The Witcher (TV series)

Television series
German title	The Witcher
Original title	The Witcher
Country of production	United States , Poland
original language	English
Year (s)	since 2019
Production company	Sean Daniel Company, Platige Image , Stillking Films, One of Us, Cinesite
length	47-67 minutes
Episodes	8 in 1+ seasons ( list )
genre	Fantasy , action
idea	Andrzej Sapkowski , Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
music	Sonya Belousova , Giona Ostinelli
Initial release	December 20, 2019 on Netflix
First publication in German	December 20, 2019 on Netflix
occupation
synchronization

The Witcher is an American - Polish fantasy series based on the Geralt saga by Andrzej Sapkowski . The series was released on December 20, 2019 by Netflix .

After a Polish feature film from 2001 and the 13-part television series based on it from 2002, this is the second cinematic implementation of the Witcher saga.

action

The first season is mainly based on the short story volume The Last Wish , a story from The Sword of Providence , as well as parts of the first volume of pentalogy, The Legacy of the Elves . Three storylines on partly different time levels run in parallel and bring the season together towards the end, with different characters or events being placed in a different context compared to the original.

This is how individual episodes deal with the short stories The Lesser Evil , about the robber princess Renfri, The Witcher , in which Geralt fights a striga and relieves her from her curse, A question of price , in which Geralt establishes a connection with the unborn through the “law of surprise” Ciri, at Pavetta's wedding with the hedgehog, and The Edge of the World , when Geralt, together with delphinium, falls into the clutches of elves after hunting a Silvan. The last wish describes the creation of the connection between Geralt and Yennefer through a jinn. The hunt for a dragon depicts the limits of what is possible . The season also describes Yennefer's career from a misshapen maid to a powerful sorceress, as well as Ciri's escape from Cintra, after the Nilfgaard attack, into the magical Brokilon forest, inhabited by dryads and finally her first meeting with Geralt, whom she called "Providence “It was a promise that her grandmother Calanthe tried to prevent.

production

The leading actors Freya Allan , Henry Cavill and Anya Chalotra at the San Diego Comic-Con International 2019

In May 2017 it was announced that Netflix would adapt the story of Geralt von Rivia (Geralt of Rivia in the original English). Netflix originally only wanted to produce one movie. Kelly Luegenbiehl, Vice President of International Originals at Netflix, intervened, however, and said that the material available was much more than the production of a simple film. In May 2017, Netflix finally announced the start of production for the series. At the end of the same year, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich was announced as the showrunner ; the following month, in early 2018, the script for the pilot episode was available.

The eight episode long first season was filmed in Central Europe. Henry Cavill was cast in September 2018 as the actor of the witcher Geralt von Rivia, the protagonist of the series.

Filming for the first season began in Hungary on October 31, 2018 , after the full cast was announced that same month. In March 2019, the film was also shot in Gran Canaria .

A first teaser was published on July 19, 2019. The main trailer was released on October 31, 2019, which also mentions December 20, 2019 as the premiere.

Cast and dubbing

The German-language synchronization of the series is done by Berliner Synchron . The dialogue books are written by Arian Raschidi and the dialogue is directed by Frank Muth .

role	actor	Main role	Supporting role	Voice actor
Geralt of Rivia	Henry Cavill	1.01–		Alexander Doering
Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon from Cintra (Ciri)	Freya Allan	1.01–		Lisa May-Mitsching
Cahir	Eamon Farren	1.01-1.02, 1.04-1.06, 1.08		Florian Clyde
Yennefer from Vengerberg	Anya Chalotra	1.02–		Maria Hönig
delphinium	Joey Batey	1.02–1.03, 1.05–		Dirk Stollberg
Tissaia de Vries	MyAnna Buring	1.02–1.03, 1.05, 1.07–		Cathlen Gawlich
Fringilla Vigo	Mimi Ndiweni	1.02–		Dana Friedrich
Triss Merigold	Anna Shaffer	1.03, 1.07–		Patrizia Carlucci
Vilgefortz	Mahesh Jadu	1.07-1.08		Philippa Jarke
Stregobor	Lars Mikkelsen		1.01-1.03, 1.07	Erich Rauker
Queen Calanthe	Jodhi May		1.01, 1.04, 1.07	Christin Marquitan
Mouse sack	Adam Levy		1.01, 1.04–1.07	Gerrit Hamann
Is Tuirseach	Björn Hlynur Haraldsson		1.01, 1.04, 1.07	Tommy Morgenstern
Renfri	Emma Appleton		1.01, 1.08	Alice Bauer
Lazlo	Maciej Musiał		1.01, 1.07	Max fields
Denek	Tobi Bamtefa		1.01, 1.07	Stefan Bräuler
Sabrina Glevissig	Therica Wilson-Read		1.02-1.03, 1.07-1.08	Anne Patricia Reetz
King Foltest of Temeria	Shaun Dooley		1.03, 1.08	Dennis Schmidt-Foss
Artorius Vigo	Terence Maynard		1.03, 1.07	Lutz Schnell
Eithne	Josette Simon		1.04–1.05	Sabine Walkenbach
Zola	Anna-Louise Plowman		1.07-1.08	Isabelle Schmidt
Pavetta	Gaia Mondadori		1.04	Angela Ringer
Duny from the Alder Forest	Bart Edwards		1.04	Nico Sablik
Borch Three jackdaws	Ron Cook		1.06	Lutz Mackensy

Episode list

No.	German title	Original title	First published in the USA	German language first publication (D / A / CH)	Director	script
1	The beginning of the end	The End's Beginning	Dec 20, 2019	Dec 20, 2019	Alik Sakharov	Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
2	Four marks	Four marks	Dec 20, 2019	Dec 20, 2019	Alik Sakharov	Jenny Klein
3	Traitor moon	Betrayer Moon	Dec 20, 2019	Dec 20, 2019	Alex Garcia Lopez	Beau DeMayo
4th	Banquets, bastards and funerals	Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials	Dec 20, 2019	Dec 20, 2019	Alex Garcia Lopez	Declan de Barra
5	Pent-up desires	Bottled appetites	Dec 20, 2019	Dec 20, 2019	Charlotte Brändström	Sneha Koorse
6th	Rare species	Rare species	Dec 20, 2019	Dec 20, 2019	Charlotte Brändström	Haily Hall
7th	Before the fall	Before a fall	Dec 20, 2019	Dec 20, 2019	Alik Sakharov & Marc Jobst	Mike Ostrowski
8th	Much more	Much more	Dec 20, 2019	Dec 20, 2019	Marc Jobst	Lauren Schmidt Hissrich

reception

The first season of the series received mixed reviews. The season on Rotten Tomatoes , based on 85 evaluated reviews, received 67% positive reviews. Axel Weidemann from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung rated the first season positively. He writes: “'The Witcher' mixes vertical and horizontal storytelling in the most enjoyable way possible. […] In terms of content, the series is also interesting because it not only treads the well-trodden monster paths, but (thanks to Sapkowski) plunges into the furthest corners of the Slavic world of legends ”. Julian Ignatowitsch is less convinced of Deutschlandfunk . The fictional world “pulls you under its spell”, but the “weaknesses […] can be seen in the often overly pathetic dialogues and the sometimes very flat humor”.

In the Internet Movie Database , the series was for a short time the best-rated Netflix original series (as of December 2019).

Web links

Commons : The Witcher  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The Witcher in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Witcher is coming to Netflix as a TV series , IGN.com , accessed May 19, 2019.
2. ↑ The Netflix Literary Connection , Publishersweekly.com , accessed May 19, 2019.
3. ↑ The Witcher Saga Coming to Netflix , Netflix.com , accessed May 19, 2019.
4. ↑ Lauren Schmidt Hissrich to Adapt 'The Witcher' for Netflix , Variety.com , accessed May 19, 2019.
5. ↑ The Witcher TV Series: Netflix Orders Eight Episode Season , Denofgeek.com , accessed May 19, 2019.
6. ↑ 'The Witcher' Netflix Show Hits This Fall , Variety.com , accessed on May 19, 2019.
7. ↑ Netflix's 'The Witcher' Series Finds Its Geralt In Henry Cavill , Forbes.com , accessed May 19, 2019.
8. ↑ 'The Witcher': First Look At Henry Cavill As Geralt Of Rivia; Netflix Rounds Out Cast As Production Begins , Deadline.com , accessed May 19, 2019.
9. ↑ 'The Witcher': Netflix Fantasy Drama Series Casts Its Females Leads Ciri & Yennefer , Deadline.com , accessed May 19, 2019.
10. ↑ 'The Witcher' se rueda en Gran Canaria , Laprovincia.es , accessed on May 19, 2019.
11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIoa26sJ8zU
12. ↑ Netflix's 'The Witcher' trailer Arrives With Premiere Date , Deadline.com , accessed October 31, 2019
13. ↑ The Witcher. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on December 26, 2019 . 
14. ↑ The Witcher: Season 1 , accessed December 22, 2019.
15. ↑ Monster, Hardship, and Monetary , accessed December 22, 2019.
16. ↑ On the Monster Hunt , accessed December 22, 2019.
17. ↑ Paul Tassi: 'The Witcher' Is Already Netflix's Highest Rated Original Series On IMDB. Accessed December 25, 2019 .