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The Witcher is an American fantasy drama series produced by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. It is based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The first season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on Netflix in its entirety on December 20, 2019. Before the first season had been released, Netflix announced a second eight-episode season, to be released in 2021; production was scheduled to commence in London in early 2020.
Set in a fictional world, on a landmass known as "the Continent" where the culture is styled in a mix of fantasy elements from the Middle Ages and Renaissance,The Witcher follows the story of solitary monster hunter Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Cintran princess Ciri (Freya Allan), who find their destinies tied together. The first season is based on The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, a collection of short stories which precede the main Witcher saga. It explores formative events that shaped the three lead characters, prior to their first encounters with each other.
According to Parrot Analytics, The Witcher, in its US debut, was the third most "in demand" original streaming series, behind Stranger Things and The Mandalorian. Parrot's process measures "demand expressions", which is "its globally standardized TV-demand measurement unit that reflects the desire, engagement, and viewership of a series weighted by importance." On December 31, 2019, Parrot Analytics reported that The Witcher become the most-in-demand TV series in the world, across all platforms.
The first season was told in a non-linear manner, spanning different time periods. Hissrich said this was inspired by Christopher Nolan's 2017 film Dunkirk. He pointed out that Yennefer's story covers around 70 years and Ciri's only about 2 weeks. Hissrich also said that Yennefer and Cirilla were given more prominence to allow the viewers to understand them better. By showing their backstories, along with Geralt's, “ we get down to the soul of the story. It's the story of a broken family. It's a story of three people who are on their own in the world, really orphans all living in the margins of society who are determined to not need anyone, and yet of course they do.”
Hissrich said the story for the second season will build on the foundations of the first season, becoming more focused; the characters will interact with each other more frequently.
Following Geralt of Rivia's battle with a kikimora, he enters the town of Blaviken and meets Renfri, a cursed princess-turned-bandit hunted by the wizard Stregobor, who thinks her evil for her birth 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. She feigns agreement, 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, and her dying words told him of a girl in the forest who is his destiny forever. Stregobor arrives to take Renfri's body for autopsy. When Geralt opposes, the townsfolk force him to leave, urged on by Stregobor. The kingdom of Cintra is conquered by southern neighbor Nilfgaard, and Princess Cirilla, also known as Ciri, is sent away by her grandmother, Queen Calanthe, to escape and find Geralt. Cirilla is captured by Nilfgaardian officer Cahir, but the sight of the burning city and castle trigger her powers, allowing her to escape.
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