The Witcher Showrunner Explains Why Dropping Same Day as Star Wars Wasn't an Issue

The Witcher has become a popular topic of conversation once more thanks to Netflix's new adaptation, and while there are plenty of things to talk about, a topic that has risen to the top is how Netflix's binge model either benefits or negatively impacts the shows reach, growth, and popularity. Some of that conversation had started even before the show premiered thanks to how the calendar worked out, as The Witcher dropped on the same day that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters. As we've seen since then, neither has been an issue for The Witcher and recently showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich broke down both of those topics in an interview with Tomorrow Will Be Televised with Simon Applebaum. When asked if premiering over the holidays was ever a concern regarding if audiences would find the show, here is what Hissrich had to say.

"Oh God not at all," Hissrich said. "You know what Netflix has found, and again this is really their sort of you know algorithms and data and business, is over the holidays, people binge a lot. People are home, there's a lot of cold weather. Even when there's not, I'm calling from really sunny Los Angeles right now, this is the time I spend with my family, relaxing on the couch in pajamas as long as I possibly can. There was no concern. In fact, I think premiering over the holidays is one of the things that really benefited the show. It gave people the time to sit down and watch all 8 episodes of the episodes and start over again. I mean Simon it's incredible the things that I get back on Twitter where people are saying 'I'm in my sixth rewatch', 'I'm in my seventh rewatch', and I'm doing the math in my head thinking 'has there actually been that many hours since the show premiered'?"

As for Star Wars, that was never an issue for the team either.

"You know the other big thing that happens around the holidays that people have now come to love and look forward to is big movies premiering," Hissrich said. "Obviously we dropped the same night as Star Wars came out, and that was a question too, but the truth is that I've watched both. I watched Star Wars and then obviously I sat down with my family and watched The Witcher as well. There's room enough for a lot of entertainment over the holidays, and I think that's one of the things that we really wanted to grab onto."

The Witcher is available to stream on Netflix now, and you can check out more from our Witcher coverage right here. You can also hit me up on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things Witcher!