# The Witcher (2019)

> A mutated monster-hunter for hire journeys toward his destiny through a brutal fantasy world where people are often more wicked than beasts.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/62743

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 32
- Episode runtime: 62 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: fantasy, action, adventure
- Created by: Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Henry Cavill, Liam Hemsworth, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Joey Batey, Eamon Farren, Mimî M. Khayisa, Anna Shaffer
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5180504/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: dense
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: gritty, bloody, wry, melancholic, brooding

## What critics say

Audiences find the monster-hunting fantasy engaging and binge-worthy, especially in early seasons, though the uneven performances, convoluted timelines and fading quality in later seasons draw criticism.

## Synopsis

The Witcher (2019-present) is a US fantasy adventure series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich for Netflix. Henry Cavill plays Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster-hunter for hire who takes contracts to slay beasts across a turbulent continent, while Anya Chalotra plays the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg and Freya Allan plays Princess Cirilla, known as Ciri, a young woman with a destiny that pulls her toward Geralt. Joey Batey's bard Jaskier provides a irreverent counterpoint on the road. The engine of the series is the tension between paid violence and a search for purpose: each episode pairs a monster contract with political intrigue, shifting alliances between kingdoms, and the personal entanglements that follow the three leads. The story is told across timelines that the show weaves together, so viewers must track who is where and when. Presented across four seasons of eight episodes each, it is one continuing serialized saga rather than a case-of-the-week format, adapted from a novel series. Its tone is gritty and bloody, with wry humor and melancholy undercurrents, and the fantasy world is depicted as a place where people often prove more cruel than the creatures Geralt hunts. Fans of Game of Thrones and Berserk will find resonance in its dark fantasy mood and its morally gray heroes.

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- [The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/89012)

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