The Witcher

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Dec 20, 2019
Season #: 4, 3.5, 3, 2, 1
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2682 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,028 out of 2682
  2. Mixed: 201 out of 2682
  3. Negative: 453 out of 2682

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User Reviews

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  1. incendras
    Dec 24, 2019
    9
    While the start was a little rigid, this show begins to perform well toward the end of the first episode, I am excited to see the second season now that they have drawn up the origins of its primary characters.
  2. AzureArmure
    Dec 21, 2019
    7
    The obviously racist race-switching of many characters for no reason other than serving the insane SJWs in charge did not quite ruin this well-acted show.

    Fire the production team, keep Cavill on and you'll have me in for season 2.
  3. Oblamingo
    Dec 22, 2019
    10
    Отличный сериал, с уважением к книжной серии, хорошей графикой и боевкой. Музыка восхитительна. Лютик выше всяких похвал. Перед просмотром книга ОБЯЗАТЕЛЬНА к прочтению.
  4. JesterTRT
    Dec 30, 2019
    9
    This is the best show I've watched in 2019. And by far the best thing on Netflix. Netflix did good picking up this. However, they need to be careful with their casting. Trying to be diverse and pulling away from the original characters has proven distasteful for them every other time. Stick true to the story characters and lore. So far it's not so bad. But be weary.
    As of now, this is a    This is the best show I've watched in 2019. And by far the best thing on Netflix. Netflix did good picking up this. However, they need to be careful with their casting. Trying to be diverse and pulling away from the original characters has proven distasteful for them every other time. Stick true to the story characters and lore. So far it's not so bad. But be weary.
    As of now, this is a great addition to Netflixs library. And I can't wait for season 2!    … Expand
  5. Ixniyevonn
    Dec 29, 2019
    9
    Good fantasy series, original and special. I have never read books by Sapkowski and I didn't like the CDProject's game unlike many people, but this creation dragged me and I watched it entirely in two days. I kept one point because Jaskier's music is too modern and pop if you will. Also one point because Cavill is cutest chick in this series and plus one point because of the same reason :*
  6. TheNuwisha
    Dec 24, 2019
    8
    The show as over all flawless. Cavill nailed the voice and was surprised he did so well. To be honest He sounded like the Witcher 3 voice actor time to time. I loved it. His whole persona while geralt was perfect. That be said about most characters. Trish... she seemed like another fill in character. Though my main problem is the race changes to certain characters
  7. Gowthe
    Dec 21, 2019
    9
    Creo que se están pasando con las malas críticas, algo que tiende a pasar con demasiado frecuencia en lo que toca a los shows de Netflix o ciertos blockbusters (Star Wars, etc); Probad a verla y juzgad por vosotros mismos. A mí me tiene enganchado. Recomendable.
  8. anvamit
    Dec 22, 2019
    9
    Хороший сериал. Небогатый, есть вопросы к.. кхм... афро-эльфам.
    Жалко что Нетфликс не решилась выделить денег как следует. Но отсмотрел не отрываясь, а это хорошо.
  9. Servase
    Jan 1, 2020
    10
    Great show. I didn't play the games or read the books but felt the story was excellent. I didn't have any trouble following the time jumps or over arching plot. It was nice to watch and enjoy something that didn't feel like pandering or fan appeasement.
  10. Tinely
    Dec 24, 2019
    8
    Great first season, Henry Cavill is a great Geralt! Waiting to see more of this Witcher tales.
  11. Jazzer88
    Dec 22, 2019
    8
    without reading the books or playing with the games this tv serie is great.
  12. Mrkinoman
    Dec 20, 2019
    7
    so, before watching, I read reviews where many not-so-smart people put 0-3, comparing the series with the game.
    The game from CD project Red was great. But the series is based on the book, and is authentic in the fact. The storyline, dialogs, character images, and more really do not reach the game masterpiece. But they are exactly the same as in the books of Sapkowski. Unfortunately, the    so, before watching, I read reviews where many not-so-smart people put 0-3, comparing the series with the game.
    The game from CD project Red was great. But the series is based on the book, and is authentic in the fact. The storyline, dialogs, character images, and more really do not reach the game masterpiece. But they are exactly the same as in the books of Sapkowski. Unfortunately, the original books on the Witcher universe by themselves are not particularly good (compared to cult fantasy). so I rate at 7/10 both the series itself and Sapkowski books. Since they are identical, although transmitted through different information sources    … Expand
  13. Ishansinghal
    Dec 21, 2019
    7
    The music sucks, casting could’ve been better. Henry is great at being Geralt. Show otherwise is pretty decent.
  14. wlover
    Dec 22, 2019
    8
    Смеюсь когда сериал сравнивают с Игрой Престолов, Ведьмак — это нечто другое и о другом. Меня пугал каст, от него я ожидал разочарования, но он лишь придал горчинку — сериал хорош, весьма хорош несмотря на спорные моменты в виде добавления персонажей туда, где они не должны быть, или изменения сюжетных арок (имею ввиду отличие подачи сюжета от книги, преимущественно линии Цири).
    Даже    Смеюсь когда сериал сравнивают с Игрой Престолов, Ведьмак — это нечто другое и о другом. Меня пугал каст, от него я ожидал разочарования, но он лишь придал горчинку — сериал хорош, весьма хорош несмотря на спорные моменты в виде добавления персонажей туда, где они не должны быть, или изменения сюжетных арок (имею ввиду отличие подачи сюжета от книги, преимущественно линии Цири).
    Даже Йеннифэр, которую я отторгал до последнего, выглядит естественной, что не может не радовать. Я считаю, что у сериала есть шанс повысить планку в последующих сезонах, самое главное, чтобы его не задушили "фанаты".    … Expand
  15. KeepoKappa
    Dec 21, 2019
    10
    It was really good,nice adop,really nice fights and nice intro for new viewers in witcher galaxy
  16. OlivierPiel
    Dec 23, 2019
    6
    American critics really have no integrity. They rate Game of Thrones season 5,6 or 7 so highly but pan a Netflix show that is definitely not worse.
    it is even superior to GoT in certain aspects: the fighting scenes, the tone (not as ponderous and "self-serious") and the pace (not so many fillers).
    And compared to so many pretentious "prestige"shows with a "message", it is entertainment    American critics really have no integrity. They rate Game of Thrones season 5,6 or 7 so highly but pan a Netflix show that is definitely not worse.
    it is even superior to GoT in certain aspects: the fighting scenes, the tone (not as ponderous and "self-serious") and the pace (not so many fillers).
    And compared to so many pretentious "prestige"shows with a "message", it is entertainment that is not half-dumb.

    Of course, it has its drawback such as the kowtowing to PC culture first of all. Its world building is also too complex, its traveling through time confusing and too gratuitous in sex scenes and violence. The dialogue is definitely not "refined" and some of the plot doesn't make sense.

    Still, it's a good fun, even for someone like me who never played the game. Not as infuriating as GoT    … Expand
  17. kaenek
    Dec 22, 2019
    10
    Great, except for the last episode, that wasted time on meaningless scenes and killed any relation between Ciri and Geralt.
  18. Johnysh
    Dec 21, 2019
    7
    So finally finished.

    Whole season is pretty good. It gets from me on the great shows scale rating so that's something at least. I agree with people saying that as a book adaptation it kinda sucked. Had it's ups and downs. Ending was underwhelming. Show felt very modern for example Dandelion calling his lute "sexy" took me very by surprise. Some music too felt very modern.    So finally finished.

    Whole season is pretty good. It gets from me on the great shows scale rating so that's something at least.

    I agree with people saying that as a book adaptation it kinda sucked. Had it's ups and downs.

    Ending was underwhelming.

    Show felt very modern for example Dandelion calling his lute "sexy" took me very by surprise. Some music too felt very modern.

    Nilfgaard looks like some crazy religious fanatics.

    Most short stories here are very rushed and sometimes completely miss what book wanted to say/show.

    Dandelion was amazing.
    Geralt was amazing. BUT, he never uses his medailon.
    Yennefer sometimes great sometimes not. She's too cute for her role. And her relationship with Geralt wasn't very convincing that they love each other. Or at least Geralt her.
    Ciri, I'm disappointed with her storyline. I think it would have been much, much better if they made it according to books. The viewers would get much better feeling from it.
    Foltest was a joke.
    Triss... at least she had a bit of red in her hair.
    Tissaia was great.
    Calanthe too, but they could change her hair. Everyone in her family has blonde hair but only she has black or brown? Why?

    So some picked actors weren't that great.
    And now imagine, you're new in the series, watched show and now you're going for a book and get to part where Geralt sleeps with Fringilla because she reminds him of Yennefer. You will probably be "Is he smoking something? How? She looked nothing like Yennefer."

    The timeline... confusing af at first. I think some newcomers will be confused too and maybe will stop watching before everything gets explained.

    CGI meh.

    Some scenes like from Yennefer or Ciri seemed unnecessary.

    Fightning scenes great.

    I enjoyed details like Geralt picking up herbs.

    There's much more, but I'm too lazy to write everything. 7 or 8 /10.... can't decide. I wanted to give it an 8 but then I remembered fuked timeline, oh and they disappointed me in adapting my favourite story with Sylvan, so 7/10.

    Shortly said: Show was good when it was going according to book. And not because I have an issue with being it bad adaptation, but because how it's written in book, it would much better develop releationships in the show and feeling the audience has for these characters.
    Making it 15-20 episode show wouldn't hurt it at all.

    Not gonna lie, I wouldn't shed a tear if the show didn't have second season, but I'll give it another chance.    … Expand
  19. alexmak2008
    Dec 23, 2019
    10
    This movie is just awesome.. waiting for the next season, keep working. i'd like to see more Yeniffer boobs hahaha
  20. truerock
    Nov 22, 2021
    8
    The Witcher is a series loosely based on the action/adventure/fantasy video games of the same name. The video game is based on novels of the same name written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Sapkowski's work is often used for source material on various entertainment projects.

    I'll say I was almost shocked at the high quality of this video series. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich was the    The Witcher is a series loosely based on the action/adventure/fantasy video games of the same name. The video game is based on novels of the same name written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Sapkowski's work is often used for source material on various entertainment projects.

    I'll say I was almost shocked at the high quality of this video series. Lauren Schmidt Hissrich was the creator and showrunner for the series - which I did not know until after I watched the first episode. She has a very respectable filmography and I assume she has a very large role in the high quality of the series.

    Obviously, not everyone is going to like an action/adventure/fantasy video series - but, if this is the type of subject material you favor, I would highly recommend that you watch this series.

    It probably needs to be pointed out that Lauren Schmidt Hissrich first noteworthy writing effort was for the liberal/leftest American TV series "The West Wing". Hissrich has a strong liberal/leftest ideology that she imparts to this series. Some viewers may not be able to accept this because they are so strongly opposed to her political and social beliefs and/or because it is not within the original spirit of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski works. Regardless, the series itself is of high quality within the context of writing, casting, acting, directing, editing, costume, set design, etc, etc.

    I just now took a look at the Metacritic user-ratings .This show is obviously not a "10" and it is obviously not a "0" - but, somewhere betwixt. There is an obvious highly emotional reaction to how Hissrich has deviated from the source material and re-imagined the Witcher into a woke/social-justice platform. I'm ignoring that issue for the most part in my review as I prefer to ignore political/religious/social issues in regard to fictional entertainment.    … Expand
  21. norse
    Dec 27, 2019
    9
    I loved the first season - the diversity that seems to bother so many people was understated and didn't feel out of place. The multiple time lines are confusing and some casting choices were suboptimal (am I the only one thinking the actress who played Renfri would have made a killer Triss?), but the only thing that really bothered my about the first season was that they didn't blow up theI loved the first season - the diversity that seems to bother so many people was understated and didn't feel out of place. The multiple time lines are confusing and some casting choices were suboptimal (am I the only one thinking the actress who played Renfri would have made a killer Triss?), but the only thing that really bothered my about the first season was that they didn't blow up the bridge to Sodden.

    I am looking forward to future seasons, because the timeline confusion is behind us now and the main actors really grew into their characters.    … Expand
  22. SSH83
    Dec 21, 2019
    8
    Rating this show is as difficult as choosing the lesser of two evil. Allow me to demonstrate:

    Action: - Great Human to Human fight scenes. - Amateur-looking monster CGI fights that look like they're from the 80s. Writing: - Lots of good stuff lifted from the novels, and some beautiful original lines - Lot of pure lazy writing that shatters suspension of disbelief. Oh, we can't    Rating this show is as difficult as choosing the lesser of two evil. Allow me to demonstrate:

    Action:
    - Great Human to Human fight scenes.
    - Amateur-looking monster CGI fights that look like they're from the 80s.

    Writing:
    - Lots of good stuff lifted from the novels, and some beautiful original lines
    - Lot of pure lazy writing that shatters suspension of disbelief. Oh, we can't make this work believably... just call it "Destiny"

    Creativity/Imagination:
    - Plenty of original concepts of magic and bestiality. Subverting Netflix tropes (oh you think all women characters are going to be barbie-perfect? Nope). That makes things less predictable.
    - Some crucial scenes are actually the least imaginative and cookie-cutter. Namely the first scene of Ep1 and the last scene of Ep8. It's really sad that the first and last episodes have the weakest moments when they should be the strongest.

    Acting:
    - Great moments delivered by actors for Geralt, Yennifer, Ciri, Jaskier
    - Face-palm cringe from so many supporting cast.    … Expand
  23. Mr_Connecticut
    Dec 26, 2019
    10
    Many reviewers are getting hung up on whether this is isn't enough like the games or the books. Lets leave that behind, this is the TV show and we should review it in isolation.

    Overall this is very well written but newcomers to the series will find it hard to grasp the timelines and relationships between characters in the first few episodes. Overall the writing is good and only    Many reviewers are getting hung up on whether this is isn't enough like the games or the books. Lets leave that behind, this is the TV show and we should review it in isolation.

    Overall this is very well written but newcomers to the series will find it hard to grasp the timelines and relationships between characters in the first few episodes. Overall the writing is good and only improves as the timeline becomes clearer and story arcs begin to converge.
    Henry Cavill is perfect as Geralt of Rivia, an absolutely spot on, flawless performance of what i hope will become an iconic character. Other characters have peaks and troughs. Joey Batey as Jaskier (Dandelion) captures his character perfectly, but we don't see enough of him as the show progresses. Anya Chalotra as Yen starts strong, dips in the middle and improves again towards the end. Freya Allen as Ciri leaves a lot to be desired, and the character is difficult to like as a result (which will be a problem if she is to be a focus going forward). Some characters are completely lackluster (Triss and Fringilla to name a few).

    Fans of the books and games will also be quick to point out the changes in certain characters appearances, which isn't a problem in and of itself, but the actors they have hired just simply cant capture the essence of the characters they are trying to portray.

    Overall this is a great first season that has plenty of room to grow in a fantasy world rich with stories to be told. Realistically its an 8 out of 10, but I have given it a 10 to help offset some of the ridiculously reviews by those obsessed by the books/games.    … Expand
  24. whitewi666
    Dec 28, 2019
    10
    Read the books, watched the Polish series, played the games. New Witcher series are awesome and we'll done! Started my second watch through and can't wait for more seasons!!!! Thank you Netflix for making in right. Gerold is perfect!
  25. slipknotz
    Jan 2, 2020
    7
    not bad, but too "colorfull". Should be more dark…………………………………………………………………………..
  26. Balorn
    Dec 26, 2019
    10
    Fantastic version of the stories. The cast is chosen very well and I'm looking forward to further seasons.
  27. metamind16
    Dec 26, 2019
    9
    I truly don’t get the bad reviews! Love the atmosphere and I actually like the fact that it isn’t epic Geralt day one. The build up of the story is absolutely right for me. Cavill is a great Geralt.
  28. hiperionsungod
    Jan 3, 2020
    8
    Recomendable para los seguidores de los libros como de los videojuegos del brujo Geralt De Rivia.
  29. PawelG
    Dec 23, 2019
    8
    I think it's good for people who haven't read books series, while hardcore fans can be disappointed. I went through all the books about 7 or 8 years ago but I remember main parts of the story and I think they are adapted very well. Many reviewers stress out chaotic narration, but I think it's really easy to conclude that some events take place in different points of time (the books areI think it's good for people who haven't read books series, while hardcore fans can be disappointed. I went through all the books about 7 or 8 years ago but I remember main parts of the story and I think they are adapted very well. Many reviewers stress out chaotic narration, but I think it's really easy to conclude that some events take place in different points of time (the books are written in the same way). You need to know that this is a pilot so don't expect fireworks (check out the first season of the Walking Dead, zombie's makeup was really poor). One thing I believe reviewers are right about - casting could be better, Triss Merigold (the mage) doesn't look like the woman everyone imagined while reading the books :) (I don't want to offend the actress, just want to say the original character seemed to be completely different)… Expand
  30. Gamed2long
    Dec 29, 2019
    7
    The Witcher TV show has a hard task of pleasing both fans of the books, fans of the video games, people like me who've encountered both. In addition to the many many people who don't know either. No matter which group you come from, some elements of this show will disappoint you. Henry Cavill did a great job as Geralt. There was a large focus on Anya Chalotra as Yennifer and her roll wasThe Witcher TV show has a hard task of pleasing both fans of the books, fans of the video games, people like me who've encountered both. In addition to the many many people who don't know either. No matter which group you come from, some elements of this show will disappoint you. Henry Cavill did a great job as Geralt. There was a large focus on Anya Chalotra as Yennifer and her roll was really well acted. She has leading lady stuff. Joey Batey as Jaskier (or Dandelion) was just annoying and kinda miscast. There was a lot of noise about Anna Shaffer being miscast as Triss. She is a different interpretation of the character. You don't really see enough of her to know either way.
    Overall if it was a new property, everyone would be raving about how good it is, and how it clearly has the potential to get better. I'd say it's just pretty good. I agree it has potential to improve.
    Two elements really stuck out to me. Occasional "modern" dialogue thrown in, to appeal to the audience (jarring. Fail). Also the characters relative ages over time. Ignoring that was annoying.
    Overall though the main thing is they just didn't trust the audience to stay around. So all the stories feel rushed. They would be better if the show was longer and the stories were allowed to breath more. That one is on the directors and the show runners. Hopefully they've learned their lesson by next season.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Most Discussed TV Season of 2019
77
#77 Most Shared TV Season of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 17
  3. Negative: 3 out of 17
  1. The Independent
    Reviewed by: Nick Hilton
    Jan 3, 2020
    40
    The Witcher is a messy tangle of plotlines in a world underdeveloped to the point of obscurity.
    Read full review
  2. The Telegraph
    Reviewed by: Ed Power
    Jan 3, 2020
    60
    As a mindless fantasy rollercoaster, Geralt’s journey is five stars all the way to tea-time. Sadly, for those who like brains with their brawn, it may be more of a slog.
    Read full review
  3. Time
    Reviewed by: Judy Berman
    Dec 20, 2019
    30
    It takes a while for viewers to learn how these characters are connected, via an exasperating Westworld-esque narrative knot that takes much of the season to unfurl. ... The Witcher heightens our confusion by fumbling details that would have helped it set a cohesive tone. Dialogue vacillates, from line to line, between theatrical fantasy-speak and modern colloquialisms (“Dragons are, in fact, a thing!”).
    Read full review
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