History Series / TheWitcher2019

The series premiered on December 20, 2019. Two additional seasons have been ordered, with the second season being released on December 17, 2021. A fourth season was ordered in October 2022, revealing that Henry Cavill would step down from the role of Geralt and hand it over to Creator/LiamHemsworth.

** When we first see Cintra fall, Calanthe and her husband seem like loving grandparents ruling an [[ShiningCity innocent, peaceful kingdom]] unjustly attacked out of the blue by a [[TheEmpire rabid, hostile expansionist]]. The context of the intervening episodes revealed [[spoiler:her to be a [[FantasticRacism bigoted]] [[BloodKnight warmonger]] herself, who [[YouCantFightFate boastfully (and futilely) tried to defy destiny]], and is finally [[KickTheSonOfABitch getting to reap what her arrogance has sown]].]] First we see Calanthe from Ciri's perspective; later we see her from Geralt's.

* AnachronicOrder: Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri's storylines don't happen in the same time period at the start of the series, in spite of being included in the same episodes. This isn't initially obvious because most of the characters involved [[TheAgeless don't visibly age]], but you get a hint of this from the very first episode, when Queen Calanthe talks about winning her first battle when she was Ciri's age, then Renfri talks about that same battle as if it had just happened. It becomes clear in "Betrayer Moon" when Foltest appears as a young boy in Yennefer's storyline and as an old man in Geralt's, and is made even more explicit in "Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials" when [[spoiler:Geralt meets characters like Calanthe (who died in Ciri's storyline in the first episode) and Mousesack and is present for the wedding of Ciri's parents.]] [[spoiler:Yennefer's timeline catches up to Geralt's in "Bottled Appetites", and both of them catch up to the beginning of Ciri's in "Before a Fall".]] Each character's story is internally chronological, but are related to each other thematically, i.e. juxtaposing Geralt's attempt to break the curse on the Striga with Yennefer's ascension.

* SterilityPlague: One seems to be afflicting the Elves, as there hasn't been a single live Elven birth in decades, making Francesca's child a HopeBringer among them. Whether the reasons are magical, biological or simple practical (i.e., the results of most Elves living in desperate poverty and suffering constant persecution) isn't stated, though.

* GutturalGrowler: The voice that Cavill uses for Geralt provides an admirable challenge to Doug Cockle's gravel-on-steel voice from the video game series.

The cast includes Creator/FreyaAllan as Princess Cirilla (shortened to "Ciri"), Creator/JoeyBatey as Jaskier, Creator/AnyaChalotra as Yennefer of Vengerberg, Jodhi May as Queen Calanthe, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson as King Eist, Adam Levy as Mousesack, Creator/MyAnnaBuring as Tissaia, Mimi Ndiweni as Fringilla and Creator/LarsMikkelsen as Stregobor.

* AdaptationExpansion: By intention, the showrunner sought to expand the roles of the women in the story and actually show events that were only hinted at in the original book (such as Yenn's backstory and role at the Battle of Sodden, and what Ciri did in-between escaping Cintra's sacking and being found by Geralt). Season 2, while taking some events from the first Witcher novel, ''Literature/BloodOfElves'', created an entirely original story for the A-Plot to flesh out Ciri's training at Kaer Morhen, the first two years of which were largely skipped over in the books.

* AdaptationNameChange: Previous English translations of both the books and video games have translated "Jaskier" as "Dandelion" (it actually means "buttercup" in Polish). This series leaves it untranslated.

* AdaptationDeviation:
** The more explicit FracturedFairyTale aspects of Sapkowski's short stories are all but gone. For example, the show omitted the magic mirror, poisoned apple, and seven gnomes from Renfri's backstory to remove her similarity to Snow White.
** Yennefer's reason for leaving Geralt in "Rare Species" is her discovery that [[spoiler: his wish bound them together and her belief that their feelings are simply the result of the wish]]. In the books, she knows about Geralt's wish from the start because she heard him make it and isn't troubled by it. A sidequest from the third game does involve undoing the wish to resolve this question, but since Yennefer's feelings don't change it's entirely up to the player to decide the effect.
** Yennefer's desire for a child. She implies she doesn't necessarily want a child but wants the ''choice'' (or rather to override a negative consequence of the choice she made decades ago). In the books, she actually just wants a child, and others are quite aware of this fact.
*** More generally, infertility is described in the novels' EncyclopediaExposita as merely a common hormonal side-effect of becoming a mage since "some wizards, usually women, attune to magic while still maintaining efficiency of the gonads." In the show, however, Yennefer undergoes a ritual hysterectomy with her removed organs burned as part of an EquivalentExchange for beauty and immortality. Similarly, in the novels the witchers' sterility is a side effect of the mutagens used in their transformations, while in the show Geralt suggests he, too, was intentionally sterilized.
** Ciri's stay in Brokilon was notably changed and e.g. first meeting of Geralt and Ciri was cut out, which resulted in them meeting for the first time only in the first season's final episode, which made this situation quite bizarre, as those two never met before and barely know each other.
** The reason for the djinn attacking Jaskier. In the original short story "The Last Wish", the djinn attacked Jaskier on its own; Geralt drove it off with what he'd been told was a banishment incantation in Elder speech, but was really [[spoiler:a command for the LiteralGenie to [[AnatomicallyImpossibleSex go screw itself]]]]. The show takes the simpler route of Geralt "wishing" for "peace and quiet" while arguing with Jaskier, and the djinn interpreting it as a command.
** Emhyr var Emreis, the Emperor of Nilfgaard, is [[spoiler:revealed to be Ciri's father Duny]] at the end of Season 2, while in the books, this didn't happen until the last volume. This is likely because players of the videogames, who make up a larger part of the audience, already knew this from ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'', making it a LateArrivalSpoiler for show-only fans.
* AdaptationDistillation:
** The first season adapts both ''The Last Wish'' and ''Sword of Destiny'' short-story collections. Or rather, certain stories from each that introduce the critical characters and lore that the later saga centers on. Stories that were more standalone, such as "A Grain of Truth" or "A Little Sacrifice", are not adapted.
** Geralt and Yennefer's turbulent relationship is greatly [[RelationshipCompression simplified]]. In the books, they make several attempts at a serious relationship (over the course of a decade or so), before one or the other does something that makes it collapse. In the show, they quickly separate both times they are shown together. It's implied they've had off-screen liaisons between "Bottled Appetites" and "Rare Species", but not so complicated as their book counterparts, who were infamous in-universe for their [[SlapSlapKiss messy spats]], whereas in the show, even Triss isn't aware they know each other.
** The dragon hunting party is smaller than in the original story, with several characters AdaptedOut, as well as the details surrounding the hunt greatly simplified.
* AdaptationDyeJob:
** Renfri is blonde in the books, but brunette in the show.
** In the books, Calanthe has ash-blonde hair like her daughter and granddaughter, and her second husband Eist is a redhead. In the show, they both have dark hair.
** Mousesack is a redhead in the novels, but brown-haired in the show.
** Triss originally had chestnut-coloured (light or reddish brown) hair in the novels (and was turned into a fiery redhead in the games); the show portrays her with dark brown hair. Subverted in Season 2 where her hair is red.
** Jaskier is also blond in the books. This is only stated outright in the very last book ''Season of Storms'', but is generally implied by his stage name "Jaskier" being Polish for "Buttercup" (a bright yellow flower). In the series, he's brown-haired.
* AdaptationExpansion: Broadly speaking, the first season adapts the high points of ''Literature/TheLastWish'' and ''Literature/SwordOfDestiny'' for Geralt, but constructs everything else from {{flashback}}s and {{exposition}}.
** Yennifer is decidedly the ThirdLineSomeWaiting protagonist of the novels, trailing well behind Geralt and Ciri in terms of independent page-time, dialogue, and character development, with a backstory that's mostly only hinted at. The show fleshes out Yen's character, angst, and backstory until they arguably ''surpass'' even that of Geralt.
** In the show, Geralt attends the ball in Cintra as Jaskier's bodyguard. In the short story, Jaskier isn't involved; Geralt is invited by Calanthe because she intended him to [[spoiler:kill Duny for her]].
** The Battle of Sodden Hill was a significant event, but one that occurred [[GreatOffScreenWar off-screen]]. The show depicts both the battle and the machinations that led to the mages deciding to intervene against Nilfgaard's invasion.
* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: Calanthe [[spoiler:jumping to her death. In the books, the reason she jumped to her death was because no one was willing to kill their queen, even if she wished it, so she had to do it herself.]] The show doesn't give any explicit justification for why she wasn't [[spoiler:given one of the vials of poison--apart from a vague throwaway line from Calanthe saying [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled she'd prefer her death to be more dramatic]].]]
* AdaptationNameChange: Sort of. Other English versions usually translate the Polish word "Jaskier" to its reasonable equivalent "Dandelion" as the name of the eponymous bard, but this version doesn't. This gets a bit odd when he still introduces himself to Yarpen as Julian Alfred Pankratz, meaning "Jaskier" is still just his stage name, but one that is pure nonsense in English.

Geralt of Rivia (played by Creator/HenryCavill in the first three seasons), a solitary monster hunter from the dying order of the Witchers, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate an increasingly volatile continent together.

Geralt of Rivia (played by Creator/HenryCavill in the first three seasons, Creator/LiamHemsworth from the fourth season onward), a solitary monster hunter from the dying order of the Witchers, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate an increasingly volatile continent together.

The series premiered on December 20, 2019. Two additional seasons have been ordered, with the second season being released on December 17, 2021. A fourth season was ordered in October 2022, revealing that Henry Cavill would step down from the role of Geralt and hand it over to Liam Hemsworth.

** In the short story, "The Bounds of Reason", Yennefer gets overpowered by the Reavers and ends up tied to a wagon [[ShamefulStrip with her breasts bared]], having to rely on Geralt to free her from her bonds (he's tied up with her and manages to form the Igni sign to burn their ropes off), whereas in the episode adapting it, Yennefer fights [[BackToBackBadasses back to back with Geralt]] using a [[DualWielding a sword and dagger]].

** Renfri is portrayed as a tragic character that reluctantly became a bandit, therefore making her revenge more relatable. In the original story, she was more of a straight bandit that feared the other bandits.

* TheReveal: A major reveal about [[spoiler:Emhyr var Emreis]] happens very late in the books, and can be sustained due to the readers obviously never seeing him. Since that wouldn't be conceivable on Netflix as a visual medium, said twist gets pulled forward to the end of Season 2.

''The Witcher'' is a Creator/{{Netflix}}[=-produced=] DarkFantasy series adapted from Creator/AndrzejSapkowski's book series, ''Franchise/TheWitcher'', with Lauren Hissrich as showrunner.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: In the first season, Ciri thinks the peasant children are her friends. In reality they had no choice but to treat her as a friend because she was the queen's granddaughter. They sell her out to Nilfgaard the moment her rank no longer protects her.

** Geralt's medallion is an ordinary medallion with the symbol of a wolf on it like in the books. In the games, the medallion itself was shaped like a wolf's head.

* EvilVersusEvil: The war in the second season ends up becoming this: On the one side, you have Nilfgaard, TheEmpire brutally bent on conquest that slaughters entire cities and uses up its own troops as cannon fodder. On the other we have the Northern Kingdoms, who decide that the best response to Nilfgaard [[spoiler:extending a helping hand to the elves is to start a ''genocide'' to exterminate every single elf in the North]].