Principal photography has begun in Wicklow for the upcoming Netflix show, Fate: The Winx Saga. The series is a live action, young adult adaptation based on the popular Italian animated franchise Winx Club.

The series features Brian Young (Vampire Diaries, Kyle XY) as showrunner and Judy Counihan and Kris Thykier from Archery Pictures (Riviera, The State) as executive producers. Iginio Straffi, CEO of Rainbow Group (Winx Club, 44 Cats, Gladiator Of Rome) also acts as executive producer.

“We are extremely proud to bring this iconic set of strong female characters to life," says Netflix content executive Jennifer Breslow. "We are committed to delivering a live action series that honours the original animated series, but also allows new fans to come along for the ride. Brian Young has done an incredible job with the adaptation and found a way to create a wildly entertaining and addictive genre series”

Inspired by the Italian cartoon format, the six-episode series follows the coming-of-age journey of five unlikely friends attending Alfea, a magical boarding school in the Otherworld. There, they must learn to master their magical powers while navigating love, rivalries, and the monsters that threaten their very existence.

Casting includes Abigail Cowen as Bloom (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Fosters), Hannah van der Westhuysen as Stella (The Fugitives, Frankenstein), Precious Mustapha as Aisha (Endeavour), Eliot Salt as Terra (Gameface), Elisha Applebaum as Musa (Undercover Hooligan, No Reasons), Sadie Soverall as Beatrix (Rose Plays Julie), Freddie Thorp as Riven (The Discovery of Witches, Safe, Overdrive), Danny Griffin as Sky (So Awkward, The Gentlemen), Theo Graham as Dane (Clink, Hollyoaks, Brief Encounters) and Jacob Dudman as Sam (The Stranger, Medici, The A List).

Eve Best (Nurse Jackie), Robert James-Collier (Downton Abbey), Josh Cowdery (Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them) Alex Macqueen (The Thick of It, Sally 4Ever) and Eva Birthistle (Brooklyn, The Last Kingdom) also star in the upcoming show.

“I know I’m a writer, but words truly cannot describe how excited we are to be bringing Fate: The Winx Saga to life with these incredible actors," says showrunner Brian Young. "I can’t wait for Winx fans all over the world to see what we have in store for them, and for an entirely new audience to discover what we love so much about this world and these characters.”

Fate: The Winx Saga will have six 60-minute episodes directed by Lisa James Larsson, cast by Kate Ringsell and series produced by Jon Finn.