The Witcher showrunner responds to bad reviews: 'I don't welcome unsubstantiated meanness'

The Witcher’s showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has responded to bad reviews of the fantasy series, saying: “I don’t welcome unsubstantiated meanness”.

At the time of writing, the show has a low score of 58% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

The Independent’s critic Nick Hilton described the series, which stars Henry Cavill as a monster hunter, as “Netflix’s painfully transparent attempt to fill the Game of Thrones void with more blood and boobs”.

But it was one review in particular that Hissrich took issue with. Darren Franich at Entertainment Weekly wrote that he had skipped ahead to the fifth episode without watching the first few because “life’s too short for Netflix drama running times”. He also described the show as a “borefest”.

Calling out the Entertainment Weekly critic, Hissrich wrote on Twitter: “Many people have sweetly written me, upset about the #Witcher reviews. Know this: Who do I care about? ‘Professional’ critics who watched one episode and skipped ahead? Or REAL fans who watched all eight in one day, and are starting their rewatch? I am f***ing THRILLED.”

Further down the thread, in response to a Twitter user who suggested she cannot take criticism, Hissrich replied: “You can't be serious. For the last 2 years, I've heard and responded to honest critique from fans. And there's a lot of tv critics I respect greatly, even if they didn't love the show. Please do your research. I welcome debate. I don't welcome unsubstantiated meanness.”

The Witcher is available on Netflix now.