It’s always a fun experience to be able to pick the brain of the creative folks behind one’s favorite movie, series, etc. Thanks to social media and the internet in general, such things have become much easier to do, for better or worse. While the standard online practice of yelling incoherently until someone or everyone gets blocked is still as prevalent as ever, there still occasionally exist some situations where curated exchanges of ideas can take place. Thankfully, this instance involving the showrunner ofThe Witcheris one of those times.
With the 2nd season of Netflix’sThe Witcherseries gearing up to premiere later this year, as well asaWitchertrailer having just been released, the streaming giant deemed the time as ideal for ramping up the hype by way of a fan Q&A with series showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. She stepped up to the plate and took swing after swing at fan questions regarding what to expect, expertly balancing banter with plenty of teases for things to come. As with most things on Twitter, it was occasionally genuinely insightful, mostly filled with inside jokes, and included at least one mention of goats.
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Hissrich opened the Q&A session by loosening up with some tongue-in-cheek answers before getting down to the nitty-gritty. After joking thatGeralt’s complicated paramour Yennefer, as a witch, obviously flies around on a broom, she went on to answer a fan’s burning question about whether or not the series would feature a goat. “There are definitely goats in S2,” she said. “It would be a spoiler to tell you where though…” Another fan (of both the show and theWitchergames) inquired “How much do we need to bribe to get the yenralt unicorn scene? Asking for a friend.” This refers to a particularly infamous scene inThe Witcher IIIthat features Yennefer and Geralt having a rather… intimate time on top of a stuffed unicorn. Hissrick replied, “I accept payment in shoes.”
Then she got more serious with the answers, fielding queries about both her own experience and some behind-the-scenes elements like the new armorHenry Cavill will be wearingas everyone’s favorite grunting mutant, Geralt. When one fan asked about the process behind his new armor for the upcoming season, Hissrick answered, “The armor was a collaboration between our amazing costume designer, Lucinda Wright, and Henry Cavill. The primary goal this season was function — Henry needed to move, fast and unhindered. There is no wasted material, no excess. All streamlined. (And sexy!)” Hey, that’s pretty much the entire essence ofThe Witchersummed up in a single tweet.
Hissrich also addressed the show’s surprise popularity, joking that she “slept through most of December 2019” but was still incredibly grateful and humbled by the massive response to the show, which she called “the hardest thing I’d ever done.” It’s clear she’s not only a truly skilled showrunner, but a genuine fan of the stories themselves, even going so far as to name herfavorite book in theWitcherseries(Andrzej Sapkowski’s 2nd novelTime of Contempt) as a coy answer to another question asking whether the Lodge of Sorceresses would get its time to shine.
The Twitter thread is chock full of little tidbits and plenty of teases for things to come. Obviously, Hissrich wouldn’t give away any major spoilers during a Q&A session, but passionate fans ofThe Witchermight find a spark of recognition in some of the subtle references she happily made throughout. In the meantime, maybe now is a great time to rewatch the first season again. That song is still as addictive as ever, and season 2 will have even more. “They will burn into your brain,” Hissrich said, “just wait.”
