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
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
20/01/2026
SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Softwar...
20/01/2026
From architecture to reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 workflows tell ...
20/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics workflow work fo...
20/01/2026
Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to...
20/01/2026
Grand finale: Rally Saudi Arabia pushes WRC to make the most of cameras and dron...
20/01/2026
State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?NEP Group, Game Creek Video, Dome Productions, Mobile TV Group, Program Productions exec...
20/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete CoverageGo behind the scenes with ESPN, Game Creek Video, Van Wagner, and the champion Indiana...
20/01/2026
The Gotham, Film Independent, and Creators Coalition on AI Join Alliance
by Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institute's Artist Programs...
20/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
20/01/2026
During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
20/01/2026
Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customizable interactive digital surface. This will ...
20/01/2026
Last summer, ITV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its popular reality dating show, Love Island. To ramp up the excitement of series 12 (launched in the UK on...
20/01/2026
Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Mus...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Emergent, a provider of AI-powered media production solutions, today announced its presence at ISE 2026 in Barcelona, taking place February 3 6, where it will u...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction
Business
20 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
All-C...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting
Elmar Nubbemeyer
VP, Member Product
Product
20 January 2026
Global
Link...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hyp...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miam...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverag...
19/01/2026
The new L3Harris NOVA binocular system is the every-soldier goggle' - and the beginning of a new era for night-vison capability....
19/01/2026
The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer,...
19/01/2026
New Workflow Enhancements for All Broadcast Pix Systems, Plus 4-Channel ISO Recording for Hybrid and Roadie Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 2025 - Broadcast Pix ann...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces the Series Nights & Days, Directed by Kamila...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
17/01/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is helping to elevate the Google Meet experience with the introduction of an integration with Taurus UCX. Th...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com announced a strategic partnership with NETGEAR AV to offer four high-performance networking switches as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutio...
17/01/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, today announced a new U.S. distribution partnership wit...
17/01/2026
NUGEN Audio announces the latest evolution of MasterCheck, its industry-trusted optimization plug-in for cross-platform mastering and loudness verification. Des...
17/01/2026
BHV has announced that it will highlight its new SportsBox remote vision mixer and picture processor at ISE in Booth #4H900 marking its official introduction in...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com will return to ISE 2026 to demonstrate its latest intercom solutions for broadcast, live production, and AV professionals. Exhibiting at Stand #4P700...
17/01/2026
Grass Valley, a leading provider in live production solutions, will exhibit at ISE 2026 in Barcelona from February 3 6, presenting its vision for how modern Bro...
17/01/2026
Utelogy Corporation, the global leader in connected workplace management, monitoring, control, automation and analytics closes out a record-breaking 2025. The c...
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 
