The Witcher was one of the biggest Netflix releases of 2019, but no one – not even the streaming platform – was counting on “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” becoming a viral hit. Based on the book series of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher was released on Netflix in December 2019, and might be the platform’s biggest first TV season ever. It’s not surprising, then, that the series was renewed for a second season even before the first one was released.
The Witcher follows the stories of Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), an enhanced monster hunter known as a “witcher”; Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), a powerful, quarter-elf sorceress; and Princess Ciri (Freya Allan), with these three stories eventually converging. Season 1 was told in a non-linear manner, relying on the audience to understand that the events are not happening chronologically, which made the series even more interesting (though it might have been a bit confusing to some). The Witcher also introduced Jaskier (Joey Batey), a traveling bard who joins Geralt on his journeys, and who had a big music hit not only in the series but off screen as well, further adding to the success of season 1.
Jaskier was in charge of spreading the word about Geralt’s adventures, and did so through his songs, even if they exaggerated what truly happened. Episode 2 featured the song “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher”, in which he told the events of the episode, but what no one was counting on was on the song going viral.
Netflix Wasn’t Counting On Toss A Coin To Your Witcher Becoming So Popular
Geralt battled different creatures, Yennefer became a powerful sorceress, and Ciri has a mysterious set of powers – and yet, the one thing people remember the most about The Witcher, is Jaskier’s song “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher”. It became so popular that it got many different covers (from rap to metal and everything in between) and an animated fan video, all while fans patiently waited for it to be available on at least one of the biggest music platforms. Finally, a bit over a month after the series arrived, “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” was released on Spotify.
Back in December, composer Sonya Belousova shared on her Instagram account that the official soundtrack of The Witcher was ready to go but it was up to Netflix and whether they decide to release it or not, but in the meantime, “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” – along with “Geralt of Rivia”, “The Song of The White Wolf”, and “The Last Rose of Cintra” – was available on hers and Giona Ostinelli's Soundcloud account. Netflix clearly didn’t know what they had with “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” or they would have been prepared, meaning that it wouldn’t have taken them so long to officially release it.
It’s a similar situation to Disney's with The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda. The Child became a big hit, much bigger than the studio anticipated, and had no merch prepared, resulting on the Mouse House missing the big opportunity of selling Baby Yoda toys during the holiday season. Thankfully, Netflix realized the impact “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” has and finally decided to release the song – better late than never, and hopefully, the platform will be better prepared when The Witcher season 2 arrives, in case Jaskier is working on another big hit.