
SVG Sit-Down: Marie Margolius on the Thrill of Directing New Prime Video Docuseries For the Win: NWSL The Words + Pictures production takes viewers inside last year's playoffs and championship By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, March 14, 2025 - 11:16 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
As the 2025 National Women's Soccer League season kicks off, Prime Video is ushering in the league's return with a new four-part docuseries, For the Win: NWSL.
The series, which dropped all episodes last week, takes viewers behind the scenes of last year's playoffs and championship and offers an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the league, its best teams, and some of its most engaging personalities on the pitch.
The series is produced by Words + Pictures and executive-produced by studio founder and former ESPN executive Connor Schell, accomplished documentary producer Libby Geist, legendary soccer player Alex Morgan, and former NFL quarterback Eli Manning.
Marie Margolius helmed the project as director, bringing with her a strong sports-documentary track record, having worked on numerous 30 for 30 films and other projects during her time at ESPN. The former collegiate soccer player jumped at the chance to work on a project spotlighting the NWSL.
Margolius sat down with SVG to discuss how she mapped the story, what players surprised her along the way, and why building trust in the interview subject is the most important part of developing a series of this nature.
Director Marie Margolius speaks on a panel at the premiere of Prime Video docuseries For the Win: NWSL at The Paley Center for Media on March 4. (All photos: Valerie Terranova/Getty Images for Prime Video)
You have a pretty clear box to play in here: you're chronicling a playoff and eventual champion. I'd imagine that makes it clear when this story ends, but, from a creative perspective, where and with whom did you want to start this story?
We wanted to start with the characters who we felt were going to be the most open with us. I think the key to success in shows like this is building trust and relationships with the people on-camera.
We went to all of the playoff teams, [presented] what I wanted to do and what the series was, and basically said, If you want to be a part of it, we would love to have you, and, if you don't, I'm not going to make anyone do anything.
For example, [Washington Spirit player] Trinity Rodman came up to me after I gave the spiel and said, Hey, I was sort of apprehensive about this, but I think I want to be a part of it. Tell me what that looks like and what the commitment would be. Of course, Trinity as a player and character in a story is a dream come true and was on a list of people I would love to embed with. But it was when she raised her hand and said, I want to be a part of this, that it became a slam dunk. I wanted her to feel good about it and feel like a willing participant.
That was the process: getting buy-in from teams and players first and then deciding that, if Trinity is one of our characters, who's going to help us tell this story. That leads us down a path. We start pulling on the Trinity thread, and certain stories sort of surface naturally.
Were there any players or coaches that surprised you along the way?
Kylie Strom. [The center back for the Orlando Pride] is a player whom I had known about only because I happened to play against her when I was still playing soccer. She's fairly anonymous on the grand scheme of the international soccer landscape, but she has worn the captain's armband and is very much a leader on the [Pride]. She plays an important piece and is the heartbeat of this team, so let's interview her. Let's see what she has to say.
I remember during that interview sort of looking at my co-producers and saying, Oh, my God, this story is insane. She, as [sportscaster] Roger Bennett says in the doc, really took football roads to get where she is today, which is a leader on the NWSL Championship-winning, largely undefeated, Shield-winning Orlando Pride and played a huge role. I found her story so inspiring. Again, it wasn't something I set out to tell, but, because of her openness and her journey being so compelling, I sort of fell in love with it, and she ended up being one of our main voices.
There are many iconic American players in this story, but I was curious what it was like for you to talk to Marta, the Brazilian player currently with the Orlando Pride. U.S. audiences know she's a legend and have seen her play in World Cups, but they may not know a lot about her personality. What was it like to get to know her more intimately?
Marta is incredibly endearing because she's such a legend and she's such a badass. I went in thinking she would have this veneer of media-trained. She has done it all; she has seen it all. She doesn't need to do things like this, but she, again, was a person who sat down in the interview chair and was an open book. She was incredibly charming. She's really funny. She's very uncomfortable talking about herself, super humble.
Obviously, on the field, she's incredible, but it's easy to see why, off the field, she's such a leader: she wears her heart on her sleeve and makes everyone feel like they're on the same team. Getting to know her was a joy. It was totally surprising and made, I think, our whole production team root for her.
I think you'll see in the doc, her personality is amazing. She's so fun; she's so funny. She's galvanizing in a way that I've never seen. I felt like I wanted to run through a brick wall at the end of the interview. She's amazing. I'm excited for U.S. audiences to get to know her a little bit better.
You played soccer at Harvard. What does it mean for you persona
North America Stories
14/04/2026
Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026.
...
14/04/2026
Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...
14/04/2026
Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...
14/04/2026
LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...
14/04/2026
Sennheiser and Italian rental company Agor have begun preparations for their Eu...
14/04/2026
DAZN and ADI Predictstreet have announced a partnership to integrate ADI Predict...
14/04/2026
Deltatre has announced the completion of a direct-to-fan website and app for Leg...
14/04/2026
Daktronics, will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in partnership with Grass Valley at Booth C2408, Las Vegas Convention Center, April 19-22.
Daktronics will showcase a...
14/04/2026
Backblaze will host a series of partner presentations at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1259, North Hall), open to all exhibition hall badge holders. Showcase partners i...
14/04/2026
BRAHMA AI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2415, West Hall), demonstrating its Enterprise AI Content Platform for media, entertainment, sports, and technol...
14/04/2026
Bridge Technologies has announced that its VB440 production probe has been integrated into NEP Platform, NEP Group's software orchestration system. The inte...
14/04/2026
Clear-Com will introduce new products and demonstrate its communications ecosystem for broadcast and live production at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5807, April 19-22)...
14/04/2026
EZDRM will use NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2260) to introduce the Revenue Security Prism, a framework for combining multiple security technologies to protect streamin...
14/04/2026
Telos Alliance will introduce the following products at NAB Show 2026:
TV and Media
Telos Infinity MK2 Panels: A new generation of hardware control panels for...
14/04/2026
Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3509), demonstrating IP- and IT-based production solutions for sports, bro...
14/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
14/04/2026
Blackmagic Design will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2502). CEO Grant Petty s product announcement livestream is available at youtube.com. The company announ...
14/04/2026
The deal establishes a close strategic alignment' between the iconic cinema...
14/04/2026
BIGSHOT Media, with support from Teradek, produced untamed African mountain-bike race' with daily coverage and highlights show
The 2026 Absa Cape EPIC, an...
14/04/2026
The Sports Video Group (SVG) today announced the launch of the SVG AI Innovation...
14/04/2026
WESCAM MX -Series EO/IR Systems Provide Critical Visibility During NASA Re-Entry Operations....
14/04/2026
DiSCO reduces uncertainty during the fog of war in modern threat environments an...
14/04/2026
GOES-19 imagery captured by L3Harris-built Advanced Baseline Imager technology helps forecasters issue life-saving weather warnings. Credit: NOAA/NASA...
14/04/2026
For decades, understanding the physical world from space has required a trade-of...
14/04/2026
Ruiz has helped fuel growth for both client-side and media companies, including, most recently, TelevisaUnivision.
He will spearhead transformation, innovatio...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB 2026
New system removes PTZ pan restrictions for teleprompter-based productions
Shotoku US...
14/04/2026
Integration of Vantage, Pulse, and Telestream UP with Grass Valley AMPP Ecosystem enables scalable, interoperable workflows spanning live production and file-ba...
14/04/2026
Enterprise growth leader to scale Dalet's next phase of innovation and global expansion
New York, NY April 14, 2026 Dalet, a leading technology and ser...
14/04/2026
Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event Directed by Tia Fuller, the Prince Project (April 16-17) brings together more than ...
14/04/2026
Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable The singular artist explores the juxtaposition of grief and joy, dark and light, in her distinctive sound.
April 14, ...
14/04/2026
Appear launches include XM estate management and new X Platform processing enhancements to add density for next-generation hybrid & IP workflows, X5 is also now...
14/04/2026
Addressing the needs of a new generation's viewing habits, Synamedia launches GO Shorts. The AI-powered module turns existing catalogues into TikTok-style ...
14/04/2026
Vubiquity, an Amdocs company and global leader in technology-led media services, will be showcasing a new end-to-end streaming solution in collaboration with El...
14/04/2026
LiveU today announced a significant expansion of its collaboration with Sony Corporation, introducing integrated support for Sony's file-based workflow solu...
14/04/2026
Open Broadcast Systems (https://www.obe.tv/) has announced that BBC World Service has selected its decoders for IP Television distribution. The high-quality, lo...
14/04/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21
Brie Clayton April 14, 2026
0 Comments
Major update adds new Photo page bringing Hollywood's most a...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Wowza will return to NAB Show 2026 with a set of live demonstrations focused on how video infrastructure is evolving for a new generation of AI-powered and oper...
14/04/2026
Stegawave Debuts Real-Time Forensic Watermarking to Tackle Piracy in Live Sports...
14/04/2026
Living in Boston: A Guide for Incoming Boston Conservatory Students From navigating the T to balancing school with professional gigs, a current student shar...
14/04/2026
Just What Is Genre These Days, Anyway? Understanding the business and art of genre-bending in 2026.
April 13, 2026
By
Bryan Parys
Illustration by Jack Fla...
14/04/2026
Lenora Helm Hammonds Is Turning Passion Into Plan A The dean of the Professional Education Division has seen the industry from all sides. Now shes bringing it...