Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ TV Series Casting Scripts Leak Online

By Stefanie Fogel

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Two casting sides for Netflix’s “The Witcher” TV series have leaked onto Reddit . They both involve the character Yennefer, but it’s likely neither scene will make it into the show.

One scene depicts Geralt and Yennefer preparing for a ball and it seems to do a good job of capturing their sometimes playful, but often complicated, relationship. The second scene is between Yennefer and the king.

In Hollywood parlance, “casting sides” are lines of dialogue actors learn before an audition. “” sides are not real scenes or storylines from the show, executive producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said on Twitter recently.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “All is okay in ‘The Witcher’ world.”

When a fan expressed some displeasure with the dialogue, Hissrich defended it by saying the sides are written to evoke specific emotional reactions from actors. “Ego, jealousy, confidence, pain, pleasure. We need to see the full spectrum. We lean AWAY from actual scenarios, so as not to spoil. Trust me,” she said.

“It’s fascinating to watch the PASSIONATE debate about Geralt’s and Yen’s thoughts/emotions/intentions on the casting sides,” she said. “Everything from ‘this reads like canon’ to ‘Geralt would NEVER say that word.’ I only hope ‘Witcher’ fans are as invested in the, you know, actual series.”

Season 1 of “The Witcher” won’t debut on until possibly 2020. It’s being shot in Eastern Europe. There are eight episodes, each running about an hour “give or take,” Hissrich said back in April.

Variety broke the news that Hissrich was signing on as executive producer and showrunner in December. She previously wrote and co-executive produced Marvel superhero dramas “The Defenders” and “Daredevil” for Netflix, along with Starz’s “Power.” She is represented by UTA.