Pictures: Netflix
With a story taking place over the course of a millennium, not everyone will know where to begin with The Witcher on Netflix. To help guide those looking to watch The Witcher for the first time, or for those rewatching, we’ve put together a guide on how to watch The Witcher franchise on Netflix.
The reality is watching The Witcher in order will likely be a hard task, given that the first season of the mothership show covers over a century alone. Not to mention, if you were to watch it in true “chronological order” you would need to start and stop many episodes from the first season.
As you can see from the timeline below, you would be jumping forward and backwards across episodes on multiple occasions. This we don’t recommend.
The Witcher Character Timeline
With that said, for the moment at least, we’d recommend watching The Witcher on Netflix by order of release meaning the best way to get started is with the following watch order. If you don’t want to watch complimentary material (explainers, recaps, and behind-the-scenes content), follow the title list in bold.
- The Witcher (Season 1)
- The Witcher Beastiary Parts 1 & 2
- Making The Witcher
- Inside The Episodes: The Witcher
- The Witcher Nightmare of the Wolf (2021)
- The Witcher Season 1 Recap
- The Witcher (Season 2)
- The Witcher: Characters of the Continent
- The Witcher: Making Season 2
Netflix also set up a hub page for all its content for The Witcher called “The World of The Witcher,” which provides three categories. One that hosts the main titles, one for all the complimentary titles, and one for recommendations if you like The Witcher.
How to Watch The Witcher on Netflix in “Chronological Order”
Other than the events of the first season, watching The Witcher in chronological order on Netflix isn’t overly complicated. However, with the introduction of new stories and spin-offs, it could be easy for those new to The Witcher to get lost in the movies and spin-offs that have been developed.
Please Note: We’ve chosen to include spin-off and prequel titles that are still in development in the list below.
The Witcher: Blood Origin
Episodes: 4
Book Adaptation: None, an original story from the writing team
Cast: Sophia Brown, Laurence O’Fuarain, Mirren Mack, Lenny Henry, Jacob Collins-Levy
The first entry, and arguably the most controversial one of the franchise takes us back over a thousand years before the events of The Witcher, and to the Conjunction of the Spheres, a cataclysmic event, which eventually led to the creation of the first Witcher.
The series was created by Declan De Barra, who was already a writer on The Witcher. However, longtime fans of the franchise struggled to enjoy Blood Origin, laying much of the blame on the direction of the story, and the deviation of The Witcher lore that was already established from Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels.
“More than a thousand years before the events of “The Witcher,” seven outcasts in an Elven world join forces in a quest against an all-powerful empire.”
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
Directed By: Kwang Il Han
Book Adaptation: None, screenplay written by Beau DeMayo
Cast: Theo James, Mary McDonnell, Lara Pulver, Graham McTavish, Tom Canton
The first spin-off of the franchise, there wasn’t a Witcher fan in sight that wasn’t excited to see Geralt of Rivia’s mentor, Vesemir, in action, especially a young Vesemir in his prime.
The Korean animation studio, Studio Mir was behind the production of Nightmare of the Wolf, with Divergent actor Theo James doing an excellent job of portraying the veteran witcher.
“Escaping from poverty to become a witcher, Vesemir slays monsters for coin and glory, but when a new menace rises, he must face the demons of his past.”
The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep
Directed by: TBA
Book Adaptation: A Little Sacrifice (Published in the book Sword of Destiny)
Cast: Christina Wren, Joey Batey
The second animated movie from the South Korean animation studio, Studio Mir, The Witcher Sirens of the Deep technically takes place between in between the events of the first season of The Witcher. Sirens of the Deep is an adaptation of A Little Sacrifice, a short story from the book Sword of Destiny, and another adventure for Geralt.
Development is currently ongoing for The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, and will likely be released sometime in 2024. For chronological purposes, you could watch the film before or after season 1 of The Witcher. Alternatively, you could watch Sirens of the Deep after the second episode of the first season of The Witcher once the character of Jaskier is introduced.
The Witcher (Season 1)
Episodes: 8
Book Adaptation: The Last Wish / Sword of Destiny
Cast: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra, Mimi Ndiweni, Eamon Farren
To begin with, the timeline of the first season of The Witcher had many Netflix subscribers confused. This was due to the fact that the first season is an adaptation of the prequel books, The Last Wish, and Sword of Destiny, which take place before the events of Blood of Elves, the first entry of The Witcher novels.
The story explores Geralt’s past through some of his most notable adventures, including his exploits with the bard Jaskier, his fateful encounters with the sorceress Yennefer, the origin of his nickname “The Butcher of Blaviken,” and how destiny set him on his path to meet Ciri, the granddaughter of the Queen of Cintra. Meanwhile, the remainder of the story is focused on Ciri, who flees from Cintra after the invasion of Nilfgaard and goes in search of Geralt.
Overall, the first season was received extremely well, with much of the praise going toward Henry Cavill for his excellent portrayal of Geralt.
The Witcher (Season 2)
Episodes: 8
Book Adaptation: Blood of Elves
Cast: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra, Mimi Ndiweni, Eamon Farren
The second season of The Witcher covers the events of Blood of Elves, the first published book of The Witcher novels. Geralt, who after finally meeting Ciri, takes his adoptive daughter to Kaer Morhen, the fortress home of the Witchers, and school of the Wolf. It’s here that Ciri begins her journey to control her blossoming powers.
It didn’t take long for the writers to stamp their own mark on the story of The Witcher, as fans of the book were disappointed that the story has already deviated heavily from the story written by author Andrzej Sapkowski. Overall, the second season was considered a success for Netflix, however, it also began the chain of events that has seen Henry Cavill announce his departure from the series after the third season.
The Rats (In Development)
Episodes: TBA
Book Adaptation: None, new original story from showrunner Haily Hall
Cast: Christelle Elwin, Fabian McCallum, Aggy K. Adams, Juliette Alexandra
One to keep in mind for the future, The Rats is an upcoming sidequel spin-off and a brand-new story from The Witcher writer Haily Hall. The story will be centered around the Nilfgaardian criminal gang of the same name and is set to be introduced in Volume 2 of the third season.
The Rats is meant to take place before the Nilfgaardian invasion of Cintra, which is before Ciri meets Geralt for the first time. However, the sidequel technically takes place after some of Geralt’s adventures in the first season. This means you could watch The Rats before the first season, however, we would recommend watching the series after the second season of The Witcher, this is because the gang is to be introduced in the third season.
Filming is still ongoing for The Rats, and its release is expected in Summer 2024.
The Witcher (Season 3)
Episodes: 4
Book Adaptation: Time of Contempt
Cast: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra, Mimi Ndiweni, Eamon Farren
The third season of The Witcher will cover the events of the second novel in the series, Time of Contempt. Volume 1 of the third season will be released on Netflix on June 29th, with Volume 2 arriving a month later on July 27th, 2023. The third season will also mark the departure of Henry Cavill as Geralt, who will be replaced by Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth.
What is your favorite series season or spin-off of The Witcher on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
Netflix Synopsis: "As monarchs, mages, and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri into hiding, determined to protect his newly-reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it. Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where they hope to uncover more about the girl’s untapped powers; instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line – or risk losing each other forever.
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