‘That’s a Book!’ Jennifer Iacopelli Reveals the Olympic Secret Behind Netflix Hit ‘Finding Her Edge’—and Hints at Season 2! (Exclusive)
Learn about Iacopelli’s inspiration for the story, how she feels about the Season 1 ending and what's next for the series
When Jennifer Iacopelli was writing Finding Her Edge in 2020 and 2021, she never expected the story to make its way on screen to become everyone’s favorite love triangle drama in Netflix’s top 10 TV shows. Indeed, if you’re craving vibe-heavy romantic dramas like The Summer I Turned Pretty, Finding Her Edge is the perfect binge series for you.
Just don’t dismiss it as just for young adults. When describing the series, showrunner Jeff Norton shared, “On one level, our show is a soapy YA drama. But I set out to make it much more than that; [it’s] a layered family drama about a fractured family finding their path back together.”
To get the behind-the-scenes scoop about the popular show, Woman’s World sat down with author Jennifer to chat about her book, the whirlwind of having it transformed into a Netflix hit and what’s next for the characters. Warning: some spoilers ahead!
Woman’s World: Can you give a synopsis of Finding Her Edge for our readers who may not have seen or read it yet?
Jennifer Iacopelli: Finding Her Edge is a book and a show about a young figure skater, Adriana Russo [Madelyn Keys], who’s training with a new partner, Brayden [Cale Ambrozic]. He is at the top of his game and what people would consider ‘the bad boy’ of figure skating, and they are training for a world championship. There is sister drama and their family is extremely complicated because she comes from a lineage of champions—her parents were gold medalists—and her mom passed away a couple of years ago.
So, when we meet them, their family-owned rink is really struggling. And Adriana realizes that in order to save the rink, her mother’s legacy and fulfill her own dreams, she and her new partner, who the world has fallen in love with, have to pretend to be dating to get sponsorships. Her old partner and first boyfriend, Freddie, comes back and he’s not a fan of hers anymore because she left him. There’s a love triangle. There’s enemies-to-lovers and there’s second-chance romance.
WW: The idea for this book was inspired by real-life dating rumors surrounding ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. What made you decide this was the book you wanted to write?
JI: Book ideas kind of come to you very weirdly sometimes. They can come from anywhere. For this, I was watching The Ellen DeGeneres Show with my mother, of all things, and there was this interview with [Tessa and Scott] talking about their 20-year relationship and their journey as partners.
The only thing Ellen and the whole world wanted to talk about was whether or not they were dating. And that happened for years—they’re retired now and people are still talking about it—so in the back of my head, I thought, that’s a book.
That was about a year before I actually needed to write a new book. My editor said to me, “You wrote about the Summer Olympics. Why don’t you try writing about the Winter Olympics?” And I was, like, I have an idea.
WW: When you write a novel, you don’t always expect that it will one day become a Netflix drama series. What was that process of learning that it was going to be adapted and preparing to see your work in a new format?
JI: It was a little bit of a slow burn; it was optioned before it was published. Jeff Norton, our executive producer and showrunner, wanted to do a skating show and at the time, there weren’t a ton of young adult romance ice skating shows and very little that had the female main character as the athlete, and he wanted to tell that story. I kind of fit this niche that he was looking for.
About a year later, we were literally about to announce our pilot, and the production company went bankrupt. We were, like, “Okay, projects die.” That’s kind of what happens and a couple of months later, I got a call from Jeff saying, “Hey, I want to re-option it. I think I have a home for it.” And then things happened very quickly.
That was September 2024. By October, there was a writers’ room; by November, they were casting; by December, we got the official Netflix green light and we were in production the first week of January. Now it’s January 2026, a year later, and the show is out and it’s in the Netflix top 10.
WW: Many of your books are sports romances—what about this genre do you enjoy the most and why are you drawn to it?
JI: It was basically the union of my two great loves. I was always a reader and I was always an athlete. I love sports as a narrative. Sports are stories, so it always made sense that those two things went together. I also think we don’t really celebrate female ambition in our society, and I love the idea of celebrating young women with ambition. And I love the idea even more of their romantic partners loving that about them.
We have these unapologetically ambitious women who are out doing their thing and doing it so well. And I’m so glad the world is finally catching up. Everybody watches women’s sports now and I’m, like, “I’ve been banging this drum for a decade and a half.” I’m so glad everyone’s here with me now.
WW: When you write, you imagine the characters as you create them. What was it like to see that world come to life?
JI: It was surreal in a really fun way. Madelyn Keys and I have become pretty good friends. We’ve bonded through this experience, and I like to joke that I manifested her because the commonalities and the personality quirks and the way she approaches the world are so much like Adriana. I’m, like, “How did they find you?” They also happen to look alike.
Now, I picture our actors when I picture my characters and they really look alike. Millie [Davis] looks so much like Riley, it’s almost terrifying. Cale [Ambrozic] very much looks like and embodies Bradyen. Hilariously enough, Olly [Atkins], who’s played Freddie, doesn’t really look like the character as I described him. But there’s one line in the book where he mentions offhand that Adriana looks tired and she thinks to herself, “He thinks I look tired and here I am thinking he looks like a Greek god.” And then Olly was cast in Percy Jackson and the Olympians and he plays a demigod. It all just came full circle so beautifully.
WW: As you mentioned earlier, there are a lot of romance tropes in this story—fake dating, second chance romance, a love triangle—do you have a preferred romance trope, whether for reading or writing?
JI: My favorite is the best friend’s brother trope. Something about that hits so beautifully for me. And I hadn’t really ever explored it until I wrote my next book. It hits every single time because there’s so much inherent conflict in that. It’s so juicy.
WW: Now, we need to talk about this love triangle with Adriana, Brayden and Freddie. Were you always certain you wanted Adriana and Freddie together or did you waver in your choice?
JI: I wavered a lot. I challenged myself with this book to write more of a romantic drama than a genre romance. And in YA specifically, it’s a little bit easier to create a romantic drama where everyone’s in love with the wrong person and they’re all kissing the wrong people—it’s just fun and soapy. So, I tried to make a love triangle where the answer is not super obvious.
I got to the end of the book, and I didn’t know who she should end up with. I had to sit on it for a minute, and I had a couple of friends who I really trust read the last couple of chapters. Ultimately, what helped make the decision for me was going back to my source material of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, where Anne Elliot chooses Frederick Wentworth, the love of her life, over this new and exciting guy.
I tried to embody where Adriana was in her journey. She is maybe the least selfish person I’ve ever written; she never really puts herself first. So, I decided if I’m going to allow her to be selfish for once, she would choose Freddie because it’s what she has wanted her entire life. Never in a million years did I think that wouldn’t be a permanent ending, potentially.
WW: And Adriana and Brayden have a connection that you can’t fake. If there were to be a continuation to this story, do you think there could be a future for them?
JI: There’s a ton of different directions it could go in. I have a very specific idea for where I would like to take it, and it’s kind of unexpected. If I get the opportunity, that’s what I’m going to do. And the show has also set itself up for anything. The writers did a beautiful job where they have a bunch of different people in brand new circumstances and brand new relationships on and off the ice.
WW: If there is a Season 2, would you be interested in writing a second book?
JI: Yeah and I’ll give a hint of a little spoiler. If anyone does a deep dive into my publishing deal announcements, there has been no announcement about a second book specifically, but I am currently under contract for a new YA book. Do with that what you will.
WW: Can you talk about the relationship between the Russo sisters—Elise (Alexandra Beaton), Adriana and Maria (Alice Malakov)? They are all forging their own paths in ice skating, while also becoming their own people.
JI: One of my favorite parts of the show is the sister relationship, which is probably the most complicated. That’s the real love triangle. You have the eldest daughter under all this pressure, the middle daughter who put herself in a position to be under the radar and you’ve got the youngest, who’s trying to forge her own path away from what her older sisters have done. It’s a really beautiful relationship.
WW: You mentioned you have a couple of new books coming out. What can fans look forward to?
JI: I have Game, Set, Match, my new tennis adult book, coming out February 3rd. In June, its direct sequel, Wildcard, comes out. And then I am hoping, if people respond to Game, Set, Match and Wildcard, that we’d be able to write a third book in that series because I always envisioned that as a trilogy.
How and where to watch ‘Finding Her Edge’
You can stream the first season of Finding Her Edge exclusively on Netflix, where the series premiered all eight episodes on January 22, 2026.
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