Quiet victory for Liam Hemsworth after heated backlash over The Witcher role

Vindication for Liam Hemsworth!

The Aussie Hunger Games star has enjoyed a quiet victory after he copped heated backlash over his involvement in the new season of The Witcher.

Hemsworth took over the role of Geralt Rivia in the hit show for season four from the beloved Henry Cavill – a move that left many fans incensed.

Many felt the new casting decision would not live up to the standard set by Cavill and the success of the series would suffer as a result

But it appears the naysayers have been refuted, with the new season soaring to number one on Netflix' list of Global Top 10 Shows.

At the time of writing, The Witcher Season 4, which was released on Thursday October 30, sits at the top of the global list just ahead of the popular rom com Nobody Wants This and a Netflix series titled Bad Influencer.

While it's reached the top spot globally, local interest is a little lower with the popular show sitting between number four and five on the top 10 list in Australia.

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The same can be said for its performance in the United States.

In the United Kingdom, it's been sitting at number three since its launch.

Back in September, Hemsworth spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the backlash he received after taking on the role and revealed he took a break from social media for a while as a result.

"I was as surprised as anyone," he told the publication about being offered the role.

"There was quite a bit of noice and I had to put that aside. It started to become a distraction."

He also praised Cavill, 42, his acting predecessor and said: "I'm a massive fan of Henry's, and I'm a fan of what he did in the show."

Back in 2022, Cavill revealed he was stepping away from his role in The Witcher.

"My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4," he said at the time in an Instagram post.

"In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf."

There were rumours he wanted to stay close to the source material, but top executive producer Lauren Hissrich told Entertainment Weekly Cavill wanted to take on some other roles at the time.

Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.

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