Is The Last of Us proof that HBO could do The Witcher better than Netflix? 

This video wasn't worth the time I've put into it but I hope you'll like it anyway.

A crucial step is to hire the right people. HBO could recruit directors and writers from Europe who are familiar with Polish, Slavic and European culture. They could also collaborate with some writers from The Witcher 3 game and consult experts on The Witcher lore. This would help them create a faithful and immersive adaptation of The Witcher world.

I think it is possible for a big studio like HBO to do a good Witcher adaptation even though they are American. For example, HBO's Rome did have some problems, but it was the best representation of Roman culture on screen imo-- and ancient Roman culture is about as foreign as one can get. You are right, they would need to have help from people who know the books and the culture the books come from

Great video. A perfect example is when HBO filmed Chernobyl in Lithuania and listened to local consultants who know soviet life well. For example, they wanted Legasov to feed his cat canned cat food, while the locals corrected them ''cat food was not present then, everyone gave their cats regular sausage''.

Netflix's series mostly look cheap, plastic and without any meaningful concept. Last year they also butchered the Sandman adaptation that people waited 20 years for.

The tower of mice quest is loosely based on a fairy tale as well. The original was about king Popiel who was eaten by mice in the tower..

I think the reason why so many fantasy shows look generic is mass appeal. I once read an interview with the guy who did the cover on Bioshock Infinite. It's a game about a flying steampunk city where people have magic powers. It's really creative and unique, but they put a generic man with a shotgun on the cover. The reason was, because a lot of casuals who don't know anything about the game and just see the box on the shelf would be scared off, if it looked too strange. It's the same with fantasy shows. Rings of Power, the Witcher, Wheel of Time, they all look the same, because the don't want to make them unique. They want them to look like every other fantasy show, because they want to give people something they are familiar with. That's their version of "playing it safe" That's also why they don't ask fans, because they don't ask themselves "how do we make the fans happy". They are focused on "how do we get everybody else to watch" I don't think it's vey smart of them to do so, but I think it explains a lot of strange decisions. It just seems to be the reality of showmaking these days. There are also a few videos on RU-vid by Tods Workshop about the weapon props in the Witcher show. He's a blacksmith who makes weapons for museums and movies/TV shows including Geralts swords and a few other pieces. It's really interesting to watch, because clearly a lot of thought was put into them. Usually Henry Cavil gets most of the praise from the fans, but I feel like a lot of talented people worked on the show, but it was ruined by poor directing and writing. No amount of acting, CGI or atmosphere will fix that. You can't have a good story without a good story.

Sapkowski should've done what J.K Rowling did; allow the project with the condition that *she* would supervise the project, and dictate what can be changed and what can't, and who to hire for the cast, and where it's to be filmed. She did all this to protect her work and the world she made, and Sapkowski should've done the same, or given them an advising representative who would do this in his stead. Then it would've been done right. Great video. You did a great job of highlighting the problems with the show and the severe lack of respect for culture that Netflix has. I hope we get a true adaptation of the books in my lifetime. I've been a longtime fan of both books and the games, and love the franchise, but I can't stand what Netflix has done with this series. It's downright disrespectful to both the books, and Slavic and European culture.

Your description of what this atmosphere in The Witcher is, that is so captivating and distinctive, is very accurate. And it is hard to explain :) I agree that we need to improve our abilities to promote the culture of Central Europe. I think your channel is doing a very competent job in this regard. I am also very impressed how popular the Witcher in Czechia is. Your cosplayers look amazing and I need to check out this series you have been working on! It look amazing.

It's all a question of how genuinely a show runner wants to adapt a story/universe vs. imprinting their own takes, or, in the worst case, ideology. The last case out of the two is perhaps the worst, as Hollywood is absolutely consumed by it, and it tends to make everything the same.

Poland is not an expensive country. It might have been cheaper for Netflix to go film in Poland, hire a Polish film company to find locations, costumes and cast minor characters. Getting poles to find simple medieval armour suits and weapons instead of of building these epic fantasy armors. That's just my gues.

A drunken duck can do a better Witcher adaptation than Netflix.

I fell in love with the folklore and fairytales of this part of Europe through The Witcher. Netflix never understood what makes that world so appealing, HBO maybe could do a better job, but like in LOTR, it all comes down to the people that are working on it and the passion they show for the books and the traditions that inspire it. Which is why I expect nothing from the adaptation of 100 years of solitude; we'll see. Anyways, your videos are amazing, greetings from Colombia!

There was no need for proof that Netflix could do better than terrible/mediocre. But every time they do they push the cancel button

About the costumes and makeup, I heard from the costume designer that they were only given like 2 months to create full casting costumes and they tried to reason with lauren about time management. This indicates that the whole show was rushed

I would like CD Projekt to involve musicians or people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the work on The Witcher 4. You perfectly understand what the Witcher is. CD Projekt definitely employs people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia! I would love to hear music in your languages in the next game.

Funny that you mention The Hexer, the show might be goofy for today's standard, but it had a significantly better atmosphere, presenting the philosophic ideas of each story and probably the best possible casting for Jaskier; Zbigniew Zamachowski is an absolute legend of polish cinema. I watched it when I was a kid and always loved it despite the massive creative freedoms they took lol

Wow, I love this video! You speak out of my heart. Thank you so much. I'm from Austria (Tirol). Playing the witcher is like walking around outside my home in the woods. It's magical.✨️✨️✨️

People really sleep on The Hexer. Rewatching it around the time Witcher season 1 came out made me appreciate the old show so much more.

Also of notice is the polish parody of the old polish series, „Dwa miecze i amulet” Infinitely better than the Netflix show

Hexer was definitely far better than netflix garbage.

This is one of the weird shortcomings of the entertainment industry. When fans make something it's like a home cooked meal. The entertainment industry does not want a home-cooked meal. They want McDonalds. They wanted to be a million served.

excellent work

I don't agree entirely with sentiment that American adaptation is impossible because they just "don't get it". I'm not Nordic but have interest in middle ages and Northman by American director Robert Eggers is example they can do it justice.

Although the game is undeniably Polish, when I played it I couldn't help but feel a kinship to that world. I'm Croatian, but seeing the names of people and places, the Glagolitic script, the mention of witches and demons that my grandparents told me lived in the woods when I was small, the folk music (some songs being Croatian, but others just familiar due to being Slavic folk songs re-imagined by Percival), and honestly more besides... This game transcended it's own goals. I didn't go into Witcher 3 expecting much, but found myself dragged into what felt like being anywhere in medieval central/eastern Europe. It felt like Poland, it felt like Croatia, it felt like Slovakia, and Bosnia. I never thought I'd see so much kinship in a game made by developers from a foriegn country, just because they decided to use classic elements of daily village life and culture from that part of the world. When I heard Netflix was going to make the show I knew exactly what it'd be. A bastardized, Americanized version of this world. And that's not me bashing on America, I love America and Americana, but this portayal was a spit in the face of what made the Witcher world so deep, that displayed the culture of that part of Europe to a broad audience so honestly and lovingly, and for most outsiders - for the first time. I honestly think this is the first time I've seen Slavic/East European culture get real attention and love for it's music, folk-tales, culture and geography. I looked up Percival after the game and found so many folk songs from so many countries and was shocked to see them being enjoyed by millions of people around the world. This was not common before the Witcher 3.

11:30 Michał Zebrowski as Geralt is the best 🙂 And they did a better job then Netflix in EVERY way possible, I believe. The only downside bein re-creating Kaer Morhen and how witchers operate there, with Vesemir not being the fencing master ("the Old witcher" in the series is efectively Vesemir from the books in my opinion) but a priest responsible for the Trial of the Grasses and stuff. But otherwise it was excellent. I don't even mind the infamous dragon - if one has a grain of fantasy, he's able to understand the story and won't pay too much attention to the muppet-like dragon. Thank you for all the content, btw, keep on!

Another great video. I wouldn’t trust an American or Central European or anyone who isn’t from there to capture the exact atmosphere of the deep English north or the great industrial towns such as Sheffield or Darlington. Victorian London too is often done quite badly by Americans so I get where you’re coming from.

Excellent video, loved every second of it!!! 💯👌

Nieže môžeš, ale musíš robiť dlhšie videá😁😁mne sa nepočúvaš, obzvlášť keď sa snažíš napodobniť ten anglický prízvuk, je to pre mňa celkovo príjemné počúvanie, proste wow🤗🤗keep creating more content prosiiim🖤🖤❤️❤️

The length of the talk is ok, some details are most interesting.

It's literally impossible for American movie makers / writers to perfectly capture the Slavic / Polish medieval atmosphere. We've already agreed that atmosphere is something that's extremely hard to define, and the 'atmosphere' of the Witcher 1 is the result of the Polish culture being thoroughly absorbed and understood by CDProjekt Red of 2005. There is 0 chance in hell a bunch of American writers that mostly grew up on Disneyland castles, Disney re-telling of fairy tales, who only got to see the oldest structures that largely dated back to 1800s at best, will ever understand what it means to immerse themselves and in turn, immerse their audience, in a Slavic fantasy world full of nuances, social cues, superstitions and subtleties that they can barely understand.

Awesome video! Thanks for it.

Neslyšela jsem o Witcher stories, ale teď určitě musím se na podívat! Děkuji za video, bylo by to super, kdyby Hollywood chtěl pochopit evropskou a hlavně slovanskou kulturu a nedělat ze Zaklínače další basic epic fantasy

Even with Game of Thrones, B&B initially went into the project because they loved the source material (even if they got bored with it in later seasons and ruined the story) - they wanted to make it and they managed to get funding for it. And it shows in the quality of the production. Same with Lord of the Rings: it was made by people who really, REALLY wanted to make it. The problem with shows like the Netflix Witcher (or so many other adaptations of beloved books that they do, like Jane Austen's Persuasion) is that the order is back to front: the studios throw the money and then get whomever to do the project - because they want to milk the trend, not because they love the source material. It always, always shows. My biggest gripe about it is that after they ruin so many IPs with their money grabs, it means that their fans are going to be deprived of worthwhile adaptations for so much longer (who's going to adapt the same book within 5 years?). I'm still waiting for a good adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea series 😞

as a hungarian i agree and i realized why i loved the witcher game as soon as i started it it looked...Familiar ? but ye

The only time they should make the atmosphere a bit more fantastical is when Ciri travels to other worlds. That's it

Wonderfully explained. The show is americanized, which is one of the main reasons it failed.

Absolutely.

I think HBO just has a way higher baseline for their shows. Where Netflix just highlights random stuff and hopes for the best. HBO is way more selective with their shows. And when they greenlight something they make sure the best people are working on it. GoT final couple of seasons is the perfect example. The writing has gone down fast after they ran out of books. But even until the very end, the costumes, set design, camera etc. were all great. HBO Witcher would be a better show. By how much is a different question tho. That would depend on who is behind the wheel steering it.

People really don't realise that HBO did a poor job on Game of Thrones, about adapting the athmosphere of the books too. It's just, they at least kept the very interesting plot points for 4 seasons or so. And that's not their own success, GRRM's storytelling is so good, you can't fuck up the Red Wedding or Daenerys' bringing down Astapor. A lot of the problems were budget caused in that show, but the very big problem of Game of Thrones is that it completely ignored the mystical side of ASOIAF series. There was next to no magic, they completely altered Stark children to avoid warg magic and judging by how they handled Bran, they literally had no understanding of it in the first place. And by the way, the ''High fantasy'' elements this guy mentions in Game of Thrones is just George usually taking a typical medieval trope to the extreme. Eyrie, a castle that stands atop of an impassable mountain, the Wall, a giant fortification 700 feet high at the edge of civilisation, Dragonstone Keep, a Valyrian castle forged with dragonfire with weird gargoyles and creepy looking images all around. Most of Game of Thrones is supposed to be just medieval Europe with occasional unrealistic looking castles that're obviously built by magical power. Witcher series, not only a fantasy in a realistic central European surroundings with folkloric elements, they're also very very character driven, slavic style dialogue driven storytelling, and a very very interesting group of characters. Geralt might be the most difficult main character to portray, a reluctant hero who just wants to ignore his inner conflicts, wants to be content, wants to belong somewhere. A neurotic, scheming control freak of Yennefer who just wants to find meaning in her life Both of them find that in Ciri. You don't feel Geralt's that attached to Ciri because of any moral obligation. He just is that passionately attached to Ciri he'll do anything to protect her. From viciously murdering people to throwing away his entire life.

It's amazing how You depict atmosphere of Witcher books and games, great job, thank You very much for Your work! And sadly i have to agree with You that presence of Tomek Baginski in Netflix Witcher is shame for him, for doing NOTHING for saving that show...

The right people and adapting everything to the letter if possible would be necessary. Only issue here is that the last of us had Niel druckman at the helm. Him and his team are the ones who made the last of us, doubt sapkowski would do the same for the show. Someone there needs to be in a directing role that loves and understands the material. If Henry was acting and helping direct it then it would of been a master piece.

In regards to horror, I remember I felt very uneasy while exploring crypts in tw1. I loved it 😊

Cyberpunk; Edgerunners is an excellent adaptation from Netflix. Both TLoU and Edgerunners have competent creators deeply involved with the adaptation. Both honor the sources.

The saddest think is that executive producer Tomasz Baginski who's Polish couldn't get it.

Your take on how to go about developing a successful IP by contacting dedicated fans is totally logical. I’m a fan of the books and though not much of a gamer, the Witcher games look incredible and true to the source material. Hissrich is a disgrace. The Last of Us TV show butchers the main character, destroys the plot logic and panders shamelessly to woke ideology. The hacks of Hollywood, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Paramount, Disney(!) and many other studios, cannot write characterisation, are utterly inept at cogent world building and display immense arrogance in their dismissive attitudes to source material and fans. I agree with your conclusion: HBO would also f… it up. No successful, if flawed, adaptation made 10 or more years ago, could be made now without utterly destroying the reasons for its success.

Jesus Christ and Melitele. Those LARPers (Nazair, Elf commando, Redanians, Temerians etc) look 6755644543 times better than series units.

Jako vždy TOPUS

The CW could do witcher better than netflix

The first step is to consult with the author. That is the most important part.

Lets set up a kick starter

Good points, for me books sometimes feel more like dark souls and lotr and less like sparkly final fantasy

that's why the netflix show is so diiferent from the book

You're right. It's possible that the showrunners from HBO would do better research than people from Netflix. But they would not have the same intuition as Europeans from the continent. Just like we in central Europe, we would not be able to make a good western.

You’ve only got to look at “The Sandman” to see how adapting can be done properly

Yes agree, the Witcher without Slavic advisors and fans is no Witcher. I work with people from the US daily, I know that many never seen a real castle in their lives, they think they all looks like from Las Vegas or Disneyland. Thats OK, but if someone spent milions on the IP and the show which should be based on Slavic culture and mythology its sad to see how it ended up. Such a wasted opportunity, the Witcher is unique, the books and games were so great and popular.

I totally agree with you. Unfortunately, nowadays, every show has to reflect "the world we live in today," which is basically Los Angeles 😑

I think game of thrones shows that they can adapt stuff better. If we ignore season 8

I think HBO would have had a more humble approach of the full project... I think they would have realised that they don't have the cultural knowledge and they would have teamed up with those knowing the best. For example, for "his dark material" they worked with BBC, which was a perfect idea. I could imagine that they hire or collaborate with polish experts and bring their money and name to bring visibility ti the series. Whatever they could have done, they would anyway have done better than Netflix! And they would have tried harder!!!!

I definitely think the first season would have been better as a monster of the week season where major plot elements begin to be added towards the later half of the season but it still primarily focus on a new monster hunt every episode that way they can do a bunch of monster lore and they can do world building setting the episodes in different parts of the country where the IP is set

They said goodbye to Henry Cavill by turning logo into a pile of skulls. That's how little they respect him.

Ironically the setting for the Witcher setting is similar to game of thrones both are low fantasy medieval closer to a history than high fantasy setting with a few fantasy elements

A áno, aj ja si myslím že by bolo lepšie ak by film točili naši krajania, Slovania, darmo, naše mravy sú pre američanov niekedy neznáma🤷tak to je proste

Is water wet ?

To be fair, the tone of The Witcher 3 felt a lot more commerical than the first game. Atmosphere is really important to The Witcher, but end of the day story is what matters most, and HBO would have done a much better job than Netflix has.

❤❤❤

You ask all the right questions. But I'm afraid the answer is No... No they don't care about the actual IP they just want the fanbase it brings with it. Even if it diminishes over time. They dont want to risk it with original stories, so they grab and steal already established stories. Some randos that dont give two poops about it will make up their own crap that will wear the skin of the original story just to push their stupid agenda and make a quick buck. It is tragic and infuriating at the same time.

I'm pretty sure a fourth grade child with a box of crayons could do The Witcher better than Netflix.

It was long but very important material. I am enough of shorties, I pretty enjoy longer stuff. And the way how You explained our Central Eu atmosphere - yes, this is in our hearts, minds, words. It is sometimes unspeakable, we just KNOW, we feel it. So basic, we don't event see it - until Netflix came and we saw what they did - trample it. Like.. literally.. they don't get it. Writing epic fanstasy is easy, if Sapkowski would like to do it - he would do it. He is fan of great fantasy books so he is capabale of it. He chose other way and that's is real magic! Like Night Watch by Lukyanienko - only European may really understand, from our region. It is our legacy: our region, simple lifes and magic behind it. So close to us, our world. OUR world, not some epic, noname world. Also I like how You compared old The Hexer with allegro's Jaga. Indeed, the serie is nice and smooth, so with some money, yes, we can do it. My huge respect for all Czech fandom, for cosplays, for loving our common witcher atmosphere, for all fan movies, music and dedication. Szacunek!

NGL I too wish to follow this theme.

God I love this franchise so much! I remember back in the games, I'd go to some alleyways in Novigrad just to slaughter thugs and bandits everytime and pick up their weapons and sell them.

If you want to watch better Witcher movie adaptation there is Alzur's Legacy and Hexer series (2002)

No, I do not think a MURICAN director could capture the spirit of polish fantasy. Problem is that european filmmakers lack the money to get the quality TW would deserve. Not even Netflix managed to get that quality btw, in spite of Henry's best acting chops on display.

You know thanks to your channel and the Netflix butchering the Witcher I finally gave the Hexer a chance and watched the full series. Gotta say it does so many things better than the Netflix show it's incredible 😂 the low budget is very apparent, but it's still great.

Yes it's clear proof

I've been wishing that HBO acquired The Witcher the fucking second Netflix announced they bought the rights. What a fucking day man that shit broke my heart.

Sesame Street could do The Witcher better than Netflix.

12:10 "Executive Producer" means he contributed money. It's not typically a creative role.

Obviously yes

I had such high hopes for The Witcher series, but Netflix made the same mistakes that EVERY production studio makes...They change the source material. Nowadays, they even go well beyond simply changing the source material, plugging woke bulls*** into the story and completely rewriting significant characters. It's a complete disregard for fans of the books and games, and they aren't giving people that are new to the Witcher lore the story in it's correct context. It's just a complete disrespect to the fans. There was a time I wanted a Mass Effect series, but after seeing what Netflix did to The Witcher... Whether it's Netflix, HBO, Amazon, etc... Don't you a**holes dare f***in' touch it!

I might be wrong but I think the Showrunner and writing team do not comprise either Netflix or HBO. I also doubt Netflix demanded the Showrunner change the story content and the characters. If another writing team and Showrunner made the Witcher according to the books 'm sure it would be great no matter who televised it.

Swat team scene looked like crap to me. No offense but there was zero understanding of fire arms or physicality. She'd get shot - shotgun man needs muzzle on target for half a second and he got that, he'd shoot her squarely in the chest, and all guys are obviously yanked on strings instead of force coming from her movement impacting into something and causing a follow up movement. Only the last kick was a very good looking action, everything else IMO worth redoing.

It should be compared to dance of dragons not last of us

Silly question, of course they would. A selfie video of myself on the toilet would be better than netflix's witcher

Anyone could do The Witcher better than Netflix.

I played the last of us and enjoyed every moment of the game. Sadly the core of the game was butchered by the tv show. The world and characters interaction with it is driven by how the zombies exist in the environment. A few bread crumbs to individual moments in the game does not make them the same. To me it was a huge disappointment.

Well any big streaming platform has smth called ESG rating so it means they will make shitty adaptations that push agenda

Hbo would actually take the Witcher story and setting more seriously try to make a a good adaptation, game of thrones was there last golden goose why would they want to make changes to a popular series

Bro HBO's TLOU is absolute dog poop, don't fall for this. It all purely depends on the creator and his team, doesn't matter Netflix or Prime Video, or HBO.

Netflix squib of Witcher is as far from books as possible. The only reason Roach wasn't given a mane painted in rainbow colours is because it would have been considered animal cruelty.

The Last of Us was fairly decently done but got slow in parts. The two filler episodes were a chore to get through.

watchmen wasn't based on source material thought

So remember game of thrones and towards the end of the show it was just horid remember this can still happen to the last of us but so far it's pretty close to the game

I like to think Witcher novel are sci fi novels disguised as fantasy novels. Like Harry Potters are mystery novels disguised as fantasy novels.

Honestly, no. TLOU was an overrated show and ultimately it’s only Great episode was episode 3; however it was a massive departure from the core narrative and was, essentially, a sapphic short film.

HBO could do better than most because of their long list of talented directors that have been in every great project that they've won awards for like Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, GoT, etc. But they are also prone to creating crap as well when they hire the wrong showrunners or writers such as Watchmen for one example. Max, as in Cinemax, has a far larger list of failed attempts at making hit shows because they pit woke bullshite in the forefront. As long as Netflix keeps hiring people who don't stay true to the source material, have an agenda such as woke idealism/feminism/inclusion/equity/diversity etc., Or straight up dont like the source material, then they will continue to fail. The biggest problem that starts them and keeps them on this path is by signing deals with Blackrock who states that if they dont make things with DEI at the forefront then they will not be endorsed and will lose money. But they lose money anyways when they follow the guidelines because consumers dont want any part of that shit. All we consumers want is good programming that stays true to the source material and doesnt force politics down our throats whether it be personal politics or propaganda. We just want good entertainment, period.

No

I understand where you're coming from, but gatekeeping these projects from people that aren't of a specific origin is wrong. Why not have an american direct it? I'm a slav and it doesn't bother me. The issue is when the creators don't try to be authentic. Hollywood can make good decisions and adaptations, but the creators behind them have to be GOOD at their job, which means hiring and surrounding themselves with people that sometimes know better, people that can guide their vision. Hiring fans is not enough. You don't need to be a fan to make a good adaptation. You need to understand what you are adapting. Sure involving fans can be good, but a lot of times it makes things work, because the fans, even if they make content on the IP are just fans - not filmmakers.

Netflix Witcher is proof HBO could do better

I think I could do a better Witcher than Netflix. I can borrow a camera from Fat Bob, and Mary Sue looks more like Yenefer than anything Netflix managed, even with her gammy eye, I guess Geralt's going to be harder, although Pete down the gas station has white hair on account of his house being near the chemical plant. He smokes 60 a day so I bet he could do the voice. There's no blonde girls I'm allowed near, but Theo has a son with fine hair who's good with colors and his coonhound will make for a prettier Triss Merigold. That's probably diverse enough for some ESG money. We don't even need to go to Europe to film it because we have trees up the road, assuming the fire's not got all of them.