The Witcher Showrunner Explains Why Triss Wasn’t Featured More in Season 1

Netflix’s The Witcher has successfully brought the beloved characters from Andrzej Sapkowski’s books to life, and that includes a huge fan favorite in Triss Merigold. The part of Triss is being played by Anna Shaffer, and while she’s a main figure later in the novels, she’s not a main figure yet in the short story collection The Last Wish. That said, she does have an impact in the show, but perhaps not as big of one as some fans might want. ComicBook.com had the chance to speak to showrunner Lauren Hissrich all about the show’s debut season, including why Triss wasn’t featured in a bigger way and if she was going to be featured later in season 1 once more (we had only seen the first 5 episodes at the time). Spoilers incoming for The Witcher season 1, so if you haven’t’ seen it yet you might want to come back after you have.

“A little bit of both,” Hissrich said. “You will see Triss again, but the most important thing, and I love this question because there have been a lot of questions actually about the choices that we make to change things in the adaptation, and what I’ve always said is there is always a reason to do it. We’re not doing it for our egos. We’re not doing it because it’s easier. What we’re trying to do is set up the appropriate building blocks for our story, so there is stuff that I know that I want to happen to Triss in Season One and Season Two, and, God willing, beyond that. So I need to make sure that that story is set up appropriately, and the best way to do that was actually to bring her and introduce her in a story that she’s not in in the novel.”

“And it was one of the first risks that we took, taking a big scene like that in the series,” Hissrich said. “And we have a lot of producers that work on our show that are very familiar with the books. Obviously, Sapkowski himself is a creative consultant on the show, and we got the sign off from everyone around, and so we were really excited to be able to make changes like that that I think will alter the foundation of the story, but allow us to have something to build on for the future.”

We love that Hissrich and the team are taking their time setting things up for stories to come, and if Triss’ first season appearances are anything to go by, we’re in for something awesome in season 2.

You can find the official description for Netflix‘s The Witcher below.

“Based on the best-selling fantasy series of books, 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,” Netflix said. “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.”

Henry Cavill (Geralt of Rivia), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), Freya Allan (Ciri), Jodhi May (Calanthe), Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Eist), Adam Levy (Mousesack), MyAnna Buring (Tissaia), Mimi Ndiweni (Fringilla), Therica Wilson-Read (Sabrina), Emma Appleton (Renfri), Eamon Farren (Cahir), Joey Batey (Jaskier), Lars Mikkelsen (Stregobor), Royce Pierreson (Istredd), Maciej Musiał (Sir Lazlo), Wilson Radjou-Pujalte (Dara), and Anna Shaffer as Triss.

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!