The Witcher season 2 debuted at #1 on Netflix with over 142 million hours viewed so far. The Witcher is based on the fantasy book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, which have since been adapted into a series of popular RPG video games and now as a series on Netflix. The Witcher follows the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, played by Henry Cavill, a monster hunter with all manner of enemies, human and otherwise. Season 2 finds Geralt protecting Ciri (Freya Allan) at his childhood home of Kaer Morhen, seeking to stave off the mysterious power she possesses, while anticipating the looming threats beyond the walls.
The Witcher season 2 is guided by showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and stars, alongside Cavill and Allan, Anya Chalotra, Joey Batey, MyAnna Buring, Anna Schaffer, Eamon Farren, Eamon Farren, Royce Pierreson, and Mimi Ndiwen. The show has already been renewed for season 3, with Cavill saying previously that he intends to inhabit the role all the way to end of its run. In addition to the regular series, The Witcher also has an animated spinoff series that debuted earlier in the summer, titled The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, which traces the origin story of Geralt's mentor and fellow witcher, Vesemir.
The Witcher season 2 just debuted over the weekend, and Netflix has updated its Top 10 chart, which shows that the series has dominated viewing on the platform, amassing 142 million views thus far. The second season is trending at #1 globally, with The Witcher season 1 in second place with 49 million views since last week. This is a massively successful spike for the show and for Netflix, giving the streamer yet another feather in their already impressive cap when it comes to original streaming content.
Cavill took on the role of Geralt with enthusiasm, weathering injuries, Covid delays, inclement weather, and long shooting schedules. The actor made a name for himself playing Superman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel (and follow-up DC films) and says he'd be keen to return to the role, but in the meantime, has been filling up his dance card with a number of high-profile franchise roles. The actor just finished shooting Matthew Vaughn's Argylle, the first part of a planned spy series, and is gearing up to play the lead role in a Highlander reboot from John Wick director, Chad Stahelski.
Fantasy shows are key players on streaming, a trend that's seemed to grow more and more since HBO's Game of Thrones revitalized interest in the genre. Now, streaming services are lining up fantasy-themed shows, including Amazon, who has seen great success with their newly-launched The Wheel of Time series and will take things even further with a new Lord of the Rings series, set to debut in 2022. Even HBO is returning to the well with their Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon, which also debuts in 2022. With interest so high in the genre, shows like The Witcher are here to stay with many more on the horizon so long as viewers are tuning in and producing the kinds of numbers that Netflix is reporting.
Source: Netflix