The Witcher (Netflix series) - Henry Cavill

[EvilNed]

I watched half of season 2 but then couldn't be bothered. It's way too slow moving and to be honest, anything that's not about Henry Cavill fighting monsters is just not interesting. I wish the show had been that and nothing else. But it's way, way too much of all the political intrigue between elves and kingdoms and whatever. I couldn't even understand it. The show was too complicated for me to understand.

[kidgloves]

Lasted 2 episodes of season 3 before i bailed and you could class me as a superfan of The Witcher. Its been ruined by mediocre writing from hacks that is becoming the norm in tv series these days. I totally see why Cavill left and there were signs he was unhappy way back in season 2 production interviews when he kept saying he would stay as long as the authors vision was respected. I think he was preparing to exit then. Real real shame.

[MinionZombie]

Lasted 2 episodes of season 3 before i bailed and you could class me as a superfan of The Witcher. Its been ruined by mediocre writing from hacks that is becoming the norm in tv series these days. I totally see why Cavill left and there were signs he was unhappy way back in season 2 production interviews when he kept saying he would stay as long as the authors vision was respected. I think he was preparing to exit then. Real real shame. There's also interviews where you can hear him talking about how Geralt's central role was diminished in favour of Yennifer and Ciri, and how they (but really just him) were having to 'find' a new way for Geralt to fit into this new approach. Apparently in later books the focus does shift away from Geralt, or so I've heard, but the material they've been covering isn't like that ... so it's just bizarre that you'd take your titular character and sideline them. However, that's been getting done quite a lot lately, especially over at Disney ... ... it's baffling the powers that be can't figure out why it's a bad thing to do. It's telling, too, that the highlight of Season 2 was Geralt's farewell to Roach - a speech that was written by Cavill himself - because, apparently, what had originally been shat out by the writers was taking the piss. Surely, having respect for the material you're adapating is, you know, a crucial requirement. Sure, you have to make adaptations from one format to another, but an awful lot of that comes down to structuring (and then, admittedly, the knock-on effects of said restructuring that can have major consequences for how the narrative plays out in the source text) ... but coming into it from day one looking to make huge changes? Come on. I've never read the books or played the games, but that doesn't make it okay to have these major changes - even as a newbie to the franchise I would hope that what I'm getting is a faithful and respectful adaptation of the source text. It's also strange that they chose to do season one the way they did. It wasn't exactly easy to watch as a newcomer but, again, it was Cavill's sheer charisma on-screen and his dedication to the character that kept me watching despite the baffling storytelling of season one.

[Neil]

[MinionZombie]

Now that's an interesting one about viewership, and how apparently Netflix strongly consider (or just outright do) cancelling a show if it loses 50% of it's viewership by the end of the season (seems slightly harsh, maybe ... in the first season at least?) ... ... so with Witcher down by that amount in season three, well, there shouldn't really be a reason to keep it going if that's the strategy. It's strange, really ... surely they can see it'd just be throwing money at a problem that cannot be fixed because of how the show has been handled by its showrunner(s) and producers? But then again, there's been so many beyond stupid decisions made in the media world for years now. Ah, those Hollywood egos at play again...

[Neil]

Isn't the filing of season 4 with Liam Hemsworth imminent? I assume it'll go ahead?

[MinionZombie]

Isn't the filing of season 4 with Liam Hemsworth imminent? I assume it'll go ahead? Are they at that point yet? There's a whiff of arrogance about some of these projects, assuming they'll just get the go-ahead or indeed Netflix (or whomever else) just blundering forth with more seasons despite the evident and continued decline in viewership and all the myriad problems with the project that have been there since its inception. It's like Amazon doggedly continuing with Rings of Power, but I suppose they've put this gigantic train into motion and it's difficult to stop now ... but you do wonder, if season two crashes with audiences as well, might that be an end of that bugger up?

[Neil]

Well didn't think much of Season 3

[EvilNed]

Are they at that point yet? There's a whiff of arrogance about some of these projects, assuming they'll just get the go-ahead or indeed Netflix (or whomever else) just blundering forth with more seasons despite the evident and continued decline in viewership and all the myriad problems with the project that have been there since its inception. It's like Amazon doggedly continuing with Rings of Power, but I suppose they've put this gigantic train into motion and it's difficult to stop now ... but you do wonder, if season two crashes with audiences as well, might that be an end of that bugger up? The main goal of Prime shows is not necessarily for people to watch them in high numbers, it's for people to keep their Prime membership. If you're a Prime member you get a bunch of other benefits. So viewership is secondary. Amazon just wants the Prime membership to feel "worth it". I'm all in agreement when it comes to what you're saying though, I don't think these shows turned out to be as good as they could have. There's really some episodes that are great, but overall the drama just isn't strong enough to keep people hooked, I guess.

[MinionZombie]

The main goal of Prime shows is not necessarily for people to watch them in high numbers, it's for people to keep their Prime membership. If you're a Prime member you get a bunch of other benefits. So viewership is secondary. Amazon just wants the Prime membership to feel "worth it". I'm all in agreement when it comes to what you're saying though, I don't think these shows turned out to be as good as they could have. There's really some episodes that are great, but overall the drama just isn't strong enough to keep people hooked, I guess. Rumours are that Bezos had some words with folks at Prime Video as to why RoP didn't have higher viewership despite the huge production cost. Perhaps if he'd put more sensible people in charge (i.e. the sorts who wouldn't turn away a kick-arse-sounding Conan series because of "toxic masculinity" ) then you'd get something better. They've certainly had their hits with the likes of Jack Ryan, Reacher, Invincible, The Boys, and The Marvellous Mrs Maisel - as well as some good Prime-owned films - but RoP was such an eye-watering amount of money to spend on a messed-up project (led, incredibly, by two dudes who had one sort-of credit to their name and nothing else!!!). The money spent on RoP could've been spent on multiple smaller budgeted projects with higher creative risks and variety that could've turned up something truly great to rival, say, Stranger Things. But no ... they spunked all that cash on a turkey. Indeed, considering the types of shows that usually hit for them, it's even more baffling that they didn't go ahead with a Conan series! - - - Updated - - - Well didn't think much of Season 3 I couldn't be bothered to go beyond 3x01 (which almost bored me to tears), but from what I've heard online about it ... yeesh ... and a rubbish lame-o ending for Geralt.