With video game adaptations having a long history of not being very good, it was a pleasant surprise when The Witcher series on Netflix ended up being a big hit. While the show has become very popular, the first season is not without its issues. The non-linear storytelling was confusing and there wasn’t much of a focus on monster hunting.
It appears that showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich is prepared to fix a lot of the issues present in the first season and deliver a satisfying follow-up. Speaking with Sci-Fi and Fantasy magazine, Hissrich explained how season two of The Witcher will differ.
Speaking to Sci-Fi and Fantasy magazine (via Redanian Intelligence) she said: “In Season 1, especially with all those short stories from Sapkowski’s The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, we embraced different tones,” Hissrich said. “Going into Season 2, it had been my intention to keep doing it that way, let it go with the flow, but the stories are a bit more intense. We lean into those darker elements, and I think they perfectly suit the stories. The only thing we really tried to be consistent about was keeping [Geralt’s] sense of humor.”
The Witcher video games are rife with dark storytelling, so it’s a logical place for the series to land. The first season did have dark elements, but nobody would refer to it as a dark series. It’ll be interesting to see how far Hissrich leans into these elements. Season two of The Witcher is set to be released on December 17th and will no doubt be one of the biggest series of the holiday season.