A vow to stick as close to the source material as Roach to Geralt, providing Henry Cavill more creative freedom in stunt sequences, and letting Yennefer and Geralt’s romantic arc flourish, as it returned after more than a year, The Witcher left no stones unturned for Season 3. To make sure that no one misses the memo; they got the light and joy that is Henry Cavill along with his on-screen family in front of a sea of fans in The Witcher‘s Heaven on Earth, Brazil. Therefore, the creators mirrored the intensity in Geralt’s eyes when slicing his sword through a monster to see if the Season 3 viewership numbers marked a tale of triumph.

The show is yet to wrap what many of its cast have claimed as its ‘best’ season yet as it has put forth only five episodes on the frontline for now. So did the first batch of episodes prove to be sturdy enough to secure massive ratings, or will The Witcher creators have to dispatch their mightiest warriors in part two to save the season?

The Witcher Season 3: Hit or a miss?

The Witcher series has familiarized itself with the path to reach No.1 on Netflix after being there for Season 1 and Season 2. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Season 3 found its way to the top within a few hours with a staggering 73 million hours viewed as per TUDUM. Now this is definitely an awe-inspiring accomplishment for any series but not for The Witcher. Data recorded by Samba TV as reported by Deadline shows that Season 3 has witnessed about a 15% dip in the ratings as compared to its past installments.

A majority of the show’s audience resides in the United States and seems to have grown a disinterest in the series since Season 2. It is also noted that those who did tune in for the Season 3 premiere were not moved enough to watch the coming episodes. This is clear as Samba TV notes that Episode 2 garnered 894k views in the U. S and then it dropped to 750k, 602k, and 505k in Episodes 3, 4, and 5, respectively.

This decline in the number of households that viewed The Witcher Season 3 was tracked in the first week of streaming. But that is not to say that the show is struggling in any shape or form. In fact, it seems so confident in itself that it is dropping another spinoff and is already planning a Season 5. As it curates grand future plans for the franchise, one wonders if the dip in viewership is a preview of the impending aftermath of the Henry Cavill exit.

Is the Henry Cavill exit guilty of The Witcher’s viewership decline?

The show’s promotion strategy for The Witcher season 3 definitely resulted in crippling anxiety among fans. Up until a month before the premiere, there was no sign of a trailer. This was followed by Netflix unabashedly hoarding up billboards that read ‘Yes, he is still Geralt’, flaunting Henry Cavill as The Witcher’s face, knowing full well this will be the last of him in the series. But neither the billboards nor putting Henry Cavill in a bathtub could distract fans from the elephant in the room.

While a lot of the viewership decline has to do with Cavill’s exit, it is unfair to make him shoulder the weight of both the incline and decline in viewership ratings. Therefore, it is also to be noted that there was a fairly large window between Season 2 in 2021 and Season 3 in 2023. There is a high chance that fans were no more enchanted by the monsters and elves of the continent if it meant no Henry Cavill at the end of it.

What do you think led to the decline in the viewership ratings of The Witcher Season 3? Let us know in the comments below.