Netflix’s The Witcher Will Explore Part of Yennefer’s Story Only Mentioned in the Books

As we draw ever nearer to the release of the first season of Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher, more and more information comes to light from interviews and set visits and so on. While we still don’t know, exactly, how everything plays out, it’s interesting to hear from folks like showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich that characters like Yennefer will explore aspects of their lives only hinted at elsewhere.

“You hear bits and pieces about [Yennefer’s] past, you’re usually told in an offhand remark: ‘Here’s something that happened to me as a kid,’” Hissrich told British magazine SciFiNow, as transcribed by Witcher fan site Redanian Intelligence. “So one of the things that I did very early on, I went through all of the books and I found all of her recollections about her past and then we crafted a story in the writer’s room that allowed us to be with Yennefer when she was actually just a child, when she is becoming the person that we know and love and see in the books.”

“So she starts off in a very vulnerable place, she is a character that has experienced a great deal of pain in her life and then we get to see how she transcends that pain and grows from it and strengthens her resolve in this world, and I think it’s a really great origin for her,” Hissrich continued.

What do you think of what we’ve heard about Yennefer’s role so far? Are you excited to see how the world of The Witcher is adapted into a television series? 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 upcoming series on its press site:

“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.”

Netflix’s The Witcher is scheduled to release its eight-episode first season on the streaming service on December 20th. 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 upcoming adaptation right here.