Netflix Gets The Ball Rolling With The Witcher Series Adds Writer, Showrunner, and Executive Producer
Back in May, it was announced by Netflix that they were developing a television series adaptation of the popular The Witcher franchise. And pre-production is moving right along. The series added a new writer, showrunner, and executive producer.
According to a report by Variety, The Witcher series added Lauren Schmidt Hissrich as both showrunner, executive producer, and writer for the upcoming series. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has a track record of success. She co-executive produced The Defenders and Daredevil on Netflix as well as Starz’s Power.
The Witcher, originally started as short stories published in the Polish science-fiction magazine Fantastyka in the mid 1980s. Then in 1993 the first of eight books, The Last Wish, by Andrzej Sapkowski was published. The most recent book Season of Storms was published in 2013. The stories chronicle the tales of Witchers, who are monster hunters. They put themselves through intense and extreme training. However, they also subject themselves to experimentation and many label them as mutants. They also have supernatural abilities and dabble in magic in order to gain the upperhand on the dangerous foes they hunt.
The monsters they hunt are straight out of your nightmares. They include werewolves, striga, basilisks, cockatrices, wariths, golems, barghests, and more.
However, what brought the series to fame was its adaptation into a major video game franchise by CD Projekt Red. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt which debuted in May 2015 has shipped nearly 10 million copies worldwide. It would go on to win over 800 awards including 250 “Game of the Year” awards.
Along with the video game, the franchise has expanded into comic books, tableop games, and even a Polish-language television series.
Not much else is known about the upcoming series aside that it will adapt Andrzej Sapkowski novels. It’s more than likely the series will feature Geralt, the main character in the popular video game franchise. And with the extremely rich world he has created, there are endless opportunities to branch off. Netflix might just have their own Marvel Universe at their fingertips.
Joining Lauren Schmidt Hissrich as executive producers are Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company. Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko of Platige Image will also executive produce.
What do you think? Will Netflix do a good job of bringing The Witcher to life? Or are we in for another Deathnote debacle? Tell us in the comments below!
More About:TV Shows
Read This Next
