Netflix has shared a new featurette for The Witcher Season 2, revealing some story details for the first episode.
In the video, posted to the Netflix Geeked Twitter account, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich confirms that the first episode of Season 2 is an adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's A Grain of Truth. Hissrich describes the news as "the worst-kept secret," presumably because of all of the references to the story so far, including it being one of the episode titles.
THE WITCHER Season 2 premiere episode is adapting the Andrzej Sapkowski short story A Grain of Truth. Here’s what you need to know about how @LHissrich is bringing the beloved Witcher tale to life with Geralt and Ciri. pic.twitter.com/Y0J11I3UMx
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) August 5, 2021
Hissrich described A Grain of Truth as the "perfect kick-off for season two" as it's a story that explores family dynamics and relationships. In the original tale, Geralt stumbles upon a rundown manor, inhabited by a monstrous, cursed nobleman known as Nivellen — who is being portrayed by Kristofer Hivju in the series.
"It's a story of a father and daughter coming together in a place that doesn't quite feel safe for them. We really get into Nivellen, who is played by the incomparable Kristofer Hivju. We get to explore his character and his backstory with Geralt as well," she explained. "It's about the secrets that we keep from each other, and the monsters that we are inside sometimes."
Season 2 of The Witcher will pick up with Geralt taking Princess Cirilla to his childhood home of Kaer Morhen, where he will task himself with protecting Ciri from the mysterious power she possesses within while the Continent's kings, elves, humans, and demons strive for supremacy outside the walls of the castle, located within the Kingdom of Kaedwen.
Filming for season 2 wrapped up in April after production for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of the second season, the show announced new cast additions for the upcoming season, including Chris Fulton (Bridgerton) in the role of Rience, who is a major antagonist in the Witcher books, which the show is based on.
The Witcher Season 2 is set to premiere on Netflix on December 17. Netflix is also working on The Witcher: Blood Origin, a six-part spin-off prequel series set 1,200 years before Geralt walked the lands of the Northern Kingdoms, and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, an anime feature film hitting the streaming service on August 23.
Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.