The middle of March saw movie and TV productions around the world postpone filming as we tried to wait out our current health crisis. With that, though, came a lot of questions about when filming (and life) could get back to normal, as deadlines for returning to work were set and pushed back or abandoned repeatedly in the following weeks. As we know, many other areas of life are now opening up again, and the producers of The Witcher have revealed their decision on when to get back to business with the most on-brand post.
The Witcher was the first major TV show made in the U.K. to shutter its production back in March, with that initial halt being set for two weeks, while the producers waited to see how the pandemic would play out. Obviously, nothing was able to return to filming that quickly, and I'm sure many meetings have been had about when would be a good time to get back on set. Well, we now know what those behind the fantasy drama have decided, and it comes to us via the most appropriate Twitter post for The Witcher ever. Take a look!
Kudos to the bard who runs The Witcher's Twitter account, right? I mean, it's pretty easy to visualize Jaskier singing this little ditty to entertain a tavern full of dirty, smelly patrons who probably like to do a lot of grunting, isn't it? They wouldn't know what the hell he was talking about for some of it, but they're mostly drunk and wanting to fight or fuck anyway, so that doesn't really matter.
The decision to shut down production on The Witcher came the week after Netflix closed all of its productions in the United States and Canada. Filming on Season 2 of the action-packed Henry Cavill led series had only just begun in late February, so they weren't able to get very far into the shoot before needing to pack up and head home.
And, it sounds like it was a very good thing that they stopped filming when they did. Shortly after the decision was made to leave production behind for a bit to see how things would go, Game of Thrones alum Kristofer Hivju, who had been cast as Nivellen for the second season (along with several other new actors / characters for the series), revealed that he had tested positive for COVID-19. But, because filming had already stopped, it was then easier for production offices to be closed so that the entire area could be deep cleaned and disinfected.
While several actors have come forward to talk about being diagnosed with the virus, luckily, there's been no word that anyone else who was working on Season 2 of The Witcher contracted it. It might seem like August 17 is a long time to wait yet to get back to filming, but there are now several precautions that need to be worked out so that everyone can reconvene safely.
As we all know well by now, social distancing and the wearing of masks have been requirements for moving about the world safely for several months. While those who work behind the scenes on The Witcher and other productions can still take those precautions, these are things that can't really be done on camera and have filming go about as usual. So, they've likely had to figure out what rules will need to be followed according to the area where they film (which is about 40 miles west of London), not to mention any safety measures set about for television and movie sets in general.
While CBS' The Bold and the Beautiful became the first U.S. broadcast show (and possibly the first scripted show overall) to begin filming again last week, they've had a lot of rules to follow, and those infamous soap opera love scenes are now probably going to be filmed in some very original ways to keep the actors safe. On top of that, one movie director has noted that the new filming guidelines (for movies, at least) are so strict that he wouldn't want to get a production started under those conditions.
The Witcher is just making sure that everyone who works on and off camera on the series can come back to a set that has dotted all of its i's and crossed all of its t's so they know exactly what has to be done when they return, and that's a very good thing.
Of course, if you're missing The Witcher and all of Geralt's bathing, the entirety of Season 1 is ripe for rewatching on Netflix right now. Until we hear more about Season 2, you can also check out what else is coming to the streamer in 2020, and see what joys summer TV will hold!
