NetflixWhen something you’ve created and worked hard on gets torn apart, it’s easy to see why you might be a tad upset or – scratch that – distraught about the whole thing.
So when it gets ridiculed publicly on one of the most famous review platforms, for everybody to witness, you can understand why a person might not react in the most graceful way.
Which is why it’s so refreshing to see Lauren S. Hissrich, the showrunner of Netflix’s The Witcher, respond to harsh criticism of the show in such an iconic way. In other words, she couldn’t be less bothered.
NetflixJust three days after the show’s release on Netflix, the Rotten Tomatoes scores are already rolling in and they’re looking a bit, well, deflated. Not on the audience’s side, which boasts an impressive 92%, but on that of the critics’, which currently stands at a ‘rotten’ 58%.
One particular review, from the guys over at Entertainment Weekly, was particularly harsh – with the critic saying he skipped ahead to the fifth episode without bothering to watch the first few because ‘life’s too short for Netflix drama running times’. He added: ‘Alas, my destiny is to never watch this borefest ever again.’
Yikes. This admission by the critic that he had not even bothered to watch the show before passing judgement (rightly) upset a lot of fans – but not Hissrich, who said she was ‘f*cking thrilled’ about the response she’s received about The Witcher.
In particular, she threw shade at the Entertainment Weekly critic, writing:
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?
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 fucking THRILLED.😉❤️
— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) December 22, 2019
Incredible. Luckily for Hissrich, the audience scores were much more forgiving, with viewers describing the show as ‘absolutely fantastic’, ‘visually impressive’, and ‘a beautiful adaption’.
Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that since its release, fans of the show have been expressing just how horny it has made them – especially after that bathtub scene which star Henry Cavill admitted he dehydrated himself for three days prior to filming.
Alternatively, it could have everything to do with the fact that even before its release, reviewers who had the chance to preview the first season before everybody else said they were ‘blown away’ by the show’s awe-inspiring choreography, even saying it made Game of Thrones look awful.
NetflixFeel like you’re getting a load of mixed messages? Yep, me too. I guess the only thing for it is to go and binge watch the entire first season…
The first season of The Witcher is available to watch on Netflix now.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).