Netflix’s newest fantasy drama Cursed is a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend and based on a book by co-creators Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler. Told from the perspective of Nimue, a young woman destined to become the Lady of the Lake, Cursed is a prequel—giving us a look at how the classic characters started out in their younger years. Tasked with finding Merlin and delivering the ancient sword of power, Nimue allies with a young mercenary named Arthur in a quest that will lead her to become a symbol of courage and rebellion.
The show combines a coming of age story with the brutality of war in a fantastical landscape where fey have been demonized by the church and are being systematically hunted down by the ominous red paladins.
Executive producer, Zetna Fuentes (Ray Donovan, Jessica Jones, The Deuce, Shameless), worked on the first two episodes of the show, helping to shape what the rest of the season would look like. The book the show is based on wasn’t even finished when she first received a script, but she was immediately taken with the story.
“I got sent this script through Bill Wheeler and he said, ‘Look, my brother’s written this script. Do you want to take a look at it?’ He told me he was involved and what it was about and I said, ‘My god yes, send it to me!’ So I read it and just really wanted to do it and then fought to get the job.”
Though most of Fuentes’ previous work has been daytime drama, she is a fan of all kinds of stories. She told me that she grew up in a house where the tv was on from morning to night, providing a wealth of stories from a variety of genres. These shows helped form her love for storytelling, and she drew on these experiences for Cursed.
Fuentes explained, “I was remembering the other day talking to my son about going to the movies to watch all of the Lord of the Rings with my brother and that was really fun . . . I was recently saying how there were so many influences I remembered thinking about when I first read the script, because you start to get the creative energy flowing about what this new world could be.”
She also drew on themes that are particularly poignant in the modern age such as religious persecution and environmentalism. “I think for me, thematically, when stories really have something else to say it just has more meaning to me. I want to be entertained. Ultimately we want to watch something and be compelled to watch more, but I find when there’s something underneath it creates a deeper world.” said Fuentes. “We wanted to make sure that was in there and hopefully it doesn’t hit you over the head but feels like it’s just part of the world that we’re showing and putting out there.”
The show is packed full of visually arresting scenes that look like something straight out of Frank Miller’s illustrations. One early scene in particular echoes the story that will drive the show throughout the season. In it, Nimue is trapped on a large rock, surrounded by snarling wolves that snap and tear at her. Weilding the magical sword of power, Nimue desperately seeks to defend herself from attacks on all sides.
Fuentes was particularly proud of the scene as she stated, “I remember on the day when we were shooting, it was just really exciting. It was one of those moments where you’re like ‘oh this is working. This is going to be great.’”
According to Fuentes, Katherine Langford, the actress who played Nimue, really helped bring scenes like this to life through her hard work and insistence on doing her own stunts. “I felt so grateful that it was her because we asked a lot of her. It’s a physically demanding role.” Fuentes continued, “She wanted to do everything, and the wolf sequence was exactly that. She wanted to do everything she could, and it was so great because then we had her and we didn’t have to cut around it.”
Fuentes’s work on the first two episodes of Cursed set the stage for a epic journey of self discovery in blood-soaked world torn between power-hungry leaders who will stop at nothing to posses the Sword of power that will give them the indisputable right to rule. It’s an exciting tale full of romance, action, and powerful women kicking butt. Check out Cursed season 1 now available on Netflix.
Image Credits: Netflix
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