Almost a year ago, Netflix revealed that it would produce a TV series based on Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher series of books, the very same one rendered popular by CD Projekt RED's trilogy of games.
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who has worked on shows like Private Practice, Parenthood, Power, Daredevil and The Defenders, is the show's Executive Producer and has written the pilot episode. She's very active on Twitter and yesterday she shared lots of information after a Netflix event in Rome pulled the lid on new tidbits for The Witcher's first season on TV.
To begin with, she addressed CD Projekt's RED trilogy of games saying that she has "mad respect" for the Polish developer and calling their vision "breathtaking". At the same time, Hissrich clarified the TV show and games will be separate adaptations from Sapkowski's books which means there may well be differences here and there.
I have mad respect for what @CDPROJEKTRED has done. Their vision is inspiring, breathtaking. But we all know there has to be creative distance between the games & the show. Both are adaptations; they are not themselves connected. We simply get to be big fans of each other's work.
— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) April 20, 2018
The games are the (very amazing) games. But the tv show isn't based on them, at any level.
— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) April 20, 2018
Then she revealed that the first season will consist of eight episodes and their duration should be about one hour each. The action will be shot in Poland and a possible release date is 2020 (casting still needs to happen). Also, she already has multiple seasons in her mind though of course, it will ultimately depend on the success of the first one, as usual for TV series.
Happy Friday! So much information coming out of the @netflix event in Rome. I'm told by my friends and colleagues that the level of excitement and anticipation for #Witcher was crazy! Let's sort through it...
EIGHT EPISODES. Yes! I know, I know, it may not seem like enough for you, but creatively, it's the right call. The episodes can be tight, action-packed, rich in character and story, without lagging in the middle of the season. Sounds good to me, sound good to you?
2020. Who knows?! We're moving quickly ahead with everything -- like, my head is spinning around Exorcist-style, except with enthusiasm, not evil possession -- but one thing is certain: quality comes before speed. You'll get it as soon as humanly possible, and it'll be good.
WE'LL BE SHOOTING IN EASTERN EUROPE. Yes! This show couldn't exist anyplace else. Period. Also, I just spent ten days surrounded by Slavic eye-candy. I MUST come back, soon.
I have several seasons mapped out in my head -- the rest is in the hands of the gods. (And by "gods," I mean the viewers who watch and keep watching). In terms of characters, I can't confirm anyone without revealing spoilers. Except Geralt. And Roach, of course.
Last but not least, she wouldn't confirm that the first season of The Witcher on TV will be based on the books The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny as previously rumored.
There may be a long wait ahead to see Geralt on Netflix, but at least gamers will be able to meet him once again in Soulcalibur VI.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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