Tomasz Baginski Defends Simplifications in The Witcher; 'It's Necessary'

The Witcher producer Tomasz Baginski says that simplifying The Witcher's storyline is necessary for it to reach a wide Western audience, especially Americans.

fantasy

Kamil Kleszyk03 August 2023

Source: YouTube, Netflix, 2020 / The Witcher, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, Netflix, 2019

Even though Netflix's The Witcher continues to be one of the more popular show in the streaming giant's portfolio, the TV adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's prose has to face constant criticism from fans of the Polish writer. The reason for viewer dissatisfaction is primarily due to blatant deviations from the source material. The show's executive producer Tomasz Baginski stepped up to defend it.

In an extensive interview with Gazeta Wyborcza [in Polish] (via Redanian Intelligence), the creator explained that the scriptwriters of the show have everything carefully planned, so the changes that take place compared to Sapkowski's prose are not as "crazy" as they might seem at first glance.

"But when you start discussing it, it usually turns out that screenwriters thought this solution out, that it’s not completely crazy. It’s no secret that we often disagree. Things are created in the discussion. Michal Niewiara, who is our tester, does a great job, he checks what fits the world from books. Sometimes we get such a long list of things from him, because in many places we went in a different direction. But there’s a reason for it every time," Baginski explained.

The producer pointed out that viewers criticize the show because they do not know the motivations of the creators. Those decided on some controversial decisions because they were necessary.

"Sometimes the changes are the result of production chaos, because, for example, an actor fell ill and his plot needs to be edited and rewritten within a few hours so that it can be shot the next day, because this is not a plot for which the whole production machine will stop. 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," he continued.

Simplifications are necessary

According to Baginski simplifications are necessary when you create a production for a wide audience.

"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. It’s painful for us, and for me too, but 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."

Young people are not interested in the logic of the plot

Recall that this is not the first time Baginski has mentioned the need to simplify the story to reach a wider audience. In a 2021 conversation with Karol Paciorek, he said that The Witcher is trying to adapt to the needs of modern audiences, especially the TikTok era audience. In his view, young people, to whom the adaptation is also aimed, do not get wrapped up in the logic of the plot. This applies to Netflix productions as well as other movie and TV works.

"The audience changes, it’s not like… It all changes. (...) We resign from cause-and-effect chains, from linear narration. This book-like narration. When it comes to shows, the younger the public is, the logic of the plot is less significant," he explained.

In conclusion, for a corporation like Netflix, the most important thing is viewership. Therefore, the platform chooses to simplify in order to attract as many viewers as possible. And those are indeed many. Thus, in the sea of audiences, the number of fans of Sapkowski's prose is an insignificant drop. Therefore, it is hard to expect the streaming giant to risk losing its multi-million audience for them.

More:The Witcher Didn't End With Cavill's Departure, Though it Could Have; Showrunner Explains

RELATED TOPICS: Netflix fantasy movies based on books Tomek Bagiński The Witcher

Kamil Kleszyk

At Gamepressure.com deals with various jobs. So you can expect from him both news about the farming simulator and a text about the impact of Johnny Depp's trial on the future of Pirates of the Caribbean. Introvert by vocation. Since childhood, he felt a closer connection to humanities than to exact sciences. When after years of learning came a time of stagnation, he preferred to call it his "search for a life purpose." In the end, he decided to fight for a better future, which led him to the place where he is today.

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