SDCC 2019: 'The Witcher' showrunner Lauren Hissrich says any 'violence or sex' on Netflix series will be just to 'drive the story'
'The Witcher' is one of the most highly anticipated shows of the latter half of this year, being adapted from Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy novels, which have previously inspired several popular games.
But before the show's big Netflix debut later this year, it was featured at the San Diego Comic-Con 2019, following which showrunner Lauren Hissrich sternly remarked that the sex scenes or violence on the show will only move the plot forward and won't be there for gratuitous sensational purposes.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hissrich explained that the dark theme of the show is definitely not aimed for a younger audience. "I've been rewatching dailies and my kids aren't allowed to look at the screen anymore after one of them snuck around and saw something they shouldn't have seen and it scared him," she explained.
"It's a very adult show. I will add it was important to me that any violence or sex drives the story and is not there just for shock value. I think audiences are really savvy and know when we're doing stuff to just shock them versus do stuff that really drives the story."
Hissrich also addressed how 'The Witcher' is way different from other contemporaries in the fantasy genre, specifically HBO's insanely popular drama 'Game of Thrones,' which she said is nothing like her show.
"The monster and horror aspect," she said, "It's been done occasionally on fantasy shows but it takes a backseat to magic a lot of the time. Geralt's a monster hunter so from the very beginning we talked about how to show these monsters and the humans they interact with. I think people are going to be surprised by how many monsters we were able to do and how integral they are to story. It really feels like the monster stories become analogs for bigger things happening in the world right now in different political phenomenons."
Henry Cavill has been on board to play the role of Geralt in the show; his character has been described as "a solitary monster hunter, who struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together."
An official release date hasn't been announced yet, but the show is expected to premiere some time in late 2019.
