It’s hard to believe it, but like a lot of things during the long past 12 months, TV and movie productions have slowed down considerably due to new safety measures. Even the highly popular Netflix series The Witcher has seen its fair share of issues, having to shut down more than once due to Covid-19. Now, the Henry Cavill-led series is heading into its second year of production on Season 2, but showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich has shared nothing but gratitude in a sweet new post.
The showrunner on the Netflix series is often sharing non-spoilery moments from set. Earlier this year, she gave fans a look at some of the safety protocols the show has been employing. She’s additionally shared many an amusing post about hopping away from others on set to cram candy down her throat or revealing memories from the series. Now, as the show heads into its second year filming Season 2, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich took a moment to reflect.
I’m not sure which is more beautiful, that photo from filming or the showrunner’s own sentiment about the work. Still, behind the nice post is a team that’s been slogging its way through to get Season 2 in front of the fans’ eyeballs on Netflix sooner rather than later. As the work keeps going and going and going, the team has even taken to working on Saturdays, as Lauren S. Hissrich noted in a separate Twitter post.
It’s worth mentioning that while most shows pick up and leave off around the same time year after year, that has not always been true of subscription cable or streaming shows. With the big productions in particular -- think Outlander, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, etc -- the actual shoots can take much longer. Outlander even has a word for the long gaps between seasons: Droughtlander.
Therefore, as a massive production, The Witcher Season 2 was always going to take quite a while to shoot. In fact, when the show originally came out in December of 2019, Lauren S. Hissrich was quoted as saying we wouldn’t be getting Season 2 until sometimes in 2021 and that could possibly still happen later in the year. But The Witcher Season 2 has also been dealt a fairly raw hand with filming this second time around.
In fact, it was one of the shows to notably be shut down for months when Covid-19 hit last year. (Henry Cavill seemed OK with the development, however, building computers and such.) Then, the series was shut down a second time after it restarted due to Covid-19. Shooting locations have also had to be shifted and Henry Cavill also had to rehab a set injury. So, I think people would be pretty understanding if Lauren S. Hissrich were a bit tetchy at this point. The fact she’s so grateful to still be working on the series is pretty incredible. (Though as far as jobs go, perhaps I probably wouldn’t be complaining either.)
We do know a little bit about what's coming, as Season 2 apparently gets off to a "bloody start" and now that the Band-Aid has been ripped off and Season 2 is on Year 2, hopefully the shoot will continue to go more and more quickly. I still have some hopes for a 2021 premiere, but we'll have to wait and see. After filming, there's still a whole lot of post work that will need to be done. For now, check out what is heading to Netflix with our full schedule.
