The Witcher Season 1 TV Series

The Witcher is a fantasy drama television series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich for Netflix. It is based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as the Continent, The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Princess Ciri. It stars Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan.

The first season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on Netflix on December 20, 2019. It was based on The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, which are collections of short stories that precede the main The Witcher saga. The second season, also consisting of eight episodes and based on the novel Blood of Elves, was released on December 17, 2021. In September 2021, Netflix renewed the series for a third season, which also consists of eight episodes, released in two volumes on June 29 and July 27, 2023. This will be followed by a fourth season, with Liam Hemsworth taking over the role of Geralt of Rivia.

An animated origin story film, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, was released on August 23, 2021. A prequel miniseries, The Witcher: Blood Origin, was released on December 25, 2022.

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The Witcher Season 1 TV Series

STORY

Episodes 1

“The End’s Beginning”

Following Geralt of Rivia’s battle with a kikimora in 1231, he enters the town of Blaviken and meets Renfri, a cursed princess-turned-bandit. She is hunted by the wizard Stregobor, who believes her evil for being born during an eclipse. Stregobor lures Geralt to his hideout, seeking to hire him to kill Renfri, but Geralt refuses. Renfri later offers Geralt a counter-proposal, but he refuses with an ultimatum: leave or die. Renfri feigns agreement with the ultimatum, but upon waking up the next morning, Geralt realizes Renfri will not stop until Stregobor is dead, and he rushes to stop her. After killing her men, he fights and fatally wounds Renfri, whose dying words tell of a girl in the forest who is his eternal destiny. Stregobor arrives to take Renfri’s body for autopsy. When Geralt opposes, the townsfolk forces him to leave, urged on by Stregobor. In 1263, Nilfgaard conquers the northern kingdom of Cintra. Princess Cirilla, also known as Ciri, is sent away by her grandmother, Queen Calanthe, to escape and find Geralt. Cahir, a Nilfgaardian officer, captures Cirilla, but seeing the burning city and castle triggers her powers, allowing her to escape.

Episodes 2

“Four Marks”

In 1206, hunchback Yennefer from Vengerberg of Aedirn is sold to Tissaia de Vries by her father. She is taken to Aretuza for training in magic, but finds the practice difficult. She forms a friendship with Istredd, even revealing her quarter-elf heritage, which caused her deformity. Unbeknownst to either, Tissaia and Stregobor were using Yennefer and Istredd respectively to spy on each other. Later, Yennefer witnesses Tissaia turning three students into eels to act as conduits powering Aretuza with magic. In 1240, Geralt is hired to investigate grain thefts in Posada and is followed by Jaskier the bard. They encounter a Sylvan named Torque, who knocks them unconscious and takes them to his mountain cave. There, Geralt meets Filavandrel, the elven king, and urges he lead his people to better lands after being banished by the humans. Instead of killing them, Filavandrel frees Geralt and Jaskier, taking the witcher’s words to heart. In 1263, Cirilla encounters Dara, a boy in the woods, who guides her to a refugee camp. Dara returns to save her when the camp is attacked by Cahir’s forces; she later realizes Dara is an elf.

Episodes 3

“Betrayer Moon”

In 1210, Yennefer and Istredd become lovers while finishing their training. While Yennefer has the chance to transform her body into her ideal image during graduation, the Brotherhood of Sorcerers discuss the allocation of their newly initiated to their respective kingdoms. Through Stregobor’s scheming, Yennefer is assigned to Nilfgaard instead of her preferred Aedirn due to her elven blood. Yennefer angrily breaks off her relationship with Istredd, knowing only he could have told Stregobor about her heritage. Having missed graduation, Yennefer undergoes the painful transformation to be beautiful at the cost of her fertility. With her new body, Yennefer charms Aedirn’s King Virfuril into taking her as advisor, sending Fringilla to Nilfgaard instead. In 1243, Geralt enters the kingdom of Temeria to investigate a monster, assisted by Triss Merigold, King Foltest’s sorceress advisor. He identifies the monster as a Strzyga, a creature born from a curse he later discovers was placed by the courtier Ostrit who learned about the affair between Foltest and his sister, Princess Adda. Using Ostrit as bait, Geralt battles to contain the Striga until dawn, which lifts the curse. In 1263, Cirilla enters a dense forest in a trance as Dara follows to help.

Episodes 4

“Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials”

In 1240, having served Aedirn for thirty years, Yennefer, along with Queen Kalis of Lyria, is ambushed by an assassin. In the ensuing chase, Yennefer flees, unable to save Kalis and her newborn daughter from the assassin. In 1249, Geralt accompanies Jaskier to the betrothal feast of Princess Pavetta, Queen Calanthe’s daughter. Urcheon of Erlenwald (also named Duny) interrupts to demand Pavetta’s hand through the Law of Surprise, having saved her father’s life several years earlier. Urcheon suffers from a curse that transformed him into a humanoid hedgehog creature. Despite Pavetta’s acceptance, Calanthe refuses and a brawl ensues. When Calanthe tries killing Urcheon, Pavetta activates her power, unleashing a maelstrom until Geralt and Mousesack intervene. Wanting her daughter happy, Calanthe marries Duny and Pavetta, which lifts his curse. Duny, thankful for Geralt’s aid, insists he take a reward. Geralt jokingly invokes the Law of Surprise for something Duny has but does not yet know. The crowd then immediately learns Pavetta is pregnant. In 1263, Nilfgaard’s forces resume their pursuit of Cirilla, Pavetta’s daughter, with Mousesack as their prisoner. Meanwhile, Cirilla and Dara encounter the dryad queen Eithne in Brokilon Forest, while Cahir and Fringilla track Ciri’s location.

Episodes 5

“Bottled Appetites”

In 1256, seven years after Pavetta’s betrothal, Geralt and Jaskier discover a Djinn and accidentally release it. Initially, it seems that Jaskier is the Djinn’s ‘master’, but then he falls seriously ill. Geralt seeks help from the nearest healer, the elf Chireadan, but since they need a mage to heal Jaskier, Chireadan reluctantly refers them to Yennefer. Although Yennefer cures Jaskier, her plan is to use him to capture the Djinn and force it to grant her her wish of regaining her fertility. As Jaskier uses his last wish, nothing happens and it is revealed that it is Geralt, not Jaskier, who has actually gained the wishes. Geralt realizes the Djinn will kill Yennefer, so he uses his third and final wish to save her (but the wish itself is not revealed). The Djinn leaves. Now free and safe, Yennefer asks what his third wish was, but Geralt falls asleep after they have sex without answering. In 1263, Cahir hires a doppler to assume the identity of Mousesack; the doppler copies his physical form and memories, then kills him. Later, Eithne allows Ciri to stay in Brokilon, but “Mousesack” arrives and requests Ciri and Dara leave with him.

Episodes 6

“Rare Species”

In 1262, Geralt, Jaskier, Yennefer, and a group of monster hunters are invited on a dragon hunt by Borch and his bodyguards along with a band of dwarves. After camping overnight, they find the Reavers have left. On their way, the bridge collapses, and Borch’s group sacrifices themselves to save the rest. Geralt and Yennefer reconcile before finding a dead dragon in its den, guarded by the bodyguards. Borch, revealed as a golden dragon, explains he protected the dragon’s egg as he knew the group wouldn’t harm it. They defend the egg from the Reavers, and Borch rewards the dwarves with dragon teeth. Geralt reveals his third wish to Yennefer, linking their fates together. Feeling that her emotions are insincere, Yennefer ends their relationship and departs. This leaves Geralt angry and hurt, he blames Jaskier for his misfortunes before leaving him.

Episodes 7

“Before a Fall”

In 1263, with Nilfgaard poised to invade Cintra, Geralt decides to invoke his Law of Surprise and claim Ciri to protect her, but Calanthe, unwilling to give up the last remaining strand of her daughter’s life, offers a different young girl in Ciri’s place. After realising the deception, Geralt confronts Calanthe and is then imprisoned by Eist. After visiting Istredd and failing to reignite their relationship, Yennefer returns to Aretuza with the sorcerer Vilgefortz. When he announces his intention to rally mages to oppose Nilfgaard, she declines. The Brotherhood votes to remain neutral, but Tissaia, Vilgefortz, Triss and other mages resolve to fight. Tissaia convinces Yennefer to join. Nilfgaard invades Cintra, sacking the city and breaching the castle. Calanthe tries to send Ciri away with Geralt, but he has escaped his cell and is nowhere to be found. Ciri fends for herself after escaping Cintra, stealing a horse from a woman who offers her shelter. Later, she is discovered by her old friends who suddenly turn on her, and her powers activate.

Episodes 8

“Much More”

Having escaped from Cintra, Geralt defends a merchant from undead monsters, but is wounded and loses consciousness. Yennefer and the mages reinforce the keep of Sodden Hill, aiming to prevent Nilfgaardian forces from invading the remaining Northern Kingdoms. The Nilfgaardians launch their attack, and a battle starts. Tissaia attempts to talk down Fringilla, but Fringilla disables her. Vilgefortz fights Cahir, but loses and is thrown down a hill. When Vilgefortz wakes up, he kills a Northern sorcerer, revealing himself to be a turncoat. Nilfgaardian soldiers begin to overrun the fort, but Yennefer channels a massive stream of fire, annihilating much of the army before seemingly disappearing. Ciri is awakened by the woman she stole the horse from earlier, and discovers the dead bodies around her. The woman takes her to her farm. Geralt dreams about his mother Visenna, who abandoned him as a child to be made into a witcher, then wakes to find himself on the merchant’s cart. When they arrive at the merchant’s farm, he hears the woman talk to the man about Ciri. He heads into the forest, where Ciri and Geralt finally meet and embrace. She asks Geralt who Yennefer is.

CAST

• Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, a magically enhanced monster hunter known as a “witcher”. Cintran princess Ciri is his “destiny”.
• Anya Chalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, a quarter-elf sorceress.
• Freya Allan as Ciri, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, the crown princess of Cintra, granddaughter of Queen Calanthe and daughter of Pavetta, from whom she inherited the Elder Blood. She is linked to Geralt by destiny.
• Eamon Farren as Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, nicknamed the “Black Knight”, a Nilfgaardian army commander who leads the invasion of Cintra and the hunt for Cirilla.
• Joey Batey as Jaskier, a traveling bard who befriends Geralt and accompanies him on his path.
• MyAnna Buring as Tissaia de Vries (seasons 1–3), mentor to Yennefer and the Rectrix of Aretuza, a training academy for female mages.
• Mimî M. Khayisa as Fringilla Vigo, a sorceress who trained alongside Yennefer. She eventually leads the Nilfgaardian invasion alongside Cahir.
• Anna Shaffer as Triss Merigold, a sorceress, the court mage of Temeria and advisor to King Foltest.
• Royce Pierreson as Istredd, an adept sorcerer and historian who befriends Yennefer at Aretuza.
• Wilson Mbomio as Dara, a refugee elf boy whom Cirilla befriends after the Slaughter of Cintra.
• Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz of Roggeveen, a charismatic sorcerer who rallies the northern mages to halt the invading Nilfgaardian army in Sodden. He later becomes the leader of the Brotherhood of Mages.
• Bart Edwards as Duny, the “Urcheon of Erlenwald” / Emperor Emhyr var Emreis (“The White Flame”) (season 3; guest seasons 1–2), Pavetta’s lover, once afflicted by a curse that transformed him into a hedgehog man until midnight.

PRODUCTION

Development

Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher book series was initially scheduled to be adapted into a standalone Netflix film, but Kelly Luegenbiehl, Vice President of International Originals at Netflix, dissuaded the producers. She recalled asking them, “How can you take eight novels and just turn it into a film? There’s so much material here. Through a number of conversations, the producers got really excited about the idea of using the source material for a longer-running series.” In May 2017, Netflix announced the start of production on an English-language drama TV series based on the books.

In December 2017, it was reported that Lauren Schmidt Hissrich would serve as showrunner on the show. In April 2018, Schmidt Hissrich revealed that the script for the pilot episode was finished and that the first season would be eight episodes long. In 2017, it was reported that Andrzej Sapkowski would serve as a creative consultant on the show, but in January 2018, Sapkowski denied any direct involvement. However, he met with Schmidt Hissrich in April 2018, and in May 2018, she stated that Sapkowski was on the creative team of the project. In August, Andrew Laws was revealed as production designer. In December, Radio Times reported directors Alik Sakharov and Charlotte Brändström had joined the project.

Netflix announced a second season on November 13, 2019, under the working title “Mysterious Monsters”, with production set to begin in London in early 2020, for a planned release in 2021. In April 2021, Netflix’s co-chief executive officer and chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, confirmed that the second season was expected to premiere in Q4 2021. In July 2021, it was announced that the second season would premiere on December 17, 2021. On September 25, 2021, Netflix announced that the series had been renewed for a third season. In April 2023, it was announced that the third season would be split into two volumes, to be released on June 29 and July 27, 2023, respectively.

RELEASE

December 20, 2019