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The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

Where to watch.

Watch The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf with a subscription on Netflix.

What to Know

Focusing on the adventures of a strapping young Vesemir, Nightmare of the Wolf is a fluidly animated addendum to the Witcher story that will delight fans with its swashbuckling action.

With solid animation and a strong, action-packed story that's mostly faithful to the source material, Nightmare of the Wolf should satisfy the Witcher faithful.

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Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Kwang-Il Han

Mary McDonnell

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Lara Pulver

Graham McTavish

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The witcher: nightmare of the wolf, common sense media reviewers.

Mature animated fantasy has violence, gore, language.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Themes of moral ambiguity and reckoning with one's

Vesenir calls himself a "churlish knave," and the

One of the Witchers is openly gay. Female lead cha

Some scenes include graphic violence, blood, gore.

Brief male nudity (buttocks). Brief female nudity

Regular profanity usage. "F--k" used twice. Also:

Based on a book series, the product is marketed in

Pipe smoking. Wine drinking in a tavern. Witchers

Positive Messages

Themes of moral ambiguity and reckoning with one's past.

Positive Role Models

Vesenir calls himself a "churlish knave," and the Witchers in general are primarily motivated by money and the good times to be had in taverns while bragging of their exploits.

Diverse Representations

One of the Witchers is openly gay. Female lead characters reveal moments of strength and independence during conflict.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Some scenes include graphic violence, blood, gore. A tentacle impales a character through the head, emerging out of the mouth. Limbs cut off. Demonic imagery. Dead bodies. Head stomped during battle. Eyes dangling out of sockets. Decapitation by sword. Fighting with swords, punches, kicks. Kids who are training to become Witchers are treated poorly, left in mangers even during cold weather, with very little food, often beaten and verbally abused by their trainers. Stabbings. Demonic possession. A servant boy is bullied.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Brief male nudity (buttocks). Brief female nudity (breasts) during demonic possession (nonsexual). An openly gay Witcher makes reference to "limp pr--ked man whores." Talk of foreplay.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Regular profanity usage. "F--k" used twice. Also: "s--t," "pr--k," "pissed," "arses," "hell."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Based on a book series, the product is marketed in a variety of ways -- everything from role-playing games to clothing to action figures, among other things.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Pipe smoking. Wine drinking in a tavern. Witchers drink and brag of their exploits while in the tavern.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that the book series-based The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is a 2021 animated fantasy in which a cocky monster slayer must learn to fight for reasons greater than money and glory. Expect blood and gore during many of the fighting scenes, including tentacles impaling heads, chopped-off limbs, decapitation by sword, eyeballs dangling out of sockets. We see dead bodies of humans and elves. Kids training to be Witchers are physically and verbally abused by their trainers, forced to sleep in mangers overnight during cold weather. Some profanity, including "f--k." Brief male and female nudity. One of the Witchers is openly gay, but also uses phrases like "limp pr--ked man-whore." Talk of foreplay. Pipe smoking and wine drinking. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

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There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

In THE WITCHER: NIGHTMARE OF THE WOLF, Vesimir ( Theo James ) is a servant boy who dreams of escape while he's bullied by his superiors. He finds his chance after a chance encounter with a Witcher named Deglan ( Graham McTavish ), who cures the lady of the house in which Vesimir works of her demonic possession, and provides Vesimir with a chance for a better life. However, that better life entails difficult and abusive training, training that the other young kids Vesimir trains with despise, as they are only there because they've been forced out by their impoverished parents or taken. Years later, Vesimir is now far beyond his hardscrabble origins, and is a "churlish knave" who drinks in taverns and boasts of his battles. But when a mysterious monster begins attacking the kingdom, Witchers are the ones being blamed by the elves and some of the humans of the kingdom, and Lady Verbst does her best to keep the increasingly-wary king from turning on the Witchers. As these attacks grow, a massive battle ensues, and Vesimir must confront the demons of his past, and learn that there's more to being a Witcher than coin and glory.

Is It Any Good?

This movie is as much a character study as an introduction to a fantasy universe. T he Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf seems to exist as a way to tide the superfans of the Netflix show over until Season 2 begins, and to also introduce a new/old character into that world. In this movie, we get the backstory of Vesimir, who had trained the character Geralt on the show. The overarching themes of the movie are moral ambiguity and reckoning with one's past, and the story can be enjoyed on its own terms for those unfamiliar with this universe. Striking the right balance between providing both an in for newbies and something enjoyable for those already immersed in this world is no easy task, as so many similar attempts to do so in the assorted fantasy and superhero "universes" will attest.

It works as a character study, as we see Vesimir's development from being a "churlish knave" to someone whose inner life and past is so much more complicated than that devil-may-care persona he presents in the tavern over several goblets of wine. The violence, however, does come across as excessive at times, and doesn't really add anything to the story except gory images of eyes dangling from sockets and the like. It's not always easy to know (or care) the differences between your Mages and your Leshens and the assorted flora and fauna that populate this world. Still, it's a good entry point into this world if you haven't seen any episodes of the show, as it tells a story from that world without spoiling anything from the show.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the graphic violence in T he Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf . Was it necessary to the story, or did it seem excessive? Why?

What would be the challenges in adapting a book series into a movie?

What would the challenges in creating a movie from a "universe" that is well-known by some, and unknown by others? How do you balance telling a story that new fans can understand and those who are fans already can also appreciate?

Movie Details

On DVD or streaming : August 23, 2021
Cast : Theo James , Graham McTavish , Mary McDonnell
Director : Kwang Il Han
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : Netflix
Genre : Fantasy
Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More , Adventures , Book Characters , Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
Run time : 81 minutes
MPAA rating : NR
Last updated : February 17, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’ Is Essential Viewing for ‘Witcher’ Fans

Vesemir in 'The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf'

Where to Stream:

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf

When a network announces a spinoff movie — especially an animated one — you’d be forgiven for not considering it required viewing. Projects like this are typically one-and-done deals. You get a new chapter with a fan favorite hero where they defeat a big, new enemy that ultimately doesn’t matter, and then move on to the actual story. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf bucks that trend almost entirely. Not only does Netflix’s new anime-inspired movie give a satisfying backstory for Geralt’s long-beloved mentor, Vesemir, but in the process it also expands this universe, clearly defining the tolls of being a witcher while also justifying Geralt’s calloused view of the world. It’s the rare spinoff that makes every detail of its universe feel richer.

When we first meet Geralt in any iteration of this story, he comes from the same place. Geralt is always grizzled and world-weary, a reflection of his nearly 100 years on The Continent. That’s not the sort of witcher we’re introduced to through Nightmare of the Wolf ‘s protagonist. Vesemir (Theo James) instantly feels as reckless and arrogant as any young man with too much power. When he completes a job, his success is defined by smug smirks and rowdy nights spent drinking and partying with his fellow witchers — a far cry from Geralt’s silent brooding. Through Vesemir’s eyes the movie shows what a witcher is supposed to be: a monster killer who makes the lives of everyday people a little easier. He’s like a monster-slaying lawyer. Sure, he’s going to cost you, but when you need a witcher, that price tag become irrelevant.

Aside from Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, Nightmare of the Wolf also offers the most comprehensive look into what it takes to become this specialized killer. Flashback after flashback tells the sad truth of Vesemir’s life, an unwanted child claimed by the Law of Surprise who was forced to watch his orphaned friends die at the hands of the Kaer Morhen’s many tests. The trials and debilitating potions required to turn a man into a witcher have been mentioned in passing before. But Nightmare of the Wolf is the first property to truly dive into emotional toll this process takes, showing scarring scene after scene that’s reminiscent of Yennefer’s (Anya Chalotra) transformation into a sorceress. When the cost of power is the loss of almost everyone you’ve ever care about, what is the point?

The answer, Nightmare of the Wolf argues, is the nobility of this profession, the chance to save the hunted. But even that is called into question in this movie’s universe-altering climax. Without revealing any spoilers, Nightmare of the Wolf fully dives into the assault on Kaer Morhen in the 12th century through the sorceress Tetra (Lara Pulver) and the mysterious Lady Zerbst (Mary McDonnell). This often acknowledged but barely explained battle between men, sorcerers, and witchers led to the extermination of most witchers as well as the witcher creation process. It’s the event that directly established Geralt and his brothers as possibly the last of their kind. Fans have long known that this battle happened because men turned on witchers. Director Kwang Il Han and writer Beau DeMayo’s film explains why that shift happened, and by its end it’s hard not to at least understand their hostile motivations.

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Witcher’ Season 3 Part 2 on Netflix, Featuring Henry Cavill’s Last Stand As The Beefy Dark Fantasy Badass

'the witcher' seemingly renewed by netflix for season 5, henry cavill leaving 'the witcher' is a blow to netflix during a tumultuous time, 'the witcher' season 1 recap: what to remember before season 2.

Though he starts out his saga roughly the same age as Geralt in The Witcher , Vesemir’s story is one of growing up. It’s about disillusionment and one man realizing that his idols and life’s work are filthier and more corrupt than the monsters he hunts. More than its concise explanations about how witchers are created, the battle of Kaer Morhen, or the Law of Surprise, its this reframing that makes Nightmare of the Wolf essential. As we tee up for The Witcher Season 2, we have a more complete understanding of the loving grandfather figure Kim Bodnia will be portraying in this twisted world. We understand his scars just as well as we understand the root of his surprising gentleness as he embraces Ciri as a new addition to his found family.

Geralt is one of the few children who lived through the siege of Kaer Morhen, witnessed the deaths of his mentors, and saw firsthand what sort of horrors his profession could cause. These truly traumatizing events clearly influenced Vesemir as a mentor and Geralt as a person. Netflix’s film shows rather than tells that Geralt’s stoicism has never been rooted in apathy. Rather, it’s shame and a fear of that keeps our gruff hero permanently on the fence as The Continent battles around him. That restructuring makes the generation-changing decisions Geralt has to make on Ciri’s behalf feel all the more dire.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf premieres on Netflix Monday, August 23 at 3/2c a.m.

Watch The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf on Netflix on August 23

The Witcher

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Full-bore … Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher.

The Witcher review – the granite-muscled monster-slayer is back!

Why do the forests spend half their time on fire? What’s with the medieval game of Total Wipeout? Because it’s time for more fun with Henry Cavill’s swords-and-horses fantasy saga

T V’s foremost peripatetic monster-slayer is back. Season two of The Witcher (Netflix) lets us settle again into the granite-muscled embrace of Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, a wandering warrior looking for his place on the Continent – a faux-medieval land full of awful creatures, scheming rulers and forests that spend half their time on fire.

Last time out, the epic Battle of Sodden Hill coincided with Geralt finally meeting magical princess Ciri (Freya Allan), with whom he shares both a destiny and a love of coloured contact lenses. Now he must look after his new ward, while pining for up-and-coming sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), whom he wrongly thinks dead. Meanwhile, politics on the Continent become more complex. Basically, elves are up to something.

This is a full-bore fantasy saga with a sprawling world of antagonists to keep track of, including the smaller details of elven bloodlines, and knowing who’s Vizimir and who’s Vesemir.

The Witcher has ways of keeping your interest up, though. Naked bodies are the standard sweetener in the swords-and-horses genre, along with freely pouring blood, and this show does have both. But it prefers to deflate its own pomposity with blunt comedy, often provided by Joey Batey as Jaskier, an annoying bard in an unlikely purple leather jacket who helps see us through some mid-season episodes that get bogged down in straightening out the show’s mythology.

Even the three main characters, much as they gravely go on about prophecies and dynasties and whatnot, can display an admirable economy of speech – which offsets the grandeur of the landscapes, the palaces and the protagonists’ voluminous capes. “Fuck!” says Yennefer when she finds herself regaining consciousness in captivity. Geralt himself has a prosaic answer to Ciri’s naive suggestion that they seek refuge in a place called Skellige: “You’d be married off to the nearest Lord of Bad Breath.”

The Witcher also loves to treat us to a top British character actor, the sort who makes you say: “Oh good, it’s … whatshisname. From thingummy.” Here’s Kevin Doyle (Downton Abbey) as a cowardly elf! There’s Graham McTavish (Outlander) as an intimidating intelligence officer! Look out, it’s Simon Callow and Liz Carr (Silent Witness) as a pair of private investigators, poring over parchments in a book-lined hovel!

If all this is a distraction from The Witcher never really amounting to much, that’s not necessarily a problem. Season one was based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s short stories, since that was initially the Witcher author’s favoured format. In turn, The Witcher in its TV guise began as a monster-of-the-week show and it sticks with that for the first of the new episodes, sending Geralt and Ciri to stay in the mansion of eccentric beast-man Nivellen (Kristofer Hivju). He’s a raconteur who can make a roast dinner or a hot bath fall magically from the ceiling, but who struggles to find love due to his hairy, tusked face. A horror-tinged twist on Beauty and the Beast develops, which could happily be watched in isolation.

After that, though, season two bases itself largely on Sapkowski’s 1994 novel Blood of Elves and is more concerned with slow scene-setting. It has to take every opportunity to have fun among quite a lot of scenes of kings, queens, generals and magicians debating the nuances of their possible next moves. Much of the season is given over to Ciri training to fight alongside Geralt, which happens while they lodge with a senior Witcher named Vesemir (as opposed to Vizimir – he’s the churlish king of the Redanians). He’s played by Killing Eve/The Bridge star Kim Bodnia, who gives us his usual twinkly uncle with a dark side, enhanced by a ridiculous slicked-back long mullet. Ciri’s coming of age also involves an obstacle course that’s like an amusing medieval version of Total Wipeout, and there are some monsters to be slain, from a vengeful tree-man to a huge winged insectoid. When it needs them for a big dust-up, The Witcher’s special effects are flawless.

But it’s mostly marking time, with Geralt barely ever driving the action as he surely should. Careful as one must be in the Time of Covid not to be too harsh on shows that return feeling constrained and underpowered, that is how The Witcher feels, at the point where you might have expected it to widen into a grand spectacle. It’s a between-the-wars season that works hard to keep us entertained while we wait for Big Gerry to be given something momentous to do. We’re waiting a little too long, though.

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The Witcher First Reviews: Henry Cavill Is at His Monster-Fighting Best

Netflix's new fantasy series brings loads grit and gore, but might disappoint its die-hard franchise fanbase..

TAGGED AS: Fantasy , Netflix , streaming , television , TV

As with most recent genre shows of this ilk, comparisons have already been made to Game of Thrones . Netflix has already seen value in their highly-anticipated series and renewed The Witcher for a second season in November. A studio’s confidence and noteworthy buzz can work wonders for a fledgling program such as this. But has Netflix’s bet paid off? Will The Witcher scratch that White Walker itch? And is the Cavill-starrer strong enough to hack-and-slash its way through the ever-cluttered realm of Peak TV to make an impact?

Here’s what critics are saying about The Witcher .

HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO THE BOOKS?

(Photo by Netflix)

Fans of the books and the game are likely to have a field day with the swarm of character references throughout, and whilst it’s paying fan service with how casually these names are mentioned, general unversed audiences may need to pay a bit more closer attention, especially when Cavill is speaking as his low growl can often be inaudible. — Peter Gray , This Is Film

The problem is, there’s very little reason to get invested enough to attempt to make sense of the whole thing. From the jump, in the very first episode, characters constantly yammer at Geralt about “destiny” this and “destiny” that, which isn’t nearly as interesting in 2019 as it might have been in the 1980s when the stories were originally published. Even if you love the original stories and books, they’re remixed and altered here to the point that they often no longer make sense. — Michael Rougeau , GameSpot

In faithfully adapting the book it brings with it some questionable elements, but it at least adapts these tales with a more modern sensibility. — Kambole Campbell , Little White Lies

Indeed, the one thing that I worry viewers might dislike about The Witcher is that without a strong knowledge of the books, or at least a good grasp on fantasy fiction in general, this show might require some hard work. Game of Thrones is, quite simply, easier to get into. — Erik Kain , Forbes

DOES HENRY CAVILL SLAY?

The Witcher, Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia (Netflix)

Henry Cavill’s character … could scan as a spin on the actor’s most notable prior role. Monster hunter Geralt of Rivia resembles a reclusive medieval Superman—all principle, brawn, and jawline—clad in a white wig and cat-like contact lenses. But rather than reheating the Man of Steel, Cavill quickly melts into Geralt, capturing his aloof yet winsome confidence with sardonic one-liners and baritone grunts. — Niv M. Sultan , Slant Magazine

Thankfully, Cavill as Geralt is beyond anything I expected. While this is a testament to Cavill’s acting, its also because of his ability to nail the physicality that the role deserves. — Kate Sanchez , But Why Tho

Cavill delights in every grimace as his grimy, sour Geralt traverses locales familiar to any Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Candle-strewn taverns, pornographic wizard illusions, and foolish nobles—no matter the job, Geralt perseveres in true Lawful Neutral form (to keep things in D&D terms). A bemused yet not unkind cynicism comes across in Cavill’s slow baritone and rare, slight smile. It’s the best he’s been aside from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and everyone either hates him or is horny for him. — Jacob Oller , Paste Magazine

READ ALSO: Henry Cavill on Why He Had To Play the Witcher

HOW’S THE REST OF THE CAST?

The Witcher keyart Yennifer, Geralt, Ciri (Netflix)

Showrunner Lauren Hissrich and executive producer Tomek Baginski really knocked the casting out of the park with this series. Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, and Joey Batey all bring the necessary gruff, edge, and charm of their famous characters to life throughout the series, and they contrast incredibly well with each other once they all get a chance to unite on screen. — Matthew Aguilar , comicbook

While Cavill is the famous face, it’s actually a three-lead show with three distinct storylines, co-starring the Anya Chalotra as the trainee witch Yennefer, and Freya Allan as Ciri, a fugitive teen princess. These two young women are much more interesting than Geralt, partly because they have solid character arcs, but mostly because Henry Cavill is a block of beautifully carved wood. — Gavia Baker-Whitelaw , Daily Dot

HOW DETAILED IS THE WORLD-BUILDING?

The production design does look impressive and you really get the sense that money is being fired at this to give it every possible opportunity. The difference, however, is that while ‘The Witcher’ may exist in a fantastical world, you can never really shake the feeling that you’re looking at a set, or that you’ve seen some of this before. — Brian Lloyd , entertainment.ie

There’s not quite enough fully developed characters to make this feel like a big ensemble show like “Thrones,” and so we crave a single center of gravity. The decentralized aspect of “The Witcher,” instead, emphasizes certain faults, like how Cavill doesn’t quite embody the Han Solo aspect of his roguish-hero role enough to hold the screen fully. — Daniel D’Addario , Variety

HOW ARE ITS FIGHT SCENES?

Renfri and Geralt in in The Witcher (Netflix)

One fight sequence towards the end of episode one is quite special, seemingly achieved in one unbroken take and with Cavill visibly involved, instead of a stunt double. — Rohan Naahar , Hindustan Times

Violence and sexuality are both major components of the source material, and The Witcher certainly doesn’t skimp in either category. The aforementioned carving up of the village riffraff is gruesome, as are Geralt’s frequent encounters with all manner of sinister creatures, and there’s no shortage of bare bodies on display. — Brent Hankins , Lamplight Review

That’s the real star of The Witcher : the fight scenes. Filled with terrifying monsters, brutal thugs, and shots lifted straight from classic horror movies, each battle has been so stylishly executed, they almost feel sensual. The Witcher ’s fight scenes aren’t merely good enough to be entertaining, they’re “make you scream like you’re at a playoff game” great. — Kayla Cobb , Decider

Where The Witcher succeeds is in its action sequences. A face-off between the super-human Geralt and a Lovecraftian nightmare in a crumbling castle is gruesome and fast-paced. And a struggle between the anti-hero and his lover (Emma Appleton) is appropriately heart-rending. If you like this sort of thing, it’s worth putting up with the bleary plot and dialogue just to get from one confrontation to the next. — Ed Power , Daily Telegraph (UK)

WAIT, IS IT SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY?

Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher (Netflix)

Worse, the wink, wink nature of the oddly misplaced humor makes clear that the writers are clearly trying to have their cake and eat it too, which comes off like an eleven-year-old who’s satisfied enough by dipping a finger into the frosting before licking it off instead of making an actual meal. — Andrew Bundy , The Playlist

“The Witcher” has a lighthearted sense of humor — another difference between it and “Game of Thrones,” whose jokes landed with the force of tankards slammed on oaken boards. We’re not talking high comedy, but you could do worse than watching Cavill, as Geralt, pour out his troubles to his horse, the only creature the Witcher will really open up to. — Mike Hale , New York Times

The Witcher: Season 1 (2019) 68%

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The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf review: "Goes where The Witcher fears to tread"

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Nightmare of the Wolf is a great start for Netflix’s attempts to turn The Witcher into a Continent-conquering franchise

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Don’t tell Geralt, but Nightmare of the Wolf goes where The Witcher fears to tread. Netflix’s animated feature-length prequel comes from one of the main show’s staff writers, Beau DeMayo, and the animators over at Studio Mir (The Legend of Korra). And while the movie may wobble during its final moments, the journey there has a vigor that, even on his best day, Henry Cavill’s monster hunter fails to match.

Set decades before The Witcher, Nightmare of the Wolf introduces a new lead, Vesemir, a witcher who hones his craft at the School of the Wolf’s ancestral home at Kaer Morhen.

A simple slaying job for Vesemir (voiced here by Theo James, while The Bridge’s Kim Bodnia will portray the live-action version of the character in The Witcher season 2 ) snowballs into a grander plot filled with intrigue and machinations that envelope a nearby kingdom. At court, firebrand mage Tetra (Lara Pulver) and the more progressive Lady Zerzt (Mary McDonnell) hold the king’s ear amid rising tensions and monster attacks. Inevitably, eyes soon dart towards that which they don’t understand: the witchers at Kaer Morhen.

It all culminates in a series of showdowns and shock revelations that will likely reverberate across the franchise. This isn’t a throwaway adventure by any means. It bolsters Vesemir’s standing in preparation for his live-action bow, while offering a more tragic tinge to the origin of the witchers.

The story, though, tends to meander in places – mostly due to the fact the Witcher franchise can’t help but to dabble in multiple timelines. Nightmare of the Wolf is more streamlined than the main series, which told a decades-long, sprawling tale featuring multiple main characters. There are just the two stories here: Vesemir as a child training to become a witcher, and an older, cockier Vesemir in pursuit of some coin, wine, and a warm bed.

The majority of the action, mercifully, sees Vesemir cutting down creatures in his prime, and the story soon heads into a more familiar world of politics and monsters. Once again, they don’t make for good bedfellows.

Nightmare of the Wolf ultimately devolves into a pretty tired third act that leaves behind the movie’s strengths – namely, Vesemir energetically bouncing off the motley crew of witchers and mages – in favor of a soulless conspiracy involving characters even the film rarely cares for. However, the bulk of the story comes equipped with a surprising amount of heart and emotion.

In that respect, it comfortably one-ups its live-action big brother. Geralt’s trysts with Yennefer felt unearned at times; here, Vesemir’s own relationship with former maid Illyana carries with it some more profound chemistry across multiple heartfelt scenes.

Less engaging is the trip back in time to his younger days undergoing the infamous Trial of the Grasses (essentially a more hands-on version of Harry Potter’s O.W.L.s) to prove his mettle. He’s joined by Deglan, a gruff, more Geralt-like figure who shows him the ropes. Sadly, he never strays outside the realms of one-dimensional mentor in one of Nightmare of the Wolf’s few real disappointments.

Elsewhere, the other early scenes with Illyana are well paced – but the movie quickly starts looking at its watch and rattles through some of Vesemir’s more important training at the hands of the witchers. Despite that, the 80-minute movie wisely positions Vesemir as the lead around which everyone (and every thing – including the monsters) must gravitate.

Vesemir is everything Geralt isn’t. He’s affable, magnetic, and charming to a fault – with his silver tongue often getting him into (and out of) sticky situations. That even includes several clashes with the creatures lurking in the shadows – which rank among the best parts of Nightmare of the Wolf.

Vesemir, and the movie itself, doesn’t pull any punches. Where The Witcher fumbled its way through CGI scraps, and can count only one legitimately great fight – the duel with Renfri in the premiere – among its trophies, Nightmare of the Wolf’s animation imbues the world with serious life across multiple skirmishes. The animation does literally stutter in places, but Studio Mir’s visual flourishes highlight a team that has a serious eye for the unique mix of grace and grit that sets the witchers apart from the knights and mercenaries-for-hire of the world.

But be warned: the blood, guts, and gore will be too much for some to stomach. Couple that with some seriously skin-crawling body horror and it all amounts to clashes that are visceral – often unintentionally comical in nature – with decapitations galore.

Witcher fans will also be pleased to find out just how much Nightmare of the Wolf broadens the world’s bestiary. Leshens, wraiths, and a handful of other nightmarish oddities plague the forests and caverns dotted throughout Vesemir’s travels on The Continent. The end result is a world that is far more lived-in than the sparse, often cold affairs of Geralt’s town-to-town travels.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is better than Netflix’s live-action series. While it’s by no means perfect, it hints at a smart evolution of a franchise that’s learned the right lessons from Geralt’s debut. It’s scarier, slightly more focused, and feels like a living, breathing world – monsters and all. On this basis, we can’t wait to see more of The Continent.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is streaming on Netflix from August 23. For more from the streamer, check out the best Netflix shows that you should be watching right now.

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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The Witcher

Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.

Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
Freya Allan
Henry Cavill
Anya Chalotra
5.7K User reviews
170 Critic reviews
7 wins & 33 nominations total

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Trivia Henry Cavill's training for the role consisted of extensive sword-training (besides the rigorous bodybuilding required to prepare his physique for the camera). He said, "I spent all of my free time, and when I wasn't on set, with a sword in my hand. It was getting used to the weight of the sword, using it day in and day out. I had three swords where I lived, and four at work. And it was just non-stop practice, practice, practice."
Goofs At various instances, the incorrect sword type is used by Geralt. Geralt carries two swords: the dark-hilted sword with Renfri's broach on the crossguard is made of steel while the white-hilted sword is coated in silver. It is established that only silver works against monsters, especially for ensuring a killing blow. This straight-forward rule is not followed in various episodes of the series despite being mentioned in the first episode (and in latter episodes as well).
Connections Featured in The Graham Norton Show: Henry Cavill/Ruth Jones/Rob Brydon/Daisy Ridley/Robbie Williams (2019)

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December 20, 2019 (United States)
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The Witcher: everything you need to know about Netflix’s fantasy epic

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

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In a very literal sense, The Witcher is going to look different when it returns to Netflix for its fourth season, introducing Liam Hemsworth as the new Geralt of Rivia. When the show first started, it was hard to imagine it working without Henry Cavill, but with the announcement of a fifth season and the introduction of so many new characters, Netflix seems to think that it can be done.

We still don’t know exactly when Netflix intends to bring the show back. But with such significant changes behind the scenes, the streamer taking its time to get things right would absolutely be for the best. And in the meantime, you can keep up to date with all of our news, reviews, interviews, and trailer reveals related to the show and its spinoffs like Blood Origin right here.

The Witcher season 3’s big finale is a wasted opportunity

The witcher season 3 sets up an epic finale for henry cavill’s geralt, the witcher: blood origin isn’t witcher-y enough to stand out, could a witcher-style multiverse really exist we asked a physicist, the witcher season 2 gets a little too serious on its quest to answer some big questions, nightmare of the wolf captures the soul of the witcher, even without geralt.

Netflix’s The Witcher is a dark, funny, and faithful adaptation of the fantasy series

Andrew Webster

Netflix’s The Witcher will end with season 5

A still photo from Netflix’s The Witcher.

We still don’t know what Liam Hemsworth will look (or sound) like when he takes up the role of Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher . But we do know how long he’ll be wearing the white wig: Netflix has confirmed that the show’s fifth season will be its last.

The news comes as Netflix has confirmed that it has started production on season 4 of The Witcher — the first that won’t feature Henry Cavill in the lead role — and that it and season 5 will be filmed back to back. The two upcoming seasons will “complete the adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s books,” according to Netflix. That means they will cover a trio of Witcher books: Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow , and Lady of the Lake .

Charles Pulliam-Moore

Geralt is getting a whole new face season four of Netflix’s live-action The Witcher adaptation. But in addition to Liam Hemworth, the show has also added Sharlto Copley as Leo Bonhart , James Purefoy as Skellen , and Danny Woodburn as Zoltan to the cast.

When season four of Netflix’s The Witcher drops, folks are going to be tuning in to see what’s what about Geralt of Rivia’s new face .

But as curious as everyone is about the pseudo-new witcher, it feels safe to assume that Laurence Fishburne’s turn as the ( presumably vampiric ) barber surgeon Regis might be what keeps people watching.

Nov 10, 2023

The Witcher continues on Netflix with the Sirens of the Deep animated movie

Season 4 of The Witcher may be far off on the horizon, but there’s still plenty more of Geralt of Rivia in store on Netflix. At its Geeked Week event today, the streamer announced The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, an animated movie that takes place right in the middle of season 1 of the live-action show and is based on the short story A Little Sacrifice . Doug Cockle, the voice actor from The Witcher 3 video game , will be reprising the role of Geralt.

Here’s the official description:

Jul 27, 2023

A photo of Henry Cavill in season 3 of The Witcher.

In the finale of The Witcher ’s third season — which also happens to be the final episode where Henry Cavill will play the lead role — our hero, Geralt of Rivia, spends most of his time in bed. This is not an exaggeration: after getting his ass thoroughly kicked in a previous episode, he’s stuck recuperating in a forest, trying his best to get healthy so he can continue his quest. It’s a bizarre choice that sidelines Geralt in what should, in theory, be an important moment for the series, the character, and the actor. Instead of sending Cavill out on a high note, the season just kind of... ends.

It didn’t have to be this way. When it debuted way back in 2019, Netflix’s adaption of The Witcher proved to be a surprisingly faithful version of the story , one that was dark and funny at the same time. Things got off track in season 2 when the show moved away from both the source material and its main cast of characters, putting much more focus on political squabbling and worldbuilding than the main trio of Geralt (Cavill), Ciri (Freya Allan), and Yenn (Anya Chalotra).

Jul 13, 2023

The Witcher’s new trailer teases a big, bloody season 3 finale

We’re approaching the end of an era for Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher . When the final episodes of season 3 drop on July 27th, it will mark the conclusion of Henry Cavill’s run as Geralt of Rivia, with Liam Hemsworth taking over the role for subsequent seasons.

In a new trailer, Netflix shows what fans can expect in those last episodes — and it looks like a big, bloody war. At one point, Geralt’s sword shatters in battle, suggesting his new big bad enemy is a tough one, and the trailer ends with him saying, “There’s no coming back from this.” Now that’s ominous.

Jul 6, 2023

How The Witcher explores its own history through fashion, architecture, and weapons

Henry Cavill and Anya Chalotra in The Witcher.

As The Witcher has grown beyond its first season and expanded with not only multiple seasons but prequels, too , the team behind its visual design has had to expand its ambitions as well. In particular, it’s had to think a lot about the history of the world and how it influenced the way things like fashion and architecture evolved on the Continent. That could be as simple as the material utilized to make swords in one time period or as large as a ruin in the main timeline that was once a beautiful structure in the past.

For Andrew Laws, a production and concept designer on the series, all of those details are vital for making The Witcher universe feel like a real, lived-in place. “A lot of the time, you don’t get to see all of [the details],” he explains. “But I think it has an effect on the eventual outcome of the final product.”

Jun 29, 2023

A still photo of Henry Cavill in The Witcher.

We’ve only had two seasons of The Witcher on Netflix, but the show has already had somewhat of an identity crisis. It started off with a bang , with a big, bloody debut that showed exactly why the books and games before it were so beloved. It was dark yet funny, full of action, sexual tension, and all kinds of cool monsters — plus an excellent Henry Cavill as the gruff and lovable Geralt of Rivia. Season 2 , meanwhile, lost some of that personality as it attempted to tell a more grand — and typical — fantasy story while also deviating significantly from the books. Things got even more off-track with the prequel Blood Origin .

Now we have season 3, which is being split into two volumes and which will mark the end of Cavill’s run as Geralt ( the show will continue with Liam Hemsworth in the lead role ). The first volume doesn’t exactly get away from the epic story the show is trying to tell — there are still warring factions and magical forces and questions about the nature of the world itself — but it returns most of the focus where it belongs: on the main cast of Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer. More importantly, the show is fun again, where the big narrative beats don’t get in the way of all the blood and jokes.

Jun 27, 2023

The Witcher season 3 was split in half because ‘cliffhangers don’t really exist’ in streaming

A still photo of Henry Cavill in season 3 of The Witcher.

A trend seems to be brewing over at Netflix. After popularizing the binge-watch concept by releasing all episodes of a show at once, lately, the company has been experimenting with different ways of dropping series. The League of Legends spinoff Arcane , for instance, was turned into a three-week-long event, while Stranger Things 4 was split into two when it debuted last May.

Now we have The Witcher season 3: volume one will premiere this week, on June 29th, while the second will hit in July.

May 29, 2023

The Witcher is officially one of the most successful game series of all time

A screenshot from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The Witcher is a juggernaut, and thanks to new data from The Witcher game developer CD Projekt Red (CDPR), we have a better idea of just how huge it really is. The studio revealed Monday that The Witcher video games have sold more than 75 million copies , with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt alone responsible for more than 50 million of those sales .

Those sorts of numbers mean that series is one of the biggest video game franchises of all time. For comparison, this new data puts The Witcher 3 in spitting distance of smash hits like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Red Dead Redemption 2 , which have both sold more than 53 million copies, and both of those are among the top-selling games ever .

May 26, 2023

The Witcher is getting a fifth season on Netflix

While fans await season 3 of The Witcher , Netflix already has its eyes on season 5. In an interview with Deadline , Sophie Holland, the show’s casting director, explained, “We’re just about to start filming on season four with Liam Hemsworth and there will be a short gap then we go straight into season five.”

The third season of the fantasy show will kick off on June 29th — but only the first half . Much like Stranger Things 4 , Netflix is splitting The Witcher season 3 into two volumes, the second of which will premiere in July. From there, things get interesting. Starting with season 4, Hemsworth will take over the lead role of Geralt from mainstay Henry Cavill, who is moving on to other projects . Clearly, Netflix has a good amount of faith in Hemsworth as the White Wolf.

Apr 25, 2023

The Witcher’s third season starts streaming in June

Season 3 of The Witcher finally has a premiere date. Netflix announced that the fantasy series will return in June, though not all episodes will be available at once.

Similar to how Stranger Things 4 was split in two halves , The Witcher ’s third season will be released in two batches: episodes 1-5 will start streaming on June 29th, while 6-8 will be available on July 27th. The third season was previously pegged for a summer 2023 timeframe . We also got a first look at the season via a brief minute-long teaser trailer.

Dec 12, 2022

A photo of Michelle Yeoh in The Witcher: Blood Origin.

There’s one very important thing missing from The Witcher: Blood Origin : Geralt of Rivia. Of course, it makes sense that the iconic character isn’t in the new four-episode prequel series, given that it takes place more than 1,000 years before he was born, at a time when witchers (and the monsters they love to hunt) don’t even exist. But that doesn’t make his absence felt any less. Because without the lovably gruff Geralt, or at least an equivalent character to keep the story grounded, there isn’t all that much to differentiate The Witcher from all of the other epic fantasy series out there, of which there is no shortage this year in particular . Blood Origin does explain some pivotal moments in the franchise’s history, outlining the key moments that shaped the Continent, as it’s known. The problem is that it’s just not that much fun to watch.

The show takes place 1,200 years before the events of the original Witcher series , at a time when elves are the dominant force in the world. They don’t have much competition. While dwarves share the land, neither humans nor monsters do, and so elves — who are scarce in Geralt’s time — are spread across multiple kingdoms and clans, each with their own customs and beliefs and many of whom war amongst each other. That is until a few ambitious elves set a plan in place to unite everyone (by force) under a supreme leader. This sets off a chain reaction that leads to all kinds of pivotal events in Witcher lore, including the creation of the monster hunters and an event called the “conjunction of the spheres,” in which the worlds of elves, humans, and monsters are forced together, creating the Continent as we know it.

Dec 3, 2022

The Witcher: Blood Origin’s latest trailer puts Jaskier in the prequel

Netflix's first full trailer for The Witcher: Blood Origin shines a spotlight on the prequel’s key characters played by Michelle Yeoh, Sophia Brown, and Laurence O’Fuarain. But it also comes with a bit of a surprise at the very end, revealing the return of Joey Batey’s Jaskier.

The bard’s return doesn’t make all that much sense yet, as the series takes place 1,200 years before The Witcher , but it might have something to do with the massive monoliths included in the trailer that are “causing tears between worlds.” Towards the end of the trailer, Jaskier’s lute appears, while Minnie Driver’s Seanchai, a character described by Netflix as a “shapeshifting collector of old lore with the abilities to travel between time and worlds” asks a disheveled-looking Jaskier to “sing a story back to life.”

Sep 24, 2022

The Witcher’s third season won’t be here until summer 2023

A girl in a nightgown standing outside in the snow and frowning.

When Netflix announced during last year’s Tudum that a third season of The Witcher was already on the way , there was some hope that maybe, just maybe Henry Cavill ’s Geralt of Rivia would be back on our screens slaying demons in time for the upcoming holiday season. Unfortunately, that’s not going to be the case, and there’s going to be a bit of a wait, but not an especially long one.

While there was no new footage from The Witcher ’s third season shown at this year’s Tudum presentation, Cavill and co-stars Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan a made brief appearances to share some teaser art and to announce that the series will return in 2023.

Netflix’s The Witcher: Blood Origin prequel series is coming this December

A male elf armed with an axe and a female elf wielding a sword posted up behind some sort of wooden barricade along with a woman behind them who is also clutching some sort of weapon.

While the third season of Netflix’s live-action Witcher series still doesn’t have an actual premiere date, the wait for Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich’s upcoming The Witcher: Blood Origin prequel series is almost over.

Netflix’s The Witcher: Blood Origin hits Netflix on December 25th. And while we didn’t get a new trailer for the series — which tells the story of the very first witcher, long before Geralt’s iconic adventures — we did learn that Minnie Driver will be joining the cast, where she’ll star alongside the likes of Michelle Yeoh.

Dec 20, 2021

Watch the first trailer for The Witcher: Blood Origin on Netflix

There’s more to The Witcher universe than just Geralt, and Netflix gave the first glimpse at that with an early look at Blood Origin . The trailer was initially revealed as a post-credits scene in The Witcher season 2, which debuted on December 17th .

The upcoming live-action prequel stars Michelle Yeoh as a sword elf , and it takes place well before the main series, covering the events that led to the creation of witchers in the first place. Netflix describes the series as an “epic prequel series depicting the creation of the prototype witcher and the events leading to the pivotal ‘Conjunction of the Spheres.’” (For more on the conjunction, check out this interview on the scientific possibilities of the multiverse.) The show is slated to debut on Netflix sometime in 2022.

Dec 17, 2021

Maddie Stone

Those who plan on watching the second season of Netflix’s The Witcher can look forward to plenty of epic monster battles, character development, and Henry Cavill staring broodingly into the middle distance. But season 2 also reveals a lot about the broader world that The Witcher takes place in — or more accurately, the many worlds.

Specifically, this darker and more serious chapter in the epic fantasy saga zooms in on a seminal event in the Witcher lore known as the conjunction of the spheres . During the conjunction, which took place approximately 1,500 years before the events of the show, a bunch of different spheres of reality collided with one another, causing elves, dwarves, humans, and monsters to all get mixed up together on the same continent, much to their mutual discontent.

Dec 10, 2021

The first season of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of The Witcher was a careful balancing act. In some ways, it was the service’s answer to Game of Thrones , a bloody fantasy epic with a story that spanned a continent (and many years). But, in keeping with the source material, it was also a lot of fun. There were creepy monsters to hunt each episode, some great comic relief in the form of an annoying bard, as well as steamy bath scenes and a full-on orgy. It had everything.

Season 2 attempts to up the fantasy stakes by focusing on some of the bigger, more existential questions about The Witcher universe, from the origins of monsters to why a young princess’s screams create earthquakes. The result is a show that has a more ambitious, epic feel and one that also loses some of the personality that made it such a hit in the first place. These issues mirror the trajectory of the books, but they feel more pronounced in a live-action series where so much depends on the characters and their performances.

Aug 23, 2021

If there’s one thing that ties the many iterations of The Witcher together — whether it’s the original books, the hit games, or more recently the live-action show — it’s Geralt of Rivia. The lovably miserable monster hunter is the core of the series in a way that’s rare for fantasy, which often follows stories bigger than just one person. But that’s also what makes Nightmare of the Wolf , an anime spinoff on Netflix, so interesting. It’s a prequel that shifts back in time to focus on Geralt’s mentor Vesemir, who can feel like the polar opposite of his protege: charming, playful, and with a voracious appetite for the finer things in life.

It’s a refreshing twist that also does a good job of exploring some of the mysteries at the heart of The Witcher universe, without getting away from the hallmarks of the series. Nightmare of the Wolf might not be the most welcoming starting point for the franchise, but it’s a whole lot of fun.

Jul 21, 2021

James Vincent

Watch the latest teaser trailer for Netflix’s upcoming animated Witcher film

Netflix has dropped the latest teaser trailer for its animated Witcher prequel, giving us a better look at the film’s characters and allowing us to hear its English-language voice actors for the first time.

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf focuses on the early life of Geralt’s mentor, Vesemir, “a cocky young witcher who delights in slaying monsters for coin,” as per Netflix’s synopsis. Available plot details are thin, but the film involves Vesemir confronting “a strange new monster” and “demons of his past” in a politically-fraught kingdom. (So far, so Witcher .)

Jul 9, 2021

Chaim Gartenberg

Witcher training is no fun at all in the first trailer for The Witcher season 2

The first trailer for The Witcher season 2 has arrived, hot on the heels of Netflix’s announcement that the show will be returning on December 17th, at the inaugural WitcherCon event. And unlike earlier teases , this one’s a proper, full-length look at the upcoming season.

Mild spoilers for The Witcher, season 1 ahead

Jul 27, 2020

Netflix is expanding its Witcher cinematic universe with a new live-action spinoff

The fantasy realm of The Witcher is about to get even bigger. Today, Netflix announced a six-part live-action spinoff of its massively popular series, one that delves into a very different time period.

Called The Witcher: Blood Origin , the series will take place “1200 years before Geralt of Rivia” and explore a period when “the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged into one, and the first Witcher came to be.” It’s being helmed by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, showrunner on the main Witcher series, and screenwriter Declan de Barra.

Jan 21, 2020

Netflix reveals that 76 million people watched at least two minutes of The Witcher

Netflix’s fourth quarter 2019 earnings are here , and so are the first official numbers for Netflix’s latest streaming hit The Witcher . The company says the series was watched by 76 million households, making it the most-watched first season of television ever for Netflix. That’s according to Netflix’s newly unveiled definition of “watched,” which it changed from “watched 70 percent of a single episode of a series” to anyone who “chose to watch and did watch for at least 2 minutes.”

In explaining the new metric, Netflix notes that the two-minute time period is meant to be “long enough to indicate the choice was intentional,” and it says that it follows similar metrics used by BBC’s iPlayer, YouTube, and The New York Times ’ measurements of page views. But the reasoning behind the change is obvious: to juice viewer numbers, with Netflix acknowledging that the new two-minute metric is “about 35% higher on average than the prior metric.”

Dec 20, 2019

What to read and play after watching The Witcher on Netflix

So you’ve just finished watching Geralt grimace his way through eight episodes of Netflix’s new fantasy epic The Witcher . There’s a good chance you want more. Maybe it was the deep world-building that enticed you or all of the monster-hunting. Maybe it was Henry Cavill’s piercing yellow eyes. Either way, you’re in luck: you don’t have to wait for the second season to get more of Geralt. The Witcher is based on a series of fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which also spawned a series of video games from CD Projekt Red so there is already a lot of The Witcher in the world to dive into. If you’re brand-new to the series, here are the best places to start.

The obvious place to start would be the very first Witcher novel, Blood of Elves , which kicks off a lengthy storyline that spans six books. But if you’re coming to the books from the TV show, I’d recommend first delving into the short story collections, which predate the novels. There are two of them — The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny — and both feature tales that form the basis for many of the show’s best episodes. The episode “Rare Species,” for instance, is based on the story “The Bounds of Reason” from Sword of Destiny , while the disturbing story “The Witcher” in The Last Wish is the core of the episode “The Betrayer Moon.”

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Review: Netflix Sends ‘The Witcher’ Into the Fantasy Fray

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By Mike Hale

You could say, if you wanted to be mean about it, that “The Witcher” isn’t going to make anyone forget “Game of Thrones.”

But you’d also just be telling the truth, because if anything, the show — a new medievalish sword-and-sorcery fantasy on Netflix — is going to make people remember “Game of Thrones.” Armies gathering in the south to attack northern kingdoms. Dragons threatened with extinction. A magic tree. Softcore nudity. Eastern European locations. The arbitrary circling about of the main characters to delay a prophesied meeting.

Those three heroes are Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), a sex-positive sorceress with emotional issues; Ciri (Freya Allan), a petite teenage princess on the run from southern marauders; and the Witcher, properly known as Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), a mutant monster-hunter-for-hire. (You can tell they’re special because they’re the three characters with artificially colored eyes: royal blue, green and yellow.) The women are noble but ruthless when needed; the Witcher is a big silent softy who agonizes over the monsters he dispatches.

They come from a series of fantasy short stories and novels by the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski that actually began appearing in print shortly before the George R.R. Martin novels that inspired HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Discussions of who might have ripped off whom can be found on the internet, and left there. (Sapkowski’s work had already been adapted into a movie and a TV series in Poland, and has spawned a series of popular video games .)

The more salient point for fantasy fans is that the eight episodes of the first season of “The Witcher” (available on Friday) are at a level of production value and writing somewhere south of “Thrones” and somewhere north, but not too far north, of a Syfy channel supernatural series. It’s more of a Saturday-morning adventure than a Sunday-night prestige project.

As developed by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (a writer and producer, most recently, for the Netflix series “The Defenders” and “The Umbrella Academy”), it’s also a sort of medieval beast-of-the-week procedural. A number of episodes begin with a local bigwig or a group of villagers complaining about a monster that’s eating them or their livestock, and a testy negotiation between them and Geralt over his fee for eliminating said monster.

If it sounds like that could be fun, you’re right. “The Witcher” has a lighthearted sense of humor — another difference between it and “Game of Thrones,” whose jokes landed with the force of tankards slammed on oaken boards. We’re not talking high comedy, but you could do worse than watching Cavill, as Geralt, pour out his troubles to his horse, the only creature the Witcher will really open up to.

Cavill, now best known as the big-screen Superman , is returning to series work a decade after he starred opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers in “The Tudors.” And he brings a convincing physical presence and some wry humanity and emotional depth to “The Witcher.” He’s operating above the level of the material (and most of the rest of the cast), and if you’re susceptible to the fantasy genre even when it’s executed in routine fashion, he could tip the scale in favor of watching.

Apparently Netflix likes what it sees well enough: “The Witcher” has already been renewed for a second season. It’s a good moment to have an elaborate fantasy adaptation on the market, even if your C.G.I. dragons would make a wildling giggle.

Mike Hale is a television critic. He also writes about online video, film and media. He came to The Times in 1995 and worked as an editor in Sports, Arts & Leisure and Weekend Arts before becoming a critic in 2009. More about Mike Hale

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Netflix’s ‘the witcher’ season 2: tv review.

The second season of the epic fantasy series picks up with Geralt (Henry Cavill), Ciri (Freya Allan) and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) in the aftermath of battle.

By Angie Han

Television Critic

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The first season of The Witcher may have been far from perfect, but in retrospect it’s impressive it worked as well as it did. Burdened with the challenge of building an expansive fantasy universe that would welcome existing fans in addition to total newbies, the series chose to braid together three different timelines — an approach so confusing, it necessitated a whole cottage industry of explainer articles. Still, some combination of cheeky humor and over-the-top drama coalesced into something genuinely satisfying by the end of the season, which finally saw the timelines converge at the explosive Battle of Sodden.

The second season of The Witcher benefits from all the groundwork laid out by the first. While the characters are still reeling from battle, the show itself feels much more assured in the first six (of eight) episodes sent to critics for review. The narrative arc is cleaner, with everyone on the same timeline. The characters are better explained — including key supporting players like Fringilla (Mimî M. Khayisa), who felt frustratingly opaque in season one. The themes are more polished. And in the most pleasant surprise of all, the series feels more emotionally effective than it ever has before. If season one was worth watching mostly to see what bizarre new monsters Geralt ( Henry Cavill ) might slay or what irresistible new tunes Jaskier (Joey Batey) might sing about them, the second feels worth watching simply because we give a damn about all these people.

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"The Witch," a period drama/horror film by first-time writer/director Robert Eggers , tellingly advertises itself as "a New England folktale" instead of a fairy tale. Fairy tales are, at heart, parables that prescribe moral values. "The Witch," a feminist narrative that focuses on an American colonial family as they undergo what seems to be an otherworldly curse, is more like a sermon. Sermons pose questions that use pointedly allegorical symbols to make us reconsider our lives, just as one character uses the Book of Job to understand her role in her family (more on Job shortly). But "The Witch" is not a morality play in a traditional sense. It's an ensemble drama about a faithless family on the verge of self-destruction. And it is about women, and the patriarchal stresses that lead to their disenfranchisement.

For a while, it is unclear which character is exactly the focus of "The Witch." It's probably not grieving mother Katherine ( Kate Dickie ), though Eggers gives ample consideration to her mourning of infant son Samuel, who has disappeared under unusual circumstances. And it's definitely not Katherine's mischievous young twins Jonas and Mercy ( Lucas Dawson and Ellie Grainger , respectively), though Mercy does often speak for her and her brother's inability to understand how the world works after their family is banished to a foreboding forest by a nearby colony. The film's main protagonist might be William ( Ralph Ineson ), Katherine's troubled husband. Or it could be her eldest son Caleb ( Harvey Scrimshaw ), a young man desperate to defend his father from his mother's frustration.

But more often than not, "The Witch" concerns Thomasin ( Anya Taylor-Joy ), the eldest of Katherine and William's five children. Thomasin undergoes puberty under the mistrustful eyes of her family, but realistically, they're not too concerned with her when crops are failing, money is scarce, and Samuel is missing. Still, Thomasin absorbs the brunt of her family's anxieties: her younger siblings look to her for comfort, but she balks at the added pressure, especially after her mother makes her do more chores than the rest of her family members. There are other subplots in "The Witch," but all roads eventually lead to Thomasin. That's the dark beauty of Eggers's expansive story: it's not just about the marginalized presence of women in a male-dominated microcosm, but the harsh conditions that can, even under extremely isolated circumstances, lead women to resentment, and crippling self-doubt.

"The Witch" is, in that sense, an anti-parable. Eggers eventually leads Thomasin out of the woods, but he takes his time in clearing her path. The result sometimes feels like an imaginary Harold Pinter-scripted version of " The Crucible ," since it follows desperate, lonely souls who do everything—set animal traps, milk goats, till the fields, do laundry—to avoid thinking about what's really troubling them. It takes a while for Thomasin's clan to even consider that their problems are caused by witch, or demonic enchantment. But it eventually happens. Before that, there are only signs and portents, particularly evil-looking animals: a tetchy goat, a twitchy hare, and some talkative crows. Eventually, Thomasin's family personify their fears of nature, a gnawing uncertainty that is predictably gendered as feminine. And suddenly, the family's day-to-day troubles—almost all of which stem from the fact that their land seems cursed—takes the form of a fairy tale witch.

Which brings us back to Job. In the Book of Job, God hurts Job in order to test his faith. The reader knows that God exists, and has a divine, or perhaps just Mysterious, reason for trying Job. But until Job's body is plagued by God, he doesn't question that there is a reason for his torment. The same is basically true of William and his family. Until events lead his family to start clawing at each other's throats, he goes about his business as best he can. As a result, when you watch "The Witch," you often don't seem to know what the film is about. But the film's title is a big clue: this is a fantasy about empowerment, albeit through unorthodox methods.

I've talked a lot about what "The Witch" is about without mentioning how well it's about it. That's partly because the film is so consistently engrossing that I surrendered to it early on. Eggers' hyper-mannered camerawork draws you in by evoking Johannes Vermeer's portraits and the landscape paintings of Andrew Wyeth (there's also an overt reference to one of Francisco Goya's more famous paintings, but I can't tell you which one for fear of ruining a surprise). The complex sound design and controlled editing also help establish a mood that is (paradoxically) both inviting and somber. "The Witch" draws you in so well that you won't realize its creators have been broadcasting exactly where they're taking you.

Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in The New York Times , Vanity Fair , The Village Voice, and elsewhere.

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Film Credits

The Witch (2016)

Rated R for disturbing violent content and graphic nudity.

Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin

Ralph Ineson as William

Kate Dickie as Katherine

Harvey Scrimshaw as Caleb

Ellie Grainger as Mercy

Lucas Dawson as Jonas

Robert Eggers
Louise Ford

Cinematographer

Jarin Blaschke
Mark Korven

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The Witcher Season 4: First Look at Liam Hemsworth's Geralt of Rivia Leaks

L eaked photos from the set of The Witcher Season 4 have revealed a first look at the Geralt of Rivia played by Liam Hemsworth, who replaces Henry Cavill in the role after three seasons.

As reported by Metro , which hosts the photos, a handful of leaked images show Hemsworth in the full Witcher gear, white wig and all. Interestingly, the photos show the recreation of a Season 3 scene in which, spoilers , Geralt fights Vilgefortz on a beach.

This is likely for flashback purposes, as it would perhaps be odd if Netflix flashed back to scenes of Cavill's Geralt while Hemsworth is in the role. It's therefore possible Netflix will need to reshoot older scenes too, from across the entire three seasons of The Witcher.

Netflix announced in November 2022 that The Witcher would continue without its leading man as Cavill walked away after three seasons. The actor hasn't given an explicit reason for leaving, though said in November 2021 he was absolutely committed to a seven season run of The Witcher "as long as we can keep telling great stories which honor Sapkowski's work."

Co-star Freya Allan, who plays Geralt's adopted daughter Ciri in the show, has said she feels sorry for Hemsworth as he deals with what's "not an ideal situation" , but hopes fans give him a chance.

Critical reception of The Witcher is mixed so far, with IGN awarding Season 1 a 6/10 , Season 2 a 7/10 , and Season 3 a 7/10 and 5/10 over its split season in our reviews. "The Witcher closes out its most compromised season yet by once again losing Henry Cavill in the clunky, plot-heavy shuffle," we said of the most recent episodes.

Showrunner Lauren Hissrich said the show could've ended or moved on without Geralt after Cavill's departure, but Netflix wasn't willing to because "there's just too many stories left to tell."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The Witcher Season 4: First Look at Liam Hemsworth's Geralt of Rivia Leaks

Liam Hemsworth as Geralt in The Witcher Finally Revealed in New Images

New set images from The Witcher season 4 have emerged, and show Liam Hemsworth in full costume as Geralt of Rivia.

Liam Hemsworth debuts as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher set images.
Henry Cavill passes the torch to Hemsworth, who expresses excitement for the role and admiration for Cavill's portrayal.
The Witcher will conclude with season 5, Netflix have confirmed.

We finally have our first look at what Liam Hemsworth will look like as Geralt of Rivia in the upcoming fourth season of The Witcher . Several set images of the actor in costume (including the wig) have now come to light courtesy of Metro, with the photos showing Hemsworth engaging in some swordplay before taking a break from filming.

You can check out an image of Hemsworth as Geralt below courtesy of Metro Entertainment, with more images available here .

Alongside the images, the report points out that the action sequence involving Hemsworth appears to be recreating a scene from season 3 episode 6, in which Geralt fought the villainous sorcerer Vilgefortz of Roggeveen (played by Mahesh Jadu). The pair battled on a beach with Geralt being badly beaten. Why Hemsworth’s iteration would be recreating this battle is open to speculation, but could it be connected to how the character will change from Henry Cavill to Liam Hemsworth ?

So, now that we’ve seen him in full costume and swinging a sword, how do you feel about Liam Hemsworth taking over from Cavill as the lead of The Witcher ?

The Witcher Will End With Season 5

The witcher.

*Availability in US

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Henry Cavill walking away from The Witcher , a project he was openly passionate about , came as a huge shock to fans of the Netflix series. The Man of Steel star made the announcement back in October 2022 and, in his statement, revealed that he would be passing the torch to The Hunger Games and Independence Day: Resurgence star Liam Hemsworth.

“My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4. In my stead, the fantastic Mr. Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find.”

The Witcher Star Admits They Are 'Ready' For the Series To End: 'I Was So Kind of Finished With It'

Hemsworth, meanwhile, has said that he is “over the moon” to take over the role, heaping praise on Cavill’s performance.

“As a Witcher fan, I’m over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia. Henry Cavill has been an incredible Geralt, and I’m honoured that he’s handing me the reins and allowing me to take up the White Wolf’s blades for the next chapter of his adventure. Henry, I’ve been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character. I may have some big boots to fill, but I’m truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world.”

Liam Hemsworth will make his debut as Geralt in The Witcher season 4, with Netflix having since revealed that the fantasy epic series will end with season 5 .

'After the Flood' Review: This Whodunit Series Is Brimming With Surprises

Sophie Rundle leads a brilliant cast in BritBox's latest.

The Big Picture

After the Flood brings a fresh spin on crime dramas with a post-flood conspiracy and a determined detective-in-training.
Creator Mick Ford's meticulous planning adds depth to the story, unraveling red threads in a satisfying and cathartic way.
Sophie Rundle shines as PC Jo Marshall, navigating moral quandaries with a strong supporting cast in a polished series.

I’m rather picky about my police procedurals. I’ve seen more than I can count, having grown up on them, so it takes a hell of a spin on the format to prove to me that a new one is worth watching. Some manage that well — like the aquatic take on crime scene investigation in Annika — but by and large, most seem to lean on the idea that, if one set of grandparents likes the format of say, FBI or Blue Bloods , then they can do the exact same thing and get away with it, provided that they tweak things just enough to avoid a copyright suit.

Luckily, however, BritBox seems to be taking things in a different direction as they continue to bring imports over from British streamers. In a similar vein to Annika , After the Flood arrives on American shores on the wave of its own titular disaster. Set in the aftermath of, you guessed it, a catastrophic flood in the north of England, Sophie Rundle stars as PC Jo Marshall, a detective-in-training who finds herself looped into a major conspiracy. When a body is discovered in one of the flooded areas, all seems normal, if devastating — until police discover that the victim died two days before the flood , and Jo is determined to find out the truth behind how he died. Oh, and did I mention she’s pregnant?

Coming from the brain of showrunner Mick Ford , After the Flood has a kind of finesse that only comes when its creator has a definitive end in mind. As opposed to shows that leave themselves open for infinite renewal (and therefore financial security for its creative team), Ford has created a cinematic story from an unreplicable kind of situation, as tragic as it may be, and harnessing what a lot of procedurals nowadays seem to be missing: a slow-drip reason to keep watching, rather than only picking it up every now and then.

After the Flood

A family is torn apart by a massive flood that leaves much of the earth underwater. As they navigate their new life on a makeshift island, they must confront the harsh truths of their past relationships and the dire need to forge new alliances for the sake of their future.

'After the Flood' Is a Sturdy Murder Mystery Series

There’s a kind of meticulousness to well-done crime dramas that inverts what would otherwise seem frustrating and lacking in finesse. A lesser show might leave audiences feeling like they’ve had exposition dumped on them in heaps (something happens far too often with new procedurals as they find their footing), but when a concept is planned out to the hilt — in a way I can only describe as Agatha Christie-esque — watching something like After the Flood expose its own infrastructure isn’t so much frustrating as it is cathartic. Trailing the red threads as they slowly unravel and connect scratches a certain kind of itch that isn’t always satisfied by these kinds of shows, and Ford’s exploration of a community inextricably stitched together , for better or for worse, fills that gap almost perfectly.

There are, of course, points where things get so complex they can be difficult to follow , but I’d rather be lost in the weeds with a strong cast than able to see exactly where something’s going the moment the first clue is revealed. Naturally, with time it becomes easier to spot the baddies (especially if you spend as much of your time watching TV as a critic does), but there’s a difference between being led to a conclusion and jumping there yourself simply because the writers can’t be arsed to put in the work to make you as the viewer… well, work for it.

After the Flood is a sturdy series that knows what it’s trying to do and doesn’t mind if people can see its seams, which makes its twists (because there are always a few of those in murder mysteries) all the more satisfying. Ford and company never employ shock for shock’s sake, even if there are a couple of moments that genuinely set off my anxiety. (If you’re squeamish around scenes involving car crashes, wade into the back half of the show at your own peril.) It’s a hallmark of polished, strong writing, of a story completely thought through from beginning to end, and while it plays less with ideas of right and wrong and our relationship to the law than something like Criminal Record , it builds the rest of its moral quandaries with care and attention.

Sophie Rundle and Co. Lead ‘After the Flood’ With Ease and Interest

All this is tied together by Rundle, on the heels of roles in period dramas like Gentleman Jack and Peaky Blinders , more than capable of serving as a strong contemporary heroine. I often find it tough to muster the required sympathy for leads in newer procedurals, who either come off as too waifish and dedicated to their own morals, or reckless and ridiculous, like someone who’d seen too many reruns of Law & Order: SVU . But Rundle’s PC Marshall manages to straddle the line between law-abiding and law-bending well, serving as the pivot point between the normal members of her community and those whose moral backbone is slightly more flexible.

Speaking of the rest of the community, Lorraine Ashbourne pulls just as much weight as Jo’s mother Molly, often operating as a second lead when her daughter’s investigative trails go cold. She’s stacked against the formidable Philip Glenister as shady land developer Jack Radcliffe, a tiny firecracker of a woman who gives the series its real heart and soul. (It’s funny, having rewatched Ashes to Ashes approximately one million times, to watch Glenister play a character on the other side of the law, but just as well — he’s phenomenally unsettling when he wants to be.)

There are very few people here who aren’t firing on all cylinders, much to the show’s benefit. I always joke that England has five actors that are in everything (see also: my comment about Ashes ), but After the Flood has assembled quite the ensemble , both of more familiar faces and newer ones as well. It’s a testament to the rising quality of BritBox’s ITV imports, of which this is a particular standout, and to the fact that a cast with chemistry is just as important as the scripts they’re acting with. No one’s slacking off here — proof that you can still reinvent the wheel with a classic story structure, provided you do it right.

After the Flood is a thought-out, intriguing murder mystery held down by an impressive performance from Sophie Rundle.

Showrunner Mick Ford has created an intricate mystery that doesn't mind if you connect the dots on your own.
The cast is brilliant, with Lorraine Ashbourne and Philip Glenister standing out alongside Sophie Rundle.
The series, unlike most procedurals, does something interesting with the format that changes how audiences interact with it.
The series could use more investigation into morality and our modern relationship with the police.

After the Flood premieres new episodes weekly on BritBox.

Watch on BritBox

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