Netflix's The Witcher has already been renewed for a second season

The Witcher has been renewed for a second season, before the show has even debuted on Netflix. Stars Henry Cavill (Geralt), Anya Chalotra (Triss) and Freya Allan (Ciri) will all return for a follow-up run. The first season, meanwhile, is set to debut on December 20. Here's how Netflix made the announcement:

The Witcher is an adaptation of Andrej Sapkowski's dark fantasy novels (start with The Last Wish if you want to give them a try). It's been suggested Netflix's Witcher show could run for up to seven seasons. Here's how the streaming service describes the show: "The witcher Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts."

Showrunner Lauren S Hissrich also commented on the news on Twitter. "I'm so thrilled to announce: Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri will be back for more adventures... in Season Two. I could not be more proud of what the amazing cast and crew of The Witcher have accomplished, and can’t wait for the world to dig in and enjoy these stories with us."

The first season will run for eight episodes.

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A vote of confidence

Shows get early renewals fairly regularly: it sends a strong vote of confidence to viewers that the broadcaster feels good about having a hit on its hands. Recent examples include The Mandalorian on Disney Plus, the DC Comics show Titans, and Amazon's The Boys. It's also useful for some shows to get an early renewal if they're particularly effects-heavy and need a lot of production time as a result.

Netflix is no doubt hoping The Witcher can swoop in as everyone's next big budget fantasy show obsession, after Game of Thrones ended earlier this year with little else to fill the gap. 

Here's last week's main trailer for the show:

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