Witcher Star Says Fan Hate Hit Hard — Even With Henry Cavill As Geralt

Netflix hit the numbers jackpot with The Witcher, but it has never exactly had a chill fandom. Now that Season 4 is out and the Geralt handoff is official, Anya Chalotra is looking back at the ugly side of Season 1, and forward to a show that has two seasons left to land the dismount.

Anya Chalotra on the early blowback

Chalotra, who plays Yennefer, says a small but loud slice of the audience came for her from the jump for not looking like their version of the character. She told The Guardian that the negativity around her first season pushed her off social media and hit hard because The Witcher was one of her earliest gigs.

'I am not on social media. I stopped. I have not been on it for a long time. The first season, for me, there was a lot of negativity. A lot of positive as well, but obviously the negative. This was one of my first jobs. It hit me hard. I learned very quickly that it can all be quite intense.'

Worth noting: this was all before Henry Cavill left after Season 3. So the volatility was there long before the big recast drama.

Cavill out, Hemsworth in, and Anya is... surprisingly upbeat

After Season 3, plenty of viewers mentally checked out, convinced the show had drifted too far from the books and that Cavill’s exit confirmed it. The reasons for him leaving have been argued to death by fans, but however you slice it, the optics were bad.

Chalotra, though, sounds genuinely confident about Liam Hemsworth stepping in as Geralt in Season 4. Speaking with ScreenRant, she said they do not actually share much screen time this season, but she felt a calm and a sense of safety working opposite him — something she also felt Yennefer needed. Netflix has already set the finish line at Season 5, so Hemsworth is the guy for these last two chapters.

Season 4 lands: trending high, vibes low

Here is the weird disconnect: FlixPatrol has The Witcher Season 4 among Netflix’s Top 10 right now, but the chatter is rough. Reviews and fan reactions are mixed at best, and Hemsworth’s take is being dissected frame by frame. Rotten Tomatoes currently shows a split that tells the story: critics are lukewarm, the audience is ice cold.

Also not helping: Netflix’s marketing push for Season 4 felt muted. Put it all together and, even with the shiny Top 10 badge, the overall trajectory looks down — and Season 5 will have to work overtime to change that.

• The Witcher Season 4 at a glance: Creator: Lauren Schmidt Hissrich; Cast: Liam Hemsworth, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Eamon Farren; Status: Streaming now on Netflix (US); Trend: Top 10 on Netflix via FlixPatrol; Scores: Rotten Tomatoes 60% critics, 21% audience; Endgame: Series set to conclude with Season 5.

The bottom line

Chalotra took early fandom crossfire and kept going, and she is publicly backing Hemsworth. The show is still pulling clicks, but clicks do not equal love. If Season 5 is the landing, Season 4 is the wobble on final approach — let’s see if they can steady it.