Netflix’s The Witcher is the final word on botched book adaptations. The movie and TV industries have been turning popular books into on-screen projects for decades, and it’s unlikely to stop any time soon. After all, whenever a beloved novel is brought to television, it brings a gaggle of existing fans with it. These shows are all the more likely to be successes, but every year, a good handful really drop the ball. The Witcher is a recent example.
Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series always had the makings of a great TV show, so the news of Netflix’s adaptation was pretty well received. That first season in 2019 was a great first step. Though there were some mild complaints from general audiences, The Witcher season 1 was a general hit. Of course, since then, things have gone significantly off track. By the most recent season of The Witcher season 4, fans had basically given up hope. Now, there’s a lesson to be learned.
The Witcher Season 4 Proved The Show Never Needed To Go So Off-Book
Liam Hemsworth as Geralt in The Witcher season 4
Despite Netflix’s consistent defense of its changes to The Witcher, season 4 was, comparatively, the closest to the source material. Geralt’s very Dungeons & Dragons-style adventures with his rag-tag crew were highly in keeping with Sapkowski’s books, and Ciri’s story with the Rats was nearly identical. Yennefer’s adventures were the greatest departure, but it actually did make sense that she wouldn’t spend this entire installment as a jade statue.
The fact that, after years of complaints and controversy, Netflix suddenly snapped back into book-faithfulness mode demonstrates just how unnecessary it had ever been to go so far off-book. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich made season 2’s changes sound like necessities, but they never amounted to anything. The Witcher had pushed away its audience, just to do a one-eighty later. It’s time for everyone in the industry to take notice: extensive creative changes will always doom a book-to-screen adaptation.
Netflix Can’t Salvage Its The Witcher Franchise
Personally, I liked The Witcher season 4. However, this fact only increased my frustration with Netflix’s on-screen franchise. This show could have been something really great, but those early changes to canon, followed by Cavill’s departure, meant that the damage had already been done. I knew most viewers wouldn’t give The Witcher season 4 a chance. In fact, I predict that any future installments of Netflix’s franchise will fail.
Viewers have lost trust in Netflix’s approach to The Witcher, and it seems the company knows it. What was supposed to be another spinoff series was quietly released as a prequel film (titled The Rats: A Witcher Tale). Netflix didn’t even bother promoting it, indicating that creative efforts are at an all-time low. The only hope would be for a new production company to acquire the rights to The Witcher. Then, maybe, we can get a do-over. So long as Netflix is in charge, though, it’s too little, too late.
Release Date
December 20, 2019
Network
Netflix
Showrunner
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
Directors
Stephen Surjik, Charlotte Brändström, Edward Bazalgette, Loni Peristere, Louise Hooper, Bola Ogun, Alex Garcia Lopez, Gandja Monteiro, Sarah O’Gorman
Writers
Haily Hall, Clare Higgins, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Jenny Klein, Tania Lotia
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Anya Chalotra
Yennefer of Vengerberg
