A massive, exciting, and highly anticipated series is about to hit Netflix so get your snacks and viewing area sorted!
Based on the best-selling fantasy series by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is an epic tale of fate and family. Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together.
At San Diego Comic-Con in July this year, showrunner and executive producer Lauren Hissrich spoke about what the viewers can expect during their panel. “What’s great about The Witcher is that it’s so much more than a fantasy,” said Hissrich. “You’ll get your monsters; you’ll get your magic; you’ll get sorcerers and sex and violence. Yes, there’s sex. Everything you want. But really it’s really a story about a family.”
As for what exactly a Witcher is, leading man Henry Cavill gave an explanation. “They travel the world hunting monsters for coin. They’re ultimately just a group of badasses who kill monsters.” He then added, “I’ve played the games a lot. Many many hours. And Warcraft! He’s not your average hero. He won’t treat everyone perfectly. Deep down he’s a real hero.”
In November, Netflix announced the episode titles with some teasers as to what each episode would hold. Judging by the teasers and titles, we’ll see Geralt’s origins, Yennefer’s backstory, a dragon hunt, the arrival of Jaskier/Dandelion, and Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri coming together.
Episode 1 “The End’s Beginning”: A monster slain, a butcher named.
Episode 2 “Four Marks”: We look at a sorceress’s early days.
Episode 3 “Betrayer Moon”: A picky eater, a family shamed.
Episode 4 “Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials”: The Law of Surprise is how one repays.
Episode 5 “Bottled Appeties”: A fateful meeting, a bard is maimed.
Episode 6 “Rare Species”: The hunt for a dragon is underway.
Episode 7 “Before a Fall”: A return to before a kingdom is flamed.
Episode 8 “Much More”: The Witcher Family, as you all like to say.
In an interview with EW, Hissrich spoke about taking a different approach with not having a central villain for our trio of main characters to face. “There isn’t really a villain,” Hissrich said. “One of the things we’re enjoying exploring is all the shades of grey in the books. The characters you’re rooting for in the beginning may not be the characters you’re rooting for in the end.
The series stars Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) as Geralt, Freya Allan as Ciri, Anya Chalotra (Wanderlust) as Yennefer, Jodhi May (Gentleman Jack) as Queen Calanthe, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Fortitude) as Eist, Adam Levy (Before I Go To Sleep) as Mousesack, MyAnna Buring (Ripper Street) as Tissaia, Mimi Ndiweni (The Legend of Tarzan) as Fringilla, Therica Wilson-Read (Suicide Club) as Sabrina, and Millie Brady as Princess Renfri.
The Witcher premieres December 20th on Netflix with eight episodes. Plus Netflix already announced in November that there would be a second season!
