A cast member from Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga has assured fans that season 2 corrects the mistakes that the first one made, specifically in terms of diversity.
The show was met with controversy when it launched in January 2021 as two characters from the Winx Club cartoon, upon which it is based, were believed by fans to have been “whitewashed”.
Musa (Elisha Applebaum) is long thought to have been East Asian by fans, but is played by a white actor on the show, while Latina fairy Flora was replaced on the team by a similarly powered white character named Terra (Eliot Salt).
In a roundtable interview with press, Salt said that she and the cast were “grateful” for the conversations that were had around the show’s casting and explained efforts have been made to set things right.
“I think some of the mistakes that were made in season 1 have been rectified,” she told RadioTimes.com and other press. “And really, I think everyone involved is grateful for the conversations that happened around it, and that have allowed that to happen.”
Flora will finally make her live-action debut in Fate: The Winx Saga season 2, portrayed by Paulina Chávez (The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia), with the character explained to be a beloved cousin of Terra’s.
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Speaking of her new role, Chávez said: “As a Latina, it’s very important to have representation on screen and it’s good that it’s happening, and that’s what’s important. We’re doing the work and every step by step, we’re going the long mile.
“Even looking back at the first season, I was on a different show. And so I wouldn’t have been able to be on the first season if they did have her, so it’s all a timing thing. And I think things really happen for a reason.”
Meanwhile, Salt revealed that the show will be adding more LGBTQ+ diversity this season in a storyline involving Terra, with the show already having one principal gay character in Dane (played by Hollyoaks alum Theo Graham).
Salt added: “One of the great things is that we get some queerness in the form of me. So I’m very, very excited and privileged and honoured to be able to do that.”
Fate: The Winx Saga season 2 is available on Netflix from Friday 16th September 2022. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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