Game of Thrones is easily the biggest fantasy TV show of the 21st century, and a lot of other fantasy shows were greenlit at least in part because the studios hoped they could get a taste of its success. That applies to series like The Witcher on Netflix and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video. Both of those shows are based on material that exists outside of Game of Thrones, but the success of the HBO show likely inspired the studios to invest money in adaptations.
Then there's The Wheel of Time, another Prime Video series. Fans have been waiting many years for someone to adapt Robert Jordan's massive fantasy series, which spans 14 books. Prime Video's show is about to enter its third season, and is still adding lots of new cast members. The latest batch includes actor Nukâka Coster-Waldau as Bair, a woman who is very influential among the Aiel, a desert-dwelling people we'll get to know a lot better in this upcoming season.
In a fun instance of cross-pollination between Game of Thrones and all the other fantasy shows it inspired, Nukâka Coster-Waldau is the wife of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, whom Game of Thrones fans will remember as the one-handed, sister-loving Kingsguard knight Jaime Lannister. We've seen plenty of examples of Game of Thrones veterans appearing on other fantasy shows — Kristofer Hivju (Tormund) was on The Witcher, Joseph Mawle (Benjen Stark) was in The Rings of Power, etc. — but this is the first time I remember the spouse of one of the show's key players getting a decent-sized role on one of the series' many successors.
I'm sure Nikolaj has lots of advice for his wife when it comes to wearing fantasy costumes, being around horses, and the like. The third season of The Wheel of Time, which will adapt the book The Shadow Rising, will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on March 13.
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