The Witcher Is Receiving Its Worst Reviews Yet

The Witcher season 4 opened on Netflix with the weakest Rotten Tomatoes debut of the franchise so far — a finish that may owe less to Liam Hemsworth’s takeover from Henry Cavill than to early critical and audience reactions.

The season currently holds a 50% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on just six reviews at the time of reporting. That figure could change as more critics publish their assessments, but with an audience score of 25% from 50 ratings, the overall reception appears tepid and makes a “Fresh” designation unlikely.

Below is a comparison of Rotten Tomatoes critics and audience scores across the television entries in The Witcher franchise:

This season represents Liam Hemsworth’s first turn as the franchise’s monster hunter, stepping into the role after Henry Cavill’s departure. Cavill framed his exit as “passing the torch,” but numerous reports and former writers have pointed to creative disagreements — particularly over how closely the series should follow Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels and the games from CD Projekt Red — as factors behind the split.

Speculation around Cavill’s departure has been persistent. While he publicly characterized the handoff in amicable terms, some insiders have suggested clashes about fidelity to the source material and the series’ direction. Cavill has also indicated he chose to leave when the project’s trajectory no longer aligned with his vision.

Season 4 includes moments that explicitly replace Cavill’s Geralt with Hemsworth’s performance in certain scenes, and elements of the story have been reshaped — including adjustments that give Yennefer a more prominent arc — choices that could influence both critical and audience reactions. For further context, see coverage of those changes here and commentary on Yennefer’s expanded role here.

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Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has maintained that her goal is to adapt Sapkowski’s work thoughtfully for a modern television audience. Netflix has continued to back her stewardship of the franchise — signing her to a significant deal in 2021 and supporting additional Witcher projects, including the animated entry Sirens of the Deep.

With Cavill gone, season 4 reunites several familiar performers — Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), Freya Allan (Ciri), Joey Batey (Jaskier), and Meng’er Zhang (Milva) — and adds new faces such as Laurence Fishburne, who joins the cast as Regis, the centuries-old barber-surgeon and vampire who becomes an important companion to Geralt.

Source: Polygon