Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy world unfolded across eight novels. Condensing any of it into an eight-episode series is a challenge, so it's no surprise that showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich had to try more than once to do just that for Netflix's The Witcher.

Hissrich explained that she wanted to find a way to explore each of the story's three central protagonists equally, so in the series she originally pitched to Netflix, the story was set during the events of Sapkowski's seventh novel, Lady of the Lake, "Ciri sort of ends up sitting by a lake, meeting with a man and sort of telling her story. I actually started with that narrative structure," suggesting a more internal focalization through Ciri as a narrator. "The problem was... that I wasn't getting enough of Geralt and his perspective."

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The novel series is told through multiple perspectives, sometimes from the perspectives of Geralt, sometimes through the perspectives of Ciri and sometimes through nameless, minor characters. Suffice it to say, that narrative style would not work nearly as well in a live-action television show of such limited length.

As Hissrich intended, Netflix's The Witcher will explore Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Princess Ciri's interconnecting stories in a new way that expands on their backstories, which the novel series only ever really hinted at.

The Witcher stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, Freya Allan as Ciri and Joey Batey as Jaskier. The series will be available to stream on Netflix starting December 20.

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