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The Witcher EP Shares The Original Pitch For Netflix’s Hit Show

While many elements of hit Netflix series The Witcher changed prior to being given the go-ahead, one integral plot point has remained the same since day one. That's the story told by showrunner Lauren Hissrich, anyway, who has decided to share her original pitch for the show on social media. Following on from an insightful Reddit AMA last week, Hissrich has opted to give audiences further insight into how her ambitious project came to be, including further details on how she ultimately ended up solving the problem of telling three very distinct - and chronologically separated - character arcs.

The Witcher

While many elements of hit Netflix series The Witcher changed prior to being given the go-ahead, one integral plot point has remained the same since day one.

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That’s the story told by showrunner Lauren Hissrich, anyway, who’s decided to share her original pitch for the show on social media. Following on from an insightful Reddit AMA last week, Hissrich has opted to give audiences further insight into how her ambitious project came to be, including further details on how she ultimately ended up solving the problem of telling three very distinct – and chronologically separated – character arcs.

Fans will be well aware by now, of course, that Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri’s journeys move forward in a non-linear fashion. That novel approach to storytelling left many viewers somewhat confused as to when certain events are meant to take place, to the extent that Netflix has since released an official timeline of events.

“I’d been grappling for a few months about how to best tell the stories of Geralt, Yen, and Ciri,” says Hissrich, adding “and then I had a (controversial) idea: tell them in three separate timelines over the first season.” As seen via the original pitch below that fractured unfolding of events remained an integral part of Hissrich’s vision, but not all of her wants were able to be realized.

“Some things have changed,” she admits, citing the casting process for Ciri as a primary example. “After searching all over the world for a 12-year-old Ciri — and then realizing that a lot of her scenes were at night, for which filming is highly restricted for minors — we aged that character up.” Early on, Hissrich had also intended to keep Ciri’s identity and connection to Geralt a secret, but ultimately decided that the timeline hijinks were “enough of a mystery.” Fascinating commentary, to say the least, and fans, it seems, can’t get enough of the behind-the-scenes anecdotes being shared as of late.

As for The Witcher‘s future, season 2 is scheduled to debut sometime in 2021, with Netflix rumored to have already greenlit a third. See here for all the details.