There is a certain type of show that materializes once a decade — maybe every two. Come Monday, there will be mentions of it in school hallways and watercooler conversations amongst coworkers. It’s the kind of show that people will text and tweet about, or maybe begin throwing watch parties for. When the first episode fades to the credits, you will know you’re in for the ride of what could be the biggest fantasy show of the year — and the years to come.
The Wheel of Time, which premieres its first three episodes today on Prime Video, is more than just a show. It is an immersive intergenerational tale, a story set in a fantasy world where magic unquestionably exists, but only some can access its power. In the show, a mysterious yet powerful woman named Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) stumbles into a little village called Two Rivers and discovers five young men and women — one of whom is suspected to hold the fate of humanity in their hands in a race against time.
Two of these five young villagers are Egwene and Nynaeve, played respectively by Madeleine Madden and Zoë Robins, a pair of talented actors whom you’ll surely hear more about in the coming years. When asked what drew her to this project, Madden, who plays the surefire Egwene al’Vere, says she was drawn to the narrative.
“I think just the story. Like, who doesn’t want to be in a fantasy show, you know?” Madden says. “I think there are no limits. There are no boundaries to what a person can do in a fantasy world. I think that is something that’s really enticing.”
Robins, the gifted actor behind the rebellious and protective Nynaeve al’Meara, agrees. “I think, for one, the world-building is like nothing else I’ve watched or experienced before,” she says, adding The Wheel of Time creative team went to great lengths to construct the series. “The detail of these characters in this world,” she says, “there isn’t a stone left unturned.”
The television series is based on Robert Jordan’s book series, which comprises 14 novels (a number of which climbed The New York Times best-sellers list), a prequel, and two companion books. The final three books in the series were completed after Jordan died in 2007 by fellow fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson, who received extensive notes written by Jordan before he passed away.
Robins reveals that both she and Madden had similar processes when it came to reading the books. Robins bought a copy of the first novel and “read as fast as I could” when she was cast, but quickly realized while filming that it was only doing her a disservice — especially since parts of the TV adaptation differ slightly from the books.
“In order to stay true to the moment of our characters and what we are doing in the show, we both found it helpful to put the book down for a while and focus on what we were doing in the here and now,” says Robins.
Robins and Madden stayed present during filming thanks to showrunner Rafe Judkins, who Madden says is “the beating heart of this show.”
She continues, “He’s such a humble, dedicated, kind, funny person. I think you just want to have the opportunity to work with people like that, especially for as long as we’re working on this show. It’s really important to have good people around you that care about the work as much as you do. So, I think those were the things that really pulled me in.”
Without hesitation, Robins echoes her co-star’s sentiment about Judkins. “I had an initial conversation with Rafe right at the beginning when I was doing my casting process still in New Zealand, and I could just feel how much he cares about this show. I mean, he’s grown up with the books. It’s had a huge impact on his life. He and his mom read it together, which is just so lovely. He’s spoken to many people who have said that these books changed their lives and helped them inform choices and helped them chase their dreams. That’s obviously really intimidating but also such a beautiful thing to have a small part of. So, I think all of that combined is just one of the very many reasons why we had to say yes.”
When I cautiously broach the subject of what the pair thinks about the public discourse about the show and its comparison of the series to Game of Thrones, Madden answers graciously. “I think it’s a natural thing for people to compare it to Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings,” she says. “I will say that The Wheel of Time was written before Game of Thrones, and I think that’s something that a lot of people don’t really know.”
Like Game of Thrones, creating a fantasy series of this magnitude can be incredibly daunting to pull off, but Madden is confident fans will find The Wheel of Time to be very distinct from its HBO counterpart. “I think they will see that it is very different in its own right,” she says. “The spirituality, the gender roles, [and] the themes that we explore are different.”
For starters, The Wheel of Time imagines a world where women are in power. “It’s really different [than] what’s out there at the moment,” Robins says. She appreciates that the story provides commentary on “duality and balance and gender stereotypes, and I think it doesn’t force it down your throat, as well. It’s very much ‘This is the world, and take it as it is.’ And our characters exist as they are. And no one questions them. Well, a few people do,” she says with a laugh. “It’s not something that’s radical that these women speak their minds and act the way they do and follow their dreams and hearts.”
In The Wheel of Time, Rosamund Pike and Sophie Okonedo, two of the powerful women in this fictional world, take Robins and Madden under their wing — both on the show and beyond it.
“Working with Rosamund [Pike] and Sophie [Okonedo] and actors of that caliber, it’s just been mind-blowing to even just get the opportunity,” says Robins. “And Rosamund in particular has been somewhat of a guide throughout our process in this journey on the show. But I also feel like I’ve learned so much [from] Maddie and the crew around me and the people here in Prague,” which is where the show was primarily shot.
The series is also unlike others in its genre because it prioritizes, features, and makes heroes of multiple characters of color in the story — which hasn’t historically been the case for many fantasy series. For Robins, the inclusive casting “is real life.”
The diversity seen in The Wheel of Time world is something Jordan wrote into the story, as Madden says, and “is a reflection of what our society looks like.”
Madden continues, “I think it’s about time. I think it’s also a big testament to open casting, which I think is very important, and that’s something that Rafe [Judkins] and Kelly Hendry, our fantastic casting director, have done such a brilliant job of doing.”
More than anything, the show is about the call to greatness — and more importantly — how it can change one’s life forever, which Robins knows a thing or two about recently.
“We’ve all kind of gone on an interesting journey together that’s somewhat paralleled our characters, where we’ve all left our homes to come here like our characters left their homes in the beginning of episode one, and we’ve all really helped each other through the last two years of our lives, navigating this really wild and intense and wonderful time.”
When I half-jokingly ask if the pair is ready for the show to absolutely blow up, they pause, say “No,” and then laugh. “I mean yes and no,” Madden says. “I’m excited for the show to be out, but, as Maddie, am I ready for things to blow up? I don’t know.”
Robins adds, “I think we all obviously want the show to be really successful, but we’re also incredibly aware that with a certain success comes various changes. ... I don’t think any of us have any expectations really, but we’re just hopeful people love it like we do.”
Mia Brabham is a staff writer at Shondaland. Follow her on Twitter @hotmessmia.
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