The Witcher Surpasses 100 Million Streaming Hours After Lead Actor Change

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The series achieved a significant streaming success shortly before replacing its main actor. Despite the news of a new lead, many fans remained loyal to the original performer.

According to data from FlixPatrol, The Witcher exceeded 100 million hours of viewership right before Liam Hemsworth took over the role of Geralt of Rivia. Between January and June 2025, the series totaled 100.6 million hours streamed across 12.9 million views, indicating strong audience interest in watching episodes featuring the original star, Henry Cavill, before Hemsworth’s debut.

The show ran from its debut in 2019 through the end of its third season in 2023. Although the first season of The Witcher received mixed reviews (earning a 68% ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes), the second and third seasons were generally praised by critics. However, overall viewer interest seemed to decline as the story evolved.

Liam Hemsworth first appeared as Geralt of Rivia in Season 4 of The Witcher in October 2025, three years after he was originally cast. The season, which was based on The Tower of the Swallow, received mostly mixed to negative reviews.

Currently, Season 4 of The Witcher has a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews from critics. However, viewers aren’t as impressed, giving it a much lower 19% approval rating on the site, according to over 2,500 fan reviews.

How The Witcher Star Liam Hemsworth Responded to Online Backlash Over His Geralt

When Liam Hemsworth was announced as the actor who would play Geralt of Rivia in September 2025, the news received a lot of reaction. “There was a lot of discussion, and I needed to ignore it,” Hemsworth said. “It was starting to pull my focus away from the work.”

I’ve faced similar situations before,” Hemsworth explained. “Ultimately, I really enjoy making movies – I love the creative process of acting and storytelling. I just want to protect that and not let outside pressures influence the work. That’s why I mostly stayed off social media and the internet for a large part of last year.

Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich, the showrunner for The Witcher, has explained that Henry Cavill chose to leave his role as Geralt. She said he had other acting projects he was eager to pursue, and the production team didn’t want to pressure him to stay if he wasn’t fully committed. Hissrich described the decision as mutually beneficial for everyone involved.

The Witcher is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

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2026-01-21 01:39