Lauren S. Hissrich, the showrunner on Netflix’s The Witcher series, has taken to Instagram to deny that there was any animosity in the writer’s room towards the show’s source material.
As reported by Eurogamer, Hissrich began receiving a ton of complaints about the show following an interview with a former producer and writer on The Witcher named Beau DeMayo back in October. DeMayo said the some of the writers “actively dislike” Andrzej Sapkowski’s books and CD Projekt Red’s games.
“I’ve been on show – namely Witcher – where some of the writers were not or actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material),” DeMayo explained. “It’s a recipe for disaster and bad morale. Fandom as a litmus test checks egos, and makes all the long nights worth it. You have to respect the work before you’re allowed to add to its legacy.”
Hissrich recently broke her silence on the matter, saying she never mocked the books and that the writer’s room was a safe and supportive space that didn’t have that type of negativity.
“I’ve never mocked the books,” Hissrich wrote on Instagram. “The books are my entire livelihood. I have a great relationship with Mr. Sapkowski and writer’s rooms are sacred and safe and – more than anything – supportive spaces. Don’t believe everything you read.”
She continued to say she still has “great respect” for Beau despite his comments.
“I have great respect for Beau and the episodes he wrote!” Hissrich added . “The striga episode is one of my favourites. He wrote the one where people came to Kaer Morhen and [SPOILERS] died which had a lot of backlash, but he was brave in telling the story he wanted to tell. It takes a lot of balls to do that. I respect that.”
Netflix’s The Witcher is in a very interesting place as it was recently confirmed that Liam Hemsworth would be replacing Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in Season 4. For more on this major development, read our thoughts as to why Cavill leaving signals a much bigger departure.
For more in the world of The Witcher, check out our hands-on impressions of The Witcher’s next-gen update and our review of The Witcher: Blood Origin.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
