The Witcher season 4 has earned the franchise’s lowest Rotten Tomatoes debut, though that may have less to do with Liam Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill as Geralt.
The Witcher season 4 has premiered on Netflix with a 50% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes — the lowest debut in the main series so far. Despite only six reviews available at the time of writing, that number may shift as more critics weigh in, but it’s unlikely to surpass other franchise scores, and given the audience’s 25% score, based on 50 ratings, it’s doubtful it’ll be a Fresh rating.
Here’s a table comparing season 4 to other titles in The Witcher television franchise so far:
|
Titles |
RT Critics Score |
RT Audience Score |
|
Season 1 |
68% |
88% |
|
Season 2 |
95% |
54% |
|
Season 3 |
79% |
20% |
|
Season 4 |
50% |
25% |
|
Nightmare of the Wolf |
100% |
83% |
|
Blood Origin season 1 |
28% |
13% |
|
Sirens of the Deep |
58% |
38% |
This season marks Hemsworth’s first outing as the monster hunter, taking over after Cavill’s departure, reportedly due to creative clashes over the show’s faithfulness to the source material and his wish to focus on other projects.
Behind the scenes, Henry Cavill’s exit sparked endless speculation about what really went down. While he publicly described it as “passing the torch,” reports suggest that creative clashes have arisen over how closely the series should adhere to Andrzej Sapkowski’s books and CD Projekt Red’s games. Former writers have even implied that some on the team didn’t fully respect the source material, while Cavill himself hinted that he knew when to step away from a role that no longer aligned with his vision.
Now that season 4 is here, audiences can see scenes of Cavill’s character being erased, with inserts by Hemsworth, and the book’s story being rewritten to give Yennefer a bigger role, which may play a part in its reception.
That said, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has remained committed to adapting Sapkowski’s work in a thoughtful, modern way. Netflix clearly shares that confidence — signing her to a major deal in 2021 and backing her subsequent Witcher projects, including the well-received animated film Sirens of the Deep. So while Cavill moved on, Hissrich once again took the reins for season 4.
Sans Cavill, The Witcher season 4 reunites familiar faces, including Anya Chalotra as Yennefer, Freya Allan as Ciri, Joey Batey as Jaskier, and Meng’er Zhang as Milva, among others. New to the cast is Laurence Fishburne, who joins as Regis — a centuries-old barber-surgeon and vampire who becomes one of Geralt’s key companions on his journey.