The Witcher (Netflix) Starring Henry Cavill.

[Evermind]

Henry was almost the only redeeming quality about Season 2. My friend (big fan of the Witcher universe) and I (only played Witcher 3 but want to read the books at some point) watched the show, both thought the writing was mediocre-ish and sometimes outright bad (except S2E1, that one was actually quite good, I thought), but there was no dispute Henry really did a fantastic job.

I wouldn't be surprised if they end up cancelling S4.

I think this could have something to do with creative differences between Cavill and the show runners. There was a report from a former writer of the show, that some of the writers disliked and mocked the source material written by Sapkowski. Cavill being a huge fan himself, decided to not renew his contract, and not be a part of something that he was not happy with.

There was an interview where they talk about Henry being so unhappy about the scene where Roach dies, he basically had to rewrite it. That, and as you said, one of the recent interviews stating there are people on the writing team who openly dislike and make fun of the books and the games... creative differences are where it's at, I think.

[Zantera]

The scenario of having people who don't like the books or games being responsible for the tv-show just seems weird to me. Sure they might be talented at their jobs and have earned the chance, but if they don't like the material at all then it feels like nothing good will come from it. I think the opposite can be harmful as well and I think a franchise like Star Wars have suffered by maybe having people involved who are too big fans to really make those interesting choices, but I feel like you at least want people who have some middle ground. Maybe they don't love everything but they get the parts people like and maybe take a few artistic freedoms with the rest.

[ariich]

I mean, the showrunner loves the books and if the production is being done right then she should have overall creative control, regardless of whether others on the writing team are fans or not. But even then, loving the books doesn't necessarily mean wanting the adaptation to be exact.

[cramx3]

The scenario of having people who don't like the books or games being responsible for the tv-show just seems weird to me.

Yeah, if the writers aren't into the source material, I think netflix needs to choose to keep their star actor and replace the writers, not the other way around. 

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I don't think you need to be a fan of something to write it, but I do think there needs to be a certain level of respect for it. It kind of sounds like some of the writers thought the franchise was abject trash.

I've only read three of the books, so I definitely don't have the full picture, but I personally thought they were... not all that great? I mean, they were fine, but we also have to remember that the books didn't actually take off until the games came out. I think that one potential issue with the show is that the books - at least the ones I've read - weren't actually that spectacular. Perhaps the bad writing staff and certain deviations were bigger problems, but I just feel like... Let's just say they weren't adapting Lord of the Rings here.

[ZirconBlue]

I don't think you need to be a fan of something to write it, but I do think there needs to be a certain level of respect for it. It kind of sounds like some of the writers thought the franchise was abject trash.

I've only read three of the books, so I definitely don't have the full picture, but I personally thought they were... not all that great? I mean, they were fine, but we also have to remember that the books didn't actually take off until the games came out. I think that one potential issue with the show is that the books - at least the ones I've read - weren't actually that spectacular. Perhaps the bad writing staff and certain deviations were bigger problems, but I just feel like... Let's just say they weren't adapting Lord of the Rings here.

I haven't read the books, yet, although I bought a set of them.  But, isn't there also the factor that they weren't originally written in English? 

[Orbert]

Disappointing news about Cavill.  If Season 3 is any good, I'll probably at least check out Season 4 (assuming that it happens), but this is a huge blow.

[jingle.boy]

Fascinating

Set in an elven world 1200 years before the time of Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri, The Witcher: Blood Origin will tell a tale lost to history: the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that led to the pivotal Conjunction of the Spheres, when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one. This four-part prequel series premieres on Netflix on December 25.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry6HYg3AsHA

I'm down for this.

[jingle.boy]

Second trailer for Blood Origin.

Wait for it ….

https://youtu.be/6nhwT1vQS68

[Lonk]

Looks cool, should be entertaining 

[jingle.boy]

S3 teaser, still starring Henry Cavill ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUlC8ue8NFI

[Lonk]

Didn't realized they released the official trailer recently, and kind of forgot we were so close to the new season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzS8Ao0H6Co

[gmillerdrake]

Tough to get excited about it knowing he’s leaving and the show will most likely take a nose dive

[Polarbear]

Tough to get excited about it knowing he’s leaving and the show will most likely take a nose dive

Yeah.

It's a shame because the show did get some things right imo. They could have improved upon this, if they had taken the criticisms seriously. Cavill is now gone, and the writers and the showrunner are continuing to make huge changes to the source material they are given. This is supposed to adapt "The Time of Contempt" and there are only a few things in this trailer that ring familiar.

It's a shame, but The Witcher book series is still some of my favorite fantasy work of all time, despite being a bit campy at times.

[gmillerdrake]

Tough to get excited about it knowing he’s leaving and the show will most likely take a nose dive

Yeah.

It's a shame because the show did get some things right imo. They could have improved upon this, if they had taken the criticisms seriously. Cavill is now gone, and the writers and the showrunner are continuing to make huge changes to the source material they are given. This is supposed to adapt "The Time of Contempt" and there are only a few things in this trailer that ring familiar.

It's a shame, but The Witcher book series is still some of my favorite fantasy work of all time, despite being a bit campy at times.

See.....I''m not familiar with any of the source material....I just liked the show so for me I can overlook the stuff you're talking about because I don't know any better. But, apparently NETFLIX didn't learn the lesson from 'Altered Carbon'. There are times when a re-cast can be pulled off.....Game of Thrones did it successfully a couple times....but, you can't recast a 'big name' character and actor and expect it to work. Especially the MAIN character. On top of that....this has been recast with a low grade C+ actor. It's going to be a trainwreck.

[XJDenton]

I'm reserving judgement, but it does not inspire a large amount of hope for a good transition.

[chknptpie]

I actually thought the Ciri plot was the worst in the source material. Give me the short story, monster of the week stuff and I think it would be great. Throw in touches of the love story and we're golden.

[cramx3]

Tough to get excited about it knowing he’s leaving and the show will most likely take a nose dive

Yeah.  I'm also not familiar with the source material, so that stuff doesn't bother me too much, but when the lead (who does know the source material) is not happy with the direction of the show, it makes me less inspired to even care about it. 

As for recasting, it worked in Spartacus when the lead died, but it was weird and obviously understandable.  I can't recall many examples of this happening though to a main character.

[Lonk]

Caught the first episode of the new season. That was loaded, liked it a lot.

[gmillerdrake]

I don’t think I’m going to watch this season. Knowing Cavil is gone after this really taints any interest I have in the show. No reason to invest the time. I may change my mind one day

[Podaar]

You know the funny thing when we talk about Cavil and the source material? This season is spot on and he should have absolutely no complaints. IMO, this season is, by far, the best yet. Both Mrs. P and I have read the books, and after watching 5 episodes, we just look at each other and wonder what Henry's damage is. If he's truly a fan, what's his problem? Did he pull a Portnoy and say some shit about his current gig to justify running off to another gig (Superman) only to get rejected? I've got to really wonder now.

[cramx3]

I don’t think I’m going to watch this season. Knowing Cavil is gone after this really taints any interest I have in the show. No reason to invest the time. I may change my mind one day

I'm struggling to enjoy this season so far, 2 episodes in. I think a large part of it is just forgetting what happened before.  I probably need a better recap than what netflix provided.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

You know the funny thing when we talk about Cavil and the source material? This season is spot on and he should have absolutely no complaints. IMO, this season is, by far, the best yet. Both Mrs. P and I have read the books, and after watching 5 episodes, we just look at each other and wonder what Henry's damage is. If he's truly a fan, what's his problem? Did he pull a Portnoy and say some shit about his current gig to justify running off to another gig (Superman) only to get rejected? I've got to really wonder now.

Interesting. I have not watched this season but maybe I will at some point. In all honestly, I don't think I ever cared about changes to the source material. I just want a show with characters I love and a few epic moments sprinkled in. This show never really delivered that, at least for me personally. It's quite a strange situation as The Witcher 3 is one of my favorite things ever, but I also realize that game was made separate from the books and is very much its own sort of thing.

[cramx3]

Finished the first 5 episodes and things definitely got much better from my last comment.  Enjoyed it quite a bit.  Still, not sure about the future of the show but I'm looking forward to the second half of the season.

[nick_z]

Yep, the last episode was pretty clever, with all the revisits of the various meetings/conversations, from various viewpoints...

Excited to watch the second half of S3.

[Lonk]

Season came back already, and damn that was another strong episode. A lot happened.

[jingle.boy]

I liked the first 5 episodes … #5 was pretty innovative. Six was a bit odd, imo, and I was a tad disappointed in the finale (The Dark Knight Returns, anyone?).  Like TOX, I’m not familiar with the books - though I do have a few, and started to read one of them a couple years back, I didn’t stick with it. I’m unsure how they just switch from Cavill to Hemsworth given the ending?

[nick_z]

So, my wife and I watched the final 3 episodes (6-8) of Season 3...

Well, Ep.6 was obviously very eventful - lots of the fighting/intrigue the season was building up to finally happening. It sure was something. Yep, definitely seemed like a nod to The Dark Knight Rises there at the end 

Without spoiling much - what the heck were they thinking with EP.7?? What a slog to get through. Whatever they set out to do with that one, it did NOT work for me. One of the worst episodes in the series so far. Period.

The last was back to more typical fare. Pretty good, maybe a bit anti-climatic, but we'll see how they transition.

Like it's been said before on the thread, I'm not sure how the series will survive Cavill leaving. I mean, he IS the Witcher 

[ErHaO]

I thought season 1 was entertaining and had some really strong points that kept me watching (basically Geralt and Jennifer), I thought season 2 was bad. I have little faith in Netflix finishing this storyline they made in a satisfying manner. Hell, Netflix has canceled and derailed so many properties that I will only check their limited series or films these days.

I will probably consider watching the rest if it eventually is finished decent enough and the switch to Hemsworth was done well. I would be surprised if they managed to do that (finish the series and if they do, do it well).

I don't care about book accuracy that much. Honestly I greatly prefer the writing in the videogame series.