The Witcher producer blames ‘young people’ for the show’s flop
If you want to get people to watch your series, a word of advice is probably not to offend them. In a major case of shirking the blame and pointing the finger, one producer on Netflix's The Witcher is blaming the fans themselves for the show's recent flop.
While The Witcher started out strong in 2019 and looked like a faithful adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's books that could also cash in on the success of CD Projekt RED's game series, it was soon struck by the curse of the live-action video game curse.
If allegations that the writers mocked the source material weren't enough, lead star Henry Cavill was spectacularly announced to leave the show at the end of the recent third season. Although The Witcher is powering ahead with a hopeful Season 4 and 5 with Liam Hemsworth, reviews might suggest otherwise.
The Witcher producer blames fans
For those who stuck with The Witcher, it's safe to say Cavill's farewell - walking off into some fog - wasn't the bombastic farewell we were promised. Even though many will tune in to see how Hemsworth steps into Geralt's boots, Executive Producer Tomek Baginski is in danger of pushing us away.
In an interview with Polish site Wyborcza (via Redanian Intelligence), Baginski claims complaints Season 3 diverted from the source material are the result of the audience itself. Explaining the controversial changes, Baginski puts the blame at the door of Americans and younger viewers.
"When a series is made for a huge mass of viewers, with different experiences, from different parts of the world, and a large part of them are Americans, these simplifications not only make sense, they are necessary," said Baginksi.
Saying, "It’s painful for us," he added, "The higher level of nuance and complexity will have a smaller range, it won’t reach people. Sometimes it may go too far, but we have to make these decisions and accept them."
In a separate interview (with Imponderabilia) Baginski said, "When it comes to shows, the younger the public is, the logic of the plot is less significant." He later concludes, "Those people grew up on TikTok and YouTube, they jump from video to video."
There's a lot going on in The Witcherverse
Click to enlargeThe expanded Witcherverse is off to a rocky start. The Witcher: Blood Origin might've been an all-star prequel that boasted Michelle Yeoh, but it earned the unfortunate honour of being Netflix's worst-reviewed series ever. The Witcher Season 3 finale also neatly cued the upcoming spin-off for The Rats.
However, with writers and producers continuing to rattle fans, plunging reviews, and a Cavill-shaped hole in our lives, now might not be the best time to keep expanding your world. After all, with many claiming you can't get the core series right, what hope do the others have?
