Abhiroop Das
Created by Jeff Norton, ‘Finding Her Edge’ follows a family of elite but troubled figure skaters through their trials within the ever-evolving competitive realm. Will and Sara Russo once ruled the rink as the most legendary ice-skating duo of all time, and their school, Russo Rink, was just as successful, especially after their three daughters joined the sport. However, following Sara’s death, a gaping hole seems to have emerged on the professional and domestic front, and it is up to Adriana, the middle daughter, to win it all and heal her broken family. Through this young adult sports romance series, we get a glimpse into the many challenges that come with professional sports and how they play a defining role in the lives of those who devote their lives to them.
Finding Her Edge is Based on Jennifer Iacopelli’s Fictional Novel
‘Finding Her Edge’ is a fictional story based on the eponymous novel by Jennifer Iacopelli, who was in turn inspired by real-life events during and around the 2018 Winter Olympics. In particular, she felt drawn to the figure skating duo, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who went on to win the Olympic gold medal in ice dancing that year. “What truly resonated for me was the constant speculation that they were dating,” Iacopelli explained in an interview with Good Reading Magazine, before adding that she made a special note of “everyone’s outright refusal to believe that they weren’t in a romantic relationship.” This became the creative impetus for her novel, which centers on an ice-dancing duo universally believed to be in a relationship but who aren’t in reality.
To render the premise in full detail, Iacopelli delved deeper into Young Adult archetypes and writing conventions, thereby highlighting another aspect of professional sports: the pressure it can place on teenage athletes, both physically and psychologically. These sensitivities all came together in her creation of characters like Adriana, Maria, and Freddie, who all represent different points in the wider spectrum of teenage experience. To infuse more authenticity into her work, Iacopelli went all-in with research, learning the specifics of figure skating, its training regimens, and how skaters blend complexity with grace. By the end of this process, she had emerged as a true fan of the sport, which definitely adds more weight to her storytelling.
Finding Her Edge Reimagines a Classic Jane Austen Novel
Another layer to Iacopelli’s conception of the story is its connection to Jane Austen’s novel, ‘Persuasion,’ which explores the myriad tensions between a former couple reunited after years. In an interview with Tundra Book Group, Iacopelli stated that ‘Finding Her Edge’ is essentially her retelling of ‘Persuasion’ in the context of figure skating. While her book may be a retelling of the classic, it seems to stick closely to the storyline, and Iacopelli explained that this was because the story beats naturally aligned. Going one step further, she compared the sport’s strict hierarchical structure to that of the Regency era in England, an idea developed throughout the novel and its Netflix adaptation.
In bringing ‘Finding Her Edge’ to the screen, executive producer and showrunner Jeff Norton approached the narrative from a broader perspective, letting the organically messy character dynamics take center stage. In his own words to Teen Vogue, the show is an emotional cocktail of “first loves, true loves, duty, family, and passion,” which uses the world of competitive figure skating as its base. For actor Madelyn Keys, who essays Adriana, bringing the show to life was also about the cast having fun and developing chemistry, and their committment to the technical aspects of skating and ice dancing is key to the show’s sense of realism.
The Russos Are an Invented Family of Legendary Figure Skaters
While Iacopelli’s take on the world of figure skating may be largely invented in nature, it is not without its share of real-world parallels. In the story, the Russos are depicted as a family of figure skaters, with several generations of elite-level talent advancing the sport further. In real life, the closest equivalent is perhaps the Malinin family, which has been connected to figure skating for three generations as of writing. Ilia Malinin, a figure skating star and two-time World champion, is coached by his parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, former Olympians who competed for Uzbekistan. Ilia’s maternal grandfather, Valery Malinin, was formerly a competitor for the Soviet Union, and presently works as a coach in Russia.
Although there are some similarities between the Malinin family’s legacy and that of the Russos, they are merely superficial in nature. The same can be said about other potential parallels, such as Marin Honda, a retired Japanese figure skater who won the World Junior championship in 2016. Reportedly, three of Honda’s four siblings are figure skaters, a detail that partially resembles the Russo sisters’ role in ‘Finding Her Edge.’ However, Iacopelli’s writing of the Russo family dynamics appears to be primarily inspired by Jane Austen’s work, and it is unlikely that any real-life figure skating families served as a direct reference point for her story and characters.
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