“The Witcher will be the next Game of Thrones.”

That’s something outlets have been saying for months. I’ve said it on several occasions, and more often than not, it’s meant to be used as a shorthand — a way to communicate an idea without having to qualify it with a bunch of differences. But, to the uninitiated, it may actually make them think that there is little to differentiate the two properties.

Of course, that’s not the case, and there are plenty of you who know there are likely plenty of differences to speak of. But what are they? How does The Witcher stand out from Game of Thrones? Here’s what The Witcher showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich had to say when speaking to Variety.

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“When people ask me, “Is it going to be the next ‘Game of Thrones’?”, I think: “Well, I hope it’s that successful!” I want nothing more than for “The Witcher” to run season after season and have a huge following. That being said. I think that’s kind of where the comparisons end. One of the fun things we have on “The Witcher” is it’s not based in any [specific] historical time. Most fantasy is thought of as kind of medieval…But “The Witcher” takes place in sort of an unknown time and an unknown place.

“The other big thing story-wise where we differ…is that we are diving into the mystical a lot more. There’s magic and there’s monsters…I think for a long time television didn’t have a budget to really deal with monsters. Because it’s a really clever blend of prosthetics and also CG. And this was something that was really reserved for feature films. Gut Geralt is a monster hunter, so we can’t have a series without monsters…

“The other thing is magic. My kids are huge fans of Harry Potter, and magic is a great part of fantasy. There is a fantasy fulfillment of getting to do anything you want to do just by the power that’s coming out of your fingers or your mind. But “The Witcher” isn’t that kind of black-and-white world. One of the things that we built in is: What is the cost of magic? If you’re going to practice magic you’re going to lose something as well….It forces our characters into places where they have to use their brains a lot more than sort of relying on magical tools.”

Basically, it sounds like it’s more of a fantasy show for fans of fantasy. So, the ultimate question here is whether or not mainstream audiences will connect with that. As great as Game of Thrones was, magic wasn’t exactly its focus or strong suit. Will The Witcher simply be going too far into this to appeal on a mainstream level?

Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: Variety