production "with the Winx in flesh and blood, played by real actors. Sooner or later it will be done." Straffi had only worked on animated productions at the time, so he transitioned his focus to live action, working as a producer for Nickelodeon's live-action show Club 57.
In February 2016, Iginio Straffi mentioned that a live-action movie concept was being considered in partnership with Hollywood Gang Productions, but the project never moved on. In March 2018, the idea was revisited as a television series after Netflix ordered a young-adult version for its streaming service. Straffi was involved in the early planning stages, and he declined a suggestion from Netflix for the male characters to be given larger roles.
After a pilot episode was scripted, Nickelodeon's American crew members from the cartoon (including Bloom's voice actress, Molly Quinn) travelled to meet with the Fate production team and review the script. Francesco Artibani, one of the Italian writers of the animated version, was also brought in to read the storyline. Rainbow's Joanne Lee oversaw the first season as an executive producer.
The writers behind Fate are entirely new to the Winx franchise, and they were recruited from teen dramas like The Vampire Diaries. Brian Young, who worked on seven seasons of The Vampire Diaries, is the creator and showrunner of Fate: The Winx Saga. According to an interview with The Guardian, Young chose to "ditch the look" of the cartoon Winx fairies, who have big eyes and sparkling outfits. He said, "Look, again, I'm a massive manga anime fan... but nobody looks like that." Some episodes of the first season were directed by Lisa James Larsson and Hannah Quinn.
On 18 February 2021, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.
Casting[]
Casting calls were held in August 2019.
Filming[]
The show's filming began in County Wicklow, Ireland in September 2019 and ended on December 13. The first season's primary filming locations included Killruddery House and Ardmore Studios in Bray.
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 35% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 5.33/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Flat, flimsy, and forgettable, Fate: The Winx Saga is a fantastical flop that fails to capture the magic of its source material."
Controversy[]
The series received backlash over the casting of Applebaum as Musa, who was coded as East Asian and whose character design was based on Lucy Liu, as well as the apparent replacement of Flora, who was coded as Latina and whose character design was based on Jennifer Lopez, with a new white character named Terra.
Tie-in novel[]
On February 2, 2021, a novelization of the first season, titled The Fairies' Path, was released. It features bonus scenes and character backstories not seen on the show. It was written by Ava Corrigan.
Notes[]
- Birthistle was only credited as "Starring" in the episodes she appeared in.
- Best was credited as "Starring" in all of season one and the sixth episode of season two.
- Sharp was only credited as "Starring" in the episodes she appeared in.
- Richardson was only credited as "Starring" in the episodes she appeared in.
- In season two, Dudman was only credited as "Starring" in the episodes he appeared in.
- In season two, Duken was only credited as "Starring" in the episodes he appeared in.
External links[]
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