The Witcher Showrunner Reveals Why They Toned Down Jaskier's Womanizing

Netflix's The Witcher may have only released eight episodes so far, but that hasn't stopped it from being incredibly popular regardless. The adaptation of the book series by author Andrzej Sapkowski is fairly faithful in a number of ways, which has earned it praise, but the few significant departures it makes from the source material have also seen a positive reaction. That includes toning down the womanizing from Jaskier (Dandelion) in the books, and according to showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich, this was a completely intentional shift.

Hissrich was asked about the changes to Jaskier's less savory aspects in a recent interview, and how they came about. The short version is: she talked about it a bunch with Joey Batey, who plays Jaskier, and ultimately we saw what we saw in the first season, which is less... well, creepy.

"How do we take a character who loves women and not play him as a womanizer?" Hissrich told Vulture. "We didn't want to play him as someone who is just trolling around, taking advantage of helpless women. The solution was to not surround him with a bunch of helpless women who are standing around waiting to be taken advantage of."

"So as soon as you up the strength of the female characters in the show, then you will immediately up the strength of the male characters as well," she said. "This is something that is so misunderstood. Many think that if you have strong female characters, then obviously the men are weak. No. It makes men stronger too. Jaskier loves people. He loves women, especially. But what he loves is women who love him as well."

"It was easy for Joey to portray," she added. "Joey is someone who has a lot of natural joy in life. That's what we tapped into for the character. What I love about this decision the most is that it's taken away this idea of a sleazy, womanizing guy, and made him into someone that you root for. You root for him to find his true love … if that's what he's looking for."

What do you think of Netflix's The Witcher? Are you excited for Season 2? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!

Here's how Netflix describes the series:

"Based on the best-selling fantasy series, The Witcher is an epic tale of fate and family. Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together."

The first eight-episode season of Netflix's The Witcher is available to stream on the platform now. It has already been renewed for a second season. Lauren S. Hissrich serves as showrunner. It stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra as Yennefer, and Freya Allan as Ciri. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the latest and greatest adaptation right here.