The Witcher: Blood Origin began streaming on Netflix Christmas Day, but reception for the new prequel series based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy world appears to be poor thus far, with not only critics, but fans, expressing their disappointment at how the show turned out.
Described as a “shallow excavation of ancient lore from Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy series” by one highlighted critic, The Witcher: Blood Origin has a 33% Tomatometer score and 10% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this posting.
The show created by Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has also fared badly based on numbers found at Metacritic, which currently lists the show with a 47 Metascore and 0.7 User Score.
Rotten Tomatoes’ numbers would imply that this is one of Netflix’s worst-rated releases, joining other poorly received efforts that include Sexy Beasts, Marseille, and Real Rob, a show in which Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigalow) plays himself and is currently listed with a 0% Tomatometer score.
“Every story has a beginning,” begins a synopsis for The Witcher: Blood Origin, a limited series that began streaming on Netflix December 25, 2022. “Witness the untold history of the Continent with The Witcher: Blood Origin, a new prequel series set in an elven world 1200 years before the events of The Witcher. Blood Origin will tell a story lost to time – exploring the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal ‘Conjunction of the Spheres,’ when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one.”
The Witcher: Blood Origin’s cast includes the likes of Michelle Yeoh, who needs no introduction to martial arts fans, having starred in classics that include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Supercop alongside Jackie Chan.
More recently, Yeoh starred in Everything Everywhere All at Once, an acclaimed film that explored the concept of a multiverse.