Fan-Favorite Netflix Series Topples Hawkeye and Wheel of Time With New Season Debut

By Jenna Anderson

Over the past few years, original Netflix series have found a way to pierce the pop culture veil and resonate with audiences, with fans eagerly anticipating new episodes. The streaming service's live-action adaptation of The Witcher can be counted safely among them, with the second season debuting to a lot of fan conversation late last year. Apparently, that conversation has also equated to some impressive viewership numbers, according to the most recent statistics published by Nielsen. According to their reporting, the two seasons of The Witcher have been watched for a total of 2,191 million minutes the week of December 13th through December 19th. This was vastly above Disney+'s Hawkeye, which had five episodes watched for 580 million minutes, and Amazon's The Wheel of Time, which had seven episodes watched for 467 million minutes.

This lines up with recently-released data from Netflix, which claimed that Season 2 of The Witcher has been viewed a total of 462.5 million hours in the first 28 days of its release. This makes it the seventh-biggest English language debut in the streamer's history. 

In Season 2 of The Witcher, convinced Yennefer's life was lost at the Battle of Sodden, Geralt of Rivia brings Princess Cirilla to the safest place he knows, his childhood home of Kaer Morhen. While the Continent's kings, elves, humans and demons strive for supremacy outside its walls, he must protect the girl from something far more dangerous: the mysterious power she possesses inside.

The Witcher stars Henry Cavill (Geralt of Rivia), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), Freya Allan (Ciri), Jodhi May (Calanthe), Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Eist), Adam Levy (Mousesack), MyAnna Buring (Tissaia), Mimi Ndiweni (Fringilla), Therica Wilson-Read (Sabrina), Emma Appleton (Renfri), Eamon Farren (Cahir), Joey Batey (Jaskier), Lars Mikkelsen (Stregobor), Royce Pierreson (Istredd), Maciej Musiał (Sir Lazlo), Wilson Radjou-Pujalte (Dara), and Anna Shaffer (Triss).

"What I will say about the third season," showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich said of the third season during a panel appearance last year. "The writers are back in Los Angeles diligently working while I am here getting to do this, so I'm grateful for them. [...] It's a really fun season, and it follows a particular book very closely, has a lot of action, some death... some death."

Have you been enjoying the second season of The Witcher on Netflix? Let us know in the comments!

The first two seasons of The Witcher are now available to stream exclusively on Netflix. 

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