'The Witcher' Was Dumbed Down for Americans, Producer Says

The EP said that big productions need to sacrifice some of their nuance for universality if they want to reach a wide global audience - especially if that audience includes Americans.

By Michael Hein

Executive producer Tomek Baginski responded to criticism of The Witcher this week, but he might have angered fans even more. In an interview with the Polish outlet Wyborcza, Baginski reportedly said that the show's writing was simplified for the sake of American audiences. According to a translation by NME, Baginski said that American audiences couldn't handle The Witcher Saga's complex, nuanced storylines, and that's why they were simplified for TV.

"There are a lot of understandable reasons why controversial decisions are made, but the viewer does not have this context, so sometimes it hurts because something was better in the book," Baginski said. The Witcher has been criticized since it began for altering the story told in the original novels by Andrzej Sapkowski – often by removing elements and streamlining the story overall. There have been many explanations for this over the last few years, but for Baginski it was about reaching a wider audience. He said the decision was influenced by his experience trying to pitch a film about the Warsaw Uprising that never got made.

"[I] tried to explain: there was an uprising against Germany, but the Russians were across the river, and on the German side there were also soldiers from Hungary or Ukraine," he said. "For Americans, it was completely incomprehensible, too complicated, because they grew up in a different historical context, where everything was arranged: America is always good, the rest are the bad guys. And there are no complications."

Baginski said that simplifying The Witcher was "painful" but "necessary," adding: "The higher level of nuance and complexity will have a smaller range, it won't reach people." So far, Netflix and the other producers – including the American showrunner, Lauren S. Hissrich, have not responded to Baginski's explanation.

In its first two seasons, The Witcher got a lot of leeway for simplifying its plot because it was adapting material that was more episodic. Sapkowski's book series begins with two short story collections introducing its world and its main characters before it gets into the more overarching plot. The show attempted to remix those stories in a way that would make them feel more cohesive with the main story.

Related:

Fans have also criticized the Netflix original series for its characterization, saying the writers missed the mark on Geralt of Rivia and many other important players. On the other hand, some of the show's defenders have fired back at this kind of chatter, saying that many people are basing their impressions on the video game series, not the books, and that the adaptation is more faithful than they may realize.

The Witcher Season 3 is streaming now on Netflix. The show is meant to have another season with a new star, but so far there's no word on when production will begin. It will presumably be on hold at least until the Hollywood labor strikes are resolved.

Trending Now: