Fate: The Winx Saga’s showrunner Brian Young has a superpower. It’s not setting things on fire or making flowers bloom. His magic is in the immersive stories he tells, taking viewers to fantasy worlds they never want to leave (sans the monsters, of course).
Having been a co-executive producer of The Vampire Diaries, Young understands a thing or two about young adults — and vampires and fairies. Fate: The Winx Saga is no exception, with college student Bloom (Abigail Cowen) piecing together her identity while battling the monsters that occasionally threaten her school. In Season 2, the stakes are higher than ever with Bloom and her friends coming more fully into their powers, navigating friendships and love while also learning how to conquer darkness.
With new faces, threats and storylines taking flight in Season 2, there’s a lot to unpack, and Young was excited to sit down with Tudum to discuss it all.
🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐
Congrats on Season 2! When did you film and what was the energy like on set?
We filmed in June or July of last year. It was weird because Season 1 came out in the midst of the global shutdown. It felt a little bit like the show didn’t exist because people weren’t going out and interacting and talking. It was a little bit surreal for the actors to then come back to the show because they felt like it was different.
Where did you film?
I feel like I’m just gushing, but Ireland is so beautiful and I love shooting there so much. It just felt like we were coming home, coming home to the show and coming home to that space. Because of the pandemic, we all had to stay in our own little world. People weren’t leaving to go home very much, so it became a little bit like a summer camp with all of us in Ireland together experiencing the Irish summer. It was really, really magical.
Last season, the fairies tackled the Burned Ones. This time, there are the Blood Witches infiltrating Alfea. How did you heighten the threats in Season 2?
The Burned Ones were monsters. In Season 2, we’ve still got monsters to deal with because that’s part of the dynamic of the show. Now there’s the mystery of who’s controlling those monsters. What are the Blood Witches? What’s Rosalind (Miranda Richardson)’s deal? Because Rosalind comes back to the school, she changes the entire dynamic. I also think it’s important that we put a human face on our villains in Season 2. It helps the audience understand a little bit more about the villainous motives. It also makes it a little bit scarier because it could be somebody in our midst walking around beside us.
Last season, Lesley Sharp starred as Rosalind. Miranda Richardson steps into the role of the headmistress this season. Was there a reason for the recasting?
We were so excited about Lesley in Season 1, but COVID happened in 2020 and it scrambled schedules. Logistically, it just became impossible. Luckily, to make lemonade out of lemons, Miranda Richardson came on. One of my favorite things about working on this show is working with these classically trained legendary actresses.
We also get to meet a new character named Grey. Can you share more about him and what it was like to work with Brandon Grace?
One of the most exciting things about working on young-adult shows is finding talent, and Brandon is great. He’s going to be a star. We always knew that we wanted to pursue a love interest for Aisha (Precious Mustapha) in Season 2 because we felt like that was something that was missing in Season 1.
What would happen if Aisha met her match? Somebody who was also an overachiever, scheduler, awesome specialist. I think Grey, also being a loner himself, finds that same sort of solace in Aisha and finds a person that he can open up to.
And speaking of new characters, we finally meet Flora, who was in the original Winx Club animated series. What was it like working with Paulina Chávez?
What I talked about in Season 1 a lot is the origin story of the friend group. By the end of the first season, they are this tight-knit group. Any time you bring a new element into an already tight-knit group, it shakes up relationships. Flora, obviously from the show, is a fan favorite. I think that Flora in our show will also be a fan favorite.
Paulina is so, so lovely and so amazing. We talked about this fearless nature that we wanted to give our Flora. She has a great storyline with Terra (Eliot Salt) where it does make you want to be better, want to question yourself and want to really dive deeper into who you are when you have somebody so confident in who they are, like Flora.
It’s heartwarming seeing Flora be there for Terra when she comes out. There’s Dane (Theo Graham), who’s a queer chracter on the show. Why was it important for you to also explore this storyline for Terra?
I’m gay, so it was such a fundamental part of my high school experience when I was growing up. Dane’s story has elements of my experience, and Terra’s story also has elements of my experience. In Season 1, we saw Terra blossom into this super confident person.
I had spoken to Eliot about this early on in Season 1 because it was a storyline that I was interested in pursuing for her character. One of the benefits of Terra not being a canon character in the Winx universe is it gives us a little bit more leeway in terms of what we do with her character.
What was Eliot’s reaction to it?
She was so excited about it and so excited to play it. It’s one of my favorite storylines. I sat on set when she had her scene with Flora, and I cried because I remember feeling all of those things that she felt. Obviously, the difference in the world now versus the world that I grew up in is pretty stark when it comes to how LGBTQ characters are accepted. But it’s still fucking scary. It’s scary because you feel like you’ve been a fraud this whole time and you have to come to these people and be like, “Hey guys, I know you think that I’m this, but I’m actually this.”
You’re worried that they’re not going to accept you, not going to love you, not going to understand. Just having the scene where they all hug her, I love it so much. It is wish fulfillment. It’s what I wish had happened when I was coming out, that I just had a whole bunch of people instantaneously accept me and give me a hug.
That was very touching to watch. The Winx universe has been around since 2004 and has a large LGBTQ+ fanbase. Why do you think queer viewers are so drawn to this franchise?
We feel very, very different. It’s like, “Oh, well, I’m different, but in a way that makes me powerful.” The manifestation of having powers feels like that. LGBTQ+ storylines in general, it’s all about taking that thing that makes you different and making it powerful. The whole show is a little bit analogous to a gay storyline. That’s always going to be at the heart of it. It’s really just about harnessing that experience of feeling different and turning that into what makes you special.
Season 2 of Fate: The Winx Saga premieres Sept. 16.
