7 Reasons You Need To Watch ‘The Witcher’ Right This Instant

1. If you loved Game of Thrones, chances are you’ll love The Witcher. Now, it’s not Westeros, but it’s equally magical, mystical, and otherworldly. It takes place in a fictional world known as “The Continent,” and there are several different kingdoms within the continent, too.

2. If you’re into schools of magic, you’re in luck. A central part of this story is about magic and what goes on at Aretuza, a training academy for female mages (also known as fierce, powerful, beautiful witches).

3. In this world, there’s also a fierce Queen that rules and loves her family fiercely and will do anything to protect them, no matter what. But somehow, Queen Calanthe, ruler of the Kingdom of Cintra and grandmother of Princess Cirilla, is far more likable than Cersei. She’s blunt and crass and does not shy away from leading with her emotions and letting go of the calmness that one might expect from a queen, but that’s part of her charm.

4. There are dragons, there are genies, and there are elves. There are even more mythical creatures that have danced around your imagination as you read about them in storybooks, but in The Witcher, they come alive before your very eyes.

5. If you love book adaptations, you’re in luck! Netflix based this series after the books by Andrzej Sapkowski. This first season intertwines The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, a collection of short stories that precede the main Witcher saga.

6. Yennefer of Vengerberg is the epitome of witchy magic amazingness. Played by Anya Chalotra, she truly dazzles onscreen. Yennefer is a great, gorgeous, brilliant sorceress, but she didn’t start her life that way. Her beginnings will break your heart, as she has spine deformity and is abused until the head of Aretuza, Tissaia de Vries, discovers her magical powers. She’s then brought to Aretuza to train. After her education and her enchantment , she’s a force to be reckoned with, and some might say she’s to be feared. She accepts no confines, she breaks all the rules, and she takes no orders from anyone.

7. Geralt of Rivia, played by Henry Cavill, is The Witcher — a magically enhanced monster-hunter. He’s handsome, he’s swift, and even though Geralt is a monster hunter, he seems to live by a code of a higher level. He doesn’t kill unless he absolutely has to, and it never seems as if it’s purely for sport. Cintran princess Ciri, the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe, is his destiny — she was promised to him, and then they get separated. Trust me when I say this: You are on the edge of your seat for the entirety of the first season, wondering when they’ll find one another.