Let’s talk about Eskel. But before we do, we need to talk about Geralt. It’s been well covered by the press that we wanted to delve into a deeper side of Geralt this season, unpeeling the layers of his intelligence and vulnerability and — most important — how he was formed by the family who raised him.

It starts in the writers room. 20 weeks of book-reading, story-spinning, imagination-bending, head-bashing, vodka-slurping and cake-eating. S2 of @witchernetflix is all thanks to the passion of Mike, Sneha, Declan, Beau, Haily, Matt, Clare, Rae, Michael, and ever-brilliant Tera. But the creative process is just beginning. Enter the mad directing team of Stephen, Sarah, Ed, and Louise, who embraced every conversation and confession, every fight and "fuck," with enthusiasm and aplomb, crafting a visual and cinematic scope beyond anything we had imagined.

@NetflixGeeked She’s about to fly on a broom. She’s a witch, duh. #AskWitcher

https://twitter.com/ILiKe_ApPLEs/status/1454126728805289994

@LHissrich There are definitely goats in S2. It would be a spoiler to tell you where though… #AskWitcher

https://twitter.com/ishxallxgood/status/1454127720749670407

Ooh! I’d love to! Thanks for asking! When hiring writers for The Witcher, there were several factors I looked at to make sure we were getting the best possible team. In no particular order:

https://twitter.com/ethan6180/status/1269729595844177920

1.) A spectrum of writing experience: people who’d been at it for 20 years and those who were brand new. It’s part of my job to mentor the next generation of writers, just as I was once trained. But I also need people who know television structure and production inside and out.

Inspired by the wonderful thread by @ketomizu, I posted yesterday about the importance of hiring diverse voices in a writers room. The response to my post was largely "No. Hire the most qualified writer."

Intentional or not, that is a very problematic response. Here's why: The insinuation contained in that response is that diverse writers aren't, in fact, the most qualified to begin with.

The insinuation is that white writers are getting pushed to the side for unqualified people of color.

I hear you. And we debated this intensely. Here's our rationale: to adapt the short stories that were important to world-building, and then to sequentially adapt Geralt and Ciri's multiple meetings in SoD meant that we wouldn't introduce Ciri until (at the earliest) season two.

https://twitter.com/JetsofSteel/status/1211185265672196098

Which makes sense, if you're a fan of the original books. That's how it's done, and it's beautiful! But for the purpose of television adaptation: if viewers are investing solely in Geralt for S1, and then get introduced to Yennefer, and several seasons later meet Ciri --

Any tv writer will tell you, it's the ONLY move. Before we begin, we have to know where we're going to end -- or else we risk the episodes dragging, meandering, fizzing out, or being too crowded as we rush to the finale.

Let's discuss how we craft a season arc on #Witcher. On the first day, @declandebarra (tall, carries a yard stick) draws eight identical columns on the white boards, labeling them 101 through 108: that's the pilot (101 = Season One, Episode One) through the finale. Remember the picture I posted months ago? See the columns?

It's Friday night in LA, and it's been a seriously great week here at #Witcher.

So.

Let's talk casting. Yes, I said the magic word! Casting is starting soon, and no, I can't tell you who our top picks are so don't ask. But. There is something very important you need to know. Normally, when casting a show, the casting director pulls character-specific scenes from the pilot script for actors' auditions. However, because we're casting internationally (which means lots of emails and self-tapes) and because we know by now the internet keeps no secrets --

You've seen their faces. (You've had opinions.)

You've heard how and why I hired them. (Lots more opinions.)

Now let's talk about what actually happens in a writers' room. (Bring it on.) First things first, I welcome the writers. I explain that we're more than a team. We're a family. We're the foundation for hundreds of people who will make this tv show, and we're not only gonna be great storytellers, we're gonna be fucking great human beings along the way.

Asking what I love most about #TheWitcher is like asking me which of my kids I love most. (For the record, I have one who fights for the Resistance and one who is clearly on the Dark Side, and they're both fascinating). There's so much that drew me to the work. For instance --

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I think fantasy, in current tv, lacks a strong female POV. I've said it before and will say it again, I'm not looking to inject a strident feminist perspective on the source material. What I want is for female viewers to be able to recognize themselves in this genre they love.