A lot of families had an epic, fantastical Christmas judging by the numbers on Netflix. The streamer’s number 1 show this weekend was The Witcher, and it was the number 2 title overall behind the new movie Don’t Look Up. It seems like the Netflix original series is holding strong against the competition in the growing genre of high fantasy adaptations.
The Witcher Season 2 premiered on Friday, Dec. 17, and the binge-watching carried on throughout the holidays this weekend. Netflix’s self-reported “Top 10” lists all boasted a big performance from the show, and the chatter on social media seemed to back it up. As good as this news is, it won’t come with any major announcements – Netflix already renewed The Witcher for a Season 3 back in September. It announced the renewal along with a slate of other projects in the Witcher franchise at the TUDUM Global Fan Event.
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The Witcher Season 2 comes with eight brand new episodes, dropped all at once last week. It adapts the short story “A Grain of Truth” from the collection The Last Wish, as well as much of the content from the novel Blood of Elves and the beginning of the novel Time of Contempt. The Witcher Saga novels were written by author Andrzej Sapkowski, who said: “I congratulate [showrunner Lauren Hissrich] and her team on their excellent work. Adapting my books is not an easy task. I watched with great joy, and I hope for an even more epic Season 3.”
The Witcher stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, a magically mutated human with enhanced physical powers and limited magical ability, who is tasked with hunting monsters. The saga is about his romance with the sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and their bond with the young princess Ciri (Freya Allan) as all three of them navigate the political complexities of an impending world war.
The series is growing quickly into a franchise all its own – this summer, an animated spinoff film called The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf premiered, giving fans new background on some of their favorite characters. The next release will be a live-action limited series called The Witcher: Blood Origin, which takes place 1,200 years before the main series and expands on the mysterious origins of Witchers and the magical cataclysm known as the “Conjunction of the Spheres.”
Another animated spinoff movie is reportedly on the way, along with a “family-friendly animated series” as well. There’s no word on where Season 3 is in terms of production, but it’s clear that Witcher fans are already eager for more. The Witcher Season 2 is streaming now on Netflix.
