The Witcher: Blood Origin, the brand-new spin-off based on the wider Witcher books and serving as a prequel to the mainline series, has managed to earn the worst Rotten Tomatoes score ever. Yikes.
Launching on Christmas Day, the new mini-series takes place more than a thousand years before the Netflix show, the games and original books.
The expanded lore of the popular dark and gory fantasy world is vast and fiendishly studied by die-hards, so a show diving into that should be a no-brainer, right?
Well, sadly, through a combination of seemingly genuine bad reviews and people simply being outraged that the main Witcher series no longer features its star, it looks like the new show is being heavily review-bombed.
In case you were unaware of some of the latest blockbuster shenanigans happening in Hollywood over the last few weeks, Geralt of Rivia himself, Henry Cavill, recently stepped away from the show to reportedly prioritise on training for his return as Superman.
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However, shortly after, it was announced by new DC Studios chairmen James Gunn and Peter Safran that they were dropping the 39-year-old actor as they hoped to pursue a new star to take on the role — you know, the same one he’d just stepped away from his reported £350,000-an-episode deal to focus on.
Yes, we know he’s a millionaire, but die-hard Henry stans obviously felt terrible for him, leaving one dream job for another beloved franchise that essentially helped put both himself and modern DC movies on the map, only to find out that he was no longer needed.
Furthermore, fans are now speculating that Cavill quit The Witcher after two highly-successful and well-paying seasons following disputes with the showrunners. A relative on-set expert as a genuine lover of the books and the games, Cavill is said to have struggled to “see eye to eye with the producers”.
Speaking to Hollywood Reporter, the Man of Steel and Mission: Impossible – Fallout star said “the toughest part for me was finding that balance between the showrunners’ vision and my love for the books”, even going on to add that “some of the writers were not [interested] or actively disliked the books and games, even actively mocking the source material.”
If this is to be believed then it’s no wonder that showrunner Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich, who is also overseeing the Blood Origin spin-off, seems to have annoyed not onlythosewho love Henry Cavill but now Witcher fans in general.
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While plenty of the Rotten Tomatoes reviews limit themselves to calling out those involved in the production for their ‘incompetence’ and ‘lack of respect’, the online consensus beyond the popular review aggregator seems to be that the writing simply isn’t up to snuff.
As always, it’s worth watching and forming your own opinion before letting other people’s takes colour your own impressions but it’s fair to say it isn’t looking good for the future of the franchise’s TV adaptations.
Whether the negativity is being largely driven by review-bombing by the Henry Cavill faithful or not, it looks unlikely that there’ll be a resolution as Liam Hemsworth has already been named as the replacement for the main character, Geralt.
Moreover, since Cavill left/was dropped from both projects, he is once again being tipped to play an equally iconic pop culture protagonist in particular. Have a guess…
A new José Mourinho documentary is coming to Netflix — and it’s set to cover his time at Man United
Danny Jones
A new documentary series focusing on the life and career of legendary football manager José Mourinho is coming to Netflix and it’s set to include everything from his early years, glory days at Porto, Inter and Chelsea, as well as his turbulent time at Manchester United.
As with almost anything José-related, we can guarantee you this is going to be absolute popcorn viewing from start to finish.
While rumours of the Mourinho documentary had been floating around on social media in recent weeks — especially after he basically let the cat out of the bag in an interview before he was sacked from his most recent job as Roma manager — the series was officially announced on Thursday, 14 March.
Confirming the football legend’s long overdue film will be spread across multiple episodes, the streaming giant detailed that the series will be arriving sometime next year and will feature exclusive interviews with “players and peers” as well as the man himself.
MOURINHO
Introducing Mourinho, a new documentary series focusing on one of the most successful managers of all time! Featuring exclusive interviews with the Special One himself, as well as players and peers spanning his long and illustrious career. Coming 2025. #NextOnNetflixpic.twitter.com/TTAuG9k9Af
Love or loathe him, the man who famously labelled himself ‘The Special One’ when he arrived here in England has been one of the most iconic names not only in world football but one of the biggest personalities in global sport full stop for the past two decades.
Having already featured in Tottenham Hotspurs’ All or Nothing series and never disappointing when it came to on-screen value, we have no shame in admitting we’re very excited to see the Portuguese front and centre in the spotlight he’s never shied away from.
Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated aspects of the upcoming series will be Mourinho’s time as the Man United boss, having spent a fairly tetchy two-year tenure at Old Trafford.
From the pretty public spat with Paul Pogba and those pictures of the pair in training, to winning three trophies in his first year and that now heavily memed ‘football heritage’ speech and plenty more, he really did have his moments here in Manchester. Here are just a few of them.
Beyond just his time in 0161, it goes without saying that there’s plenty more to the story behind one of the most decorated winners in the beautiful game — 26 trophies to be exact.
Although there is no firm release date for the Mourinho documentary yet, nor is there a trailer at this early stage, it has been revealed that the series is being produced by John Battsek, who helped put together Netflix’s previous hit sporting docuseries on David Beckham.
Featured Images — Netflix/Ardfern (via Wikimedia Commons)
TV & Showbiz
Kate Abdo gives a masterclass in comebacks after Jamie Carragher’s awkward relationship comments
Danny Jones
Sports presenter Kate Abdo gave her fellow broadcasters and viewers watching at home an absolute masterclass in comebacks on CBS Sports last night as she responded to Jamie Carragher’s recent on-air comments about her relationshipwith a wink and a nod.
No more, no less and absolutely perfect from start to finish.
For those unaware of the minor controversy, Carragher came under fire for making a jokey but undeniably awkward remark suggesting that the Manchester-born journalist and TV personality Abdo wasn’t “loyal” to her partner, Malik Scott.
Here’s how it went down during their Champions League coverage earlier this week.
Not only did the joke go down like a lead balloon but as many online were saying at the time, as well simply going ‘too far’ — with many asking, “What was he thinking?” and some even going so far as to label him a “chauvinist tw*t” — it was also seen as private and therefore inappropriate to say publicly.
However, although clearly uncomfortable for a brief moment following the controversial quip, rather than letting the small spit spiral out of control and even deeming Carra’s attempt to get a laugh worthy of calling her loyalty into question, she instead dished a calm, composed and comedic comeback.
We couldn’t have summed up her response any better than this comment did: “Kate Abdo is absolutely class man, she handled this whole thing so well. In today’s world, 99% of people would’ve played the ‘cancel’ card and gotten Carragher off the show. Others should aspire to act like her in such scenarios.”
Here’s how chose to approach the whole thing — in style:
As you can see, there are still plenty of people unhappy with the former Liverpool and England defender turned pundit but it’s clear that ‘r Kate has already buried the hatchet, and has let him off the hook as the “annoying family member will still love and accept”.
Moving swiftly on and getting back to what the quartet do best: Abdo being excellent at her job, flattering Thierry Henry, winding up Carragher and putting the mick in Micah Richards, as he still ended up being the final butt of the joke — but as she put it herself, he’s “impossible not to love”.
You can always trust us Mancs to be sarky but shrewd — well played, Kate.