A Continental Failure: The Witcher's fourth season delivered the worst viewership in the series' history

The Witcher was once considered Netflix's biggest fantasy hit, but by season four, viewer interest had rapidly waned. According to the platform's official data, the new season was watched by only 7.2 million people in its first week—the worst result in the show's history. By comparison, season three garnered 15.2 million viewers during the same period, season two 18.5 million, and the debut season reached 76 million views in a month.

The decline in viewer interest has put an end to Netflix's ambitions to make The Witcher a competitor to Game of Thrones. The once-large show has become a run-of-the-mill project, comparable in popularity to lesser-known series like Ransom Canyon and The Lincoln Lawyer. Amid the sharp decline in ratings, the decision to cut the total number of seasons from seven to five now seems justified.