The Witcher Season 4 Beat the Online Backlash: Here's How

So, The Witcher Season 4 rolled in under a cloud of noise about the Geralt recast, got clobbered by user scores, and still pulled serious traffic. Not the cleanest launch, but undeniably effective. Here is how the showrunner explains it, what the numbers actually say, and how Liam Hemsworth is handling the handoff.

Who the show is for, according to the boss

Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich says the plan was never to cater to just one camp. In a new chat with Dexerto, she breaks down the obvious split in the audience - people who read Andrzej Sapkowski's books, people who played the CD Projekt Red games, and people who only discovered this world through Netflix - and makes it clear the series has to work as television first, not as a straight replica of the novels.

"We can't choose one audience."

She points back to the early years as proof of that approach: the show took standalone short stories and stitched them together as connective tissue to get characters where they needed to go. That strategy continues now, with Seasons 4 and 5 planned together so the writers could aim at a specific endgame.

The numbers: big reach, rough reception

Season 4 landed in Netflix's global Top 10 despite the backlash over Geralt changing faces from Henry Cavill to Liam Hemsworth. Per FlixPatrol's data, it is currently the No. 2 show worldwide on Netflix, just behind the crime thriller The Asset. At the same time, it is getting hammered in the scorecards: this is the show's lowest-rated season with critics and its harshest with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

• Season 1: 68% critics, 88% audience
• Season 2: 95% critics, 54% audience
• Season 3: 79% critics, 20% audience
• Season 4: 60% critics, 19% audience

So yes, the viewership is there, and yes, people are mad online. Both things can be true at once.

The Geralt swap, and how Hemsworth is approaching it

Replacing a fan favorite like Henry Cavill was always going to be a high-wire act. Liam Hemsworth is stepping in now and is set to carry Geralt through the series finale. He says he felt backed by the team and did the work to make the character his own - lots of prep, lots of sword time, and a costume that helps lock him in. He has said the armor and those yellow Witcher contacts snap him right into Geralt mode. Hemsworth also is not a tourist here; he has been a Witcher fan for years, which probably helps when you are walking into a role people have very strong feelings about.

Where this is headed

The Witcher launched in 2019, adapting Sapkowski's book saga into a big-budget monster-hunting drama. Netflix has already confirmed a fifth and final season, written in tandem with Season 4 to land the story on purpose. No release date yet for Season 5. Season 4 is streaming now.