By The Rats are some of The Witcher fandom’s least favorite characters and they were introduced in the Netflix series at the end of Season 3, before getting a full season in Season 4. Additionally, Netflix released a feature-length special called The Rats: A Witcher Tale that takes place before them meeting Freya Allan’s Ciri.
In the show, they were portrayed somewhat different than their book counterparts, slightly softer and more sympathetic. There is a reason for that and The Witcher’s showrunner explains why.
The Witcher showrunner talks The Rats
As part of her series commentary, The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich commented on The Rats and how the writers room saw them.
She began in her Instagram post that the Rats have been misunderstood: “Are they heroes? Nah. But are they the villains? Absolutely not. What they are, in Sapkowski’s world, are the real people. The ordinary ones, without magic or witcher elixirs or royal blood, who are on the front line of the atrocities ravaging the Continent. They make choices — sometimes good, sometimes very bad — that are based on one thing: survival.“
Schmidt Hissrich continues talking about their motivations as people: “They’re also teenagers. They’re emotional, hormonal, unpredictable, impulsive. It was interesting to dig into this side of their gang, a side we don’t often explore on the show. Kids who have steam to blow off, regardless of what’s going on around them. They want to drink, do drugs, f**k around… and they have to pay for it all somehow, don’t they?“
Finally, she added some words about the Rats spinoff special: “It’s what’s so fun about “The Rats: A Witcher Tale.” It’s a new story, in the midst of a world we’re familiar with. It’s standalone, but connects some puzzle pieces (Leo Bonhart! Glyswen! Those scars!) that we otherwise wouldn’t get to shine a light on.“
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Netflix hasn’t done any promotion for The Rats: A Witcher Tale, so this is a rare time when a person in a senior Netflix position mention the project.
In other Rats-related news, a month after its release, the special suddenly appeared in Netlix’s Global Top-10 chart with 5 million views.
The Witcher Season 4 is has been out since October 30, 2025. Andrzej Sapkowski’s new Witcher book Crossroads of Ravens is available internationally since September 30, 2025. CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 4 is now in full production.
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