When is The Witcher released on Netflix? What's it about and who's in the cast?

It is showrun by Daredevil writer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, who has pulled in a number of heavy-hitting directors including Alik Sakharov (Game of Thrones) and Charlotte Brandstrom (Outlander). She's also managed to land Henry "Superman" Cavill in the lead role.

Before the show has even begun, the inevitable "new Game of Thrones" chatter has begun for the series, which could perhaps be what fantasy fans are looking for to fill the Westeros-sized hole in their TV-viewing lives.

Here's everything you need to know about The Witcher...

When is The Witcher released on Netflix?

The Witcher is released on Netflix on Friday 20th December at 8am in the UK, and will simultaneously be available globally to international Netflix subscribers.

A now-deleted tweet from the Netflix Netherlands account originally suggested that the show would be released on Tuesday 17th December.

Henry Cavill shared a post on Instagram in early June confirming that filming had wrapped.

"Season one of The Witcher has finally come to an end," he wrote. "The cast and crew worked tirelessly throughout, everyone pitched in and brought their A game to set and I couldn't be more proud of you all."

He added that he had been waking up at 3am to get transformed into Geralt by his hair and makeup team - how we suffer for our art!

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByGCK0pBYeN/

What is The Witcher about?

It's not quite clear which The Witcher books Schmidt Hissrich has adapted for the series or where the action will pick up, but it's been rumoured that this first series will focus mostly on original short story collection The Last Wish.

Meanwhile, a brief synopsis from Netflix clarifies that the series will focus early on Geralt (Cavill), Ciri (Allen) and Yennefer (Chalotra) as they take on a monstrous world.

"When destiny hurtles [Geralt] toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile continent together," the description reads.

Intriguing...

Are there any pictures of the show?

In July, Netflix released the first poster for the series, which gives us a look at Geralt brooding on a cliff. It does look Game of Thrones doesn't it...

https://twitter.com/NetflixUK/status/1145695639373787138

Is there a trailer for The Witcher?

Yes! We now have the main trailer from Netflix, showing Geralt in action as he battles various beasties and gets drawn into a wider conspiracy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndl1W4ltcmg

...and a second trailer which delves more into the rise of the Nilfgaardian army, Geralt's connection to young Princess Ciri and his friend/irritant Jaskier (Joey Batey).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb90gqGYP9c

Henry Cavill introduced the first look at the series at San Diego Comic-Con in July. It gives us the first insight into the life of his long-haired monster-hunting protagonist, Geralt.

https://youtu.be/cSqi-8kAMmM

Who is in the cast of The Witcher?

https://twitter.com/NXOnNetflix/status/1202633847965282305?s=20

Henry Cavill leads the show as Geralt of Rivia. In October 2018, Netflix revealed the first glimpse of him in the series, wearing a luscious white-grey wig. It's quite a look!

https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1057640842201055232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1057640842201055232&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.polygon.com%2F2018%2F10%2F31%2F18047950%2Fnetflix-the-witcher-henry-cavill-geralt-costume

He will be joined by Freya Allan (The War of the Worlds), who will play Ciri, princess of Cintra, Jodhi May (Game of Thrones) in the role of Queen Calanthe, and Adam Levy (Knightfall, Snatch), as druid Mousesack.

Anya Chalotra will play powerful sorceress (and Geralt's love interest) Yennefer, who Netflix recently showed off in some new images.

https://twitter.com/NXOnNetflix/status/1194298948405448705?s=20

Are there character posters for The Witcher?

Yes there are, here's some of the big stars of the Netflix show in character and ready to hit your screens!

Henry Cavill as Geralt

Anya Chalotra as Yennefer

Freya Allan as Ciri

Other cast members in The Witcher include Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Shaun Dooley, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read and Milie Brady.