With its release last December,The Witcherquickly became one of Netflix’s biggest success stories and continues to be one of the streaming giant’s most popular original titles. Adapted from the original novels by Andrzej Sapkowski,The Witcher’s first season introduced viewers to the world of beloved characters such as Geralt of Rivia, Ciri, and Yennefer, with a second season on the way. However, production has temporarily come to a halt on Season 2 with the developing situation around the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a report fromDeadline, Netflix has officially decided to suspend production on the season season ofThe Witcherin the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, making it the first major UK-produced TV series to see a production delay due to the outbreak. According toDeadline, the show’s production team were notified of the production being suspended for two weeks, and will continue to be paid by Netflix during that time. Netflix has alsoshut down production on a number of its shows produced in the US and Canada, including work onStranger Things' fourth season.
In terms of other news about Netflix’s series,The Witcherhad been renewed for a second season before the first season premiered, giving a good sign that Netflix was confident about the show’s prospects heading into its release. Production on the second seasonstarted within the past month or two, andseveral new actors were revealed to fill out the Season 2 cast, includingKilling Eve’s Kim Bodnia as Geralt’s mentor, Vesemir.
The Witcheris one among many TV series and films to see a production delay due to the coronavirus outbreak, including last minute delays of several major motion pictures that were set to release in the next few weeks.A Quiet Place Part IIandMulanwere set to debut later this month but have been delayed indefinitely, andNo Time to Diehad been pushed from its April release date to November. Likewise, one of the biggest delays yet was the news thatFast 9is pushing its release date back a whole year to April 2021.
Netflix’sThe Witcheris available to stream its full first season now, with Season 2 currently in production.
