‘The Witcher’ Takes the World by Storm
Since its release on December 20, 2019, the fantasy series, The Witcher starring Henry Cavill as the supernatural monster hunter, has surpassed everyone’s expectations with its success. Within a week on Netflix, it was the top series of 2019 in the world, and last week, it beat its record in the gaming world with The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.
It is no surprise that the book that the series is based on, The Last Wish by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, landed on the NYT bestseller list and continues to hold steady. The series show runner Lauren Hissrich expressed delight at the NYT announcement and shows that The Witcher is well-liked by fans and newcomers.
Favorite piece of news today. 🎉 pic.twitter.com/qceg8V0HcL
— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) January 3, 2020
Hissrich is becoming popular with fans, too, and has engaged with them on social media platforms in meaningful and constructive discussions. A recent Forbes article highlighted how Hissrich is using social media – Twitter and Reddit specifically to communicate with fans. This is almost unheard of with show runners, and having a show runner connect with fans makes the fandom of The Witcher unique and exciting.
This week The Witcher began pre-production for season two, and Hissrich took some time out engage with fans on an AMA Reddit. On January 8, she answered in-depth questions like how monsters were created by the production team, shifting timelines, representation of Nilfgaard, and many others. Hissrich has also hinted at the possibility of more witchers, a linear timeline, and further explorations into characters, such as Jaskier the Bard and Cirilla of Cintra, in the second season.
Until season two arrives sometime in 2021, for those wanting to get their fix on the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Veneberg, and Cirilla of Cintra, The Washington Post has provided a handy guide of the books and games to dive into. You can also listen to the cast and crew on the Netflix’s Behind the Scenes three-episode podcast about how they built the world of The Witcher.
“Toss a coin to your Witcher” and catch up with season one of The Witcher, now available on Netflix.
