Netflix’s The Witcher ditched source material because it was too complicated for Americans, says producer

tqAugust 6, 2023

0 1 minute read

Although it got off to a strong start, Netflix’s The Witcher series has been heavily criticised by fans for its deviations from the source material, and we may have just found out why such controversial decisions were made.

It’s hard to talk about Netflix’s The Witcher without acknowledging what an impact the changes from the books have had on it. For a start, it’s speculated that the deviations could have influenced Henry Cavill’s decision to step down from his role as Geralt, since he’s a huge fan of the novels.

What’s more, it was previously alleged by former Witcher writer Beau DeMayo that “some of the writers were not [fans] or actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material).” However, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich responded to these claims, and stated that she “never mocked the books”, and that “writers rooms are sacred and safe supportive spaces”. She added: “Don’t believe everything you read.”

In that case then, what’s with all the changes? In an interview with Polish newspaper Wyborcza (which was translated by Redanian Intelligence), executive producer Tomasz ‘Tomek’ Bagiński offered an explanation which might not go down too well with the show’s American audience.

“When a series is made for a huge mass of viewers, with different experiences, from different parts of the world, and a large part of them are Americans, these simplifications not only make sense, they are necessary,” Bagiński said. “It’s painful for us, and for me too, but the higher level of nuance and complexity will have a smaller range, it won’t reach people. Sometimes it may go too far, but we have to make these decisions and accept them.”