The Witcher has reached a new low in audience approval, with season 4 pulling in just 20% on Rotten Tomatoes' audience score and 61% from critics — the weakest marks in the show's four-season run. The figures cap a steady decline since the series debuted in 2019 with a 68% critics' rating and a strong 88% from audiences.
That goodwill didn't last. Season 2, released in 2021, saw critics rate it even higher at 95% — with some calling it a worthy Game of Thrones replacement — but audiences turned, giving it only 55%. By season 3 in 2023, critics stood at 79% while audience approval collapsed to 22%.
Much of the fan frustration has centered on the show's departures from Andrzej Sapkowski's source novels. According to SFF Gazette, showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich reportedly avoided hiring writers familiar with the books, and former Witcher writer Beau DeMayo described "bad morale," adding that "some of the writers... actively mocking the source material." Henry Cavill, a vocal fan of the books and video games, had reportedly pushed for changes behind the scenes to keep his portrayal of Geralt of Rivia more book-accurate, including concerns over how the show altered Yennefer's character without clear justification.
Cavill announced his departure ahead of season 3, with reduced screen time in his final season doing little to win back viewers before Liam Hemsworth took over the role for season 4. ScreenRant's Felipe Rangel summed up the reaction: "Liam Hemsworth is a serviceable Geralt, but after Henry Cavill's departure, much of the magic is gone."
Season 4 has drawn criticism for shaky writing and disjointed plots, along with further unpopular changes to Yennefer's arc — though in the books, she spends portions of the story as a statue. Still, the season's episode "The Joy of Cooking" was singled out for its "story within a story" structure, a technique Sapkowski himself used, and was seen as a moment where the show captured the spirit of the books despite diverging from the plot.
The Witcher was once Netflix's most-watched original series launch, before being overtaken by Squid Game and Bridgerton. With season 5 confirmed as the show's final chapter, the series faces a choice about whether to lean further into its own storylines or move back toward Sapkowski's original vision as it heads toward its conclusion.
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
