‘The Witcher’ Becomes First Major TV Drama Made In The UK To Be Halted By Coronavirus
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EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has halted production on The Witcher for two weeks, making it the first major TV show produced in the UK to be grounded by the chaos being caused by coronavirus.
The Henry Cavill fantasy drama is made in-house by Netflix and is filmed at Arborfield Studios, which is around 40 miles west of London. Production crew were told in an email last night about the decision to pause production, but they will continue to be paid by Netflix during the filming hiatus.
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A source close to The Witcher production team told Deadline: “We have made the decision, effective immediately, to pause production for two weeks during this difficult time… this will allow everyone the time to make informed decisions about how to move forward.”
They added: “The coronavirus has raised challenging issues for everyone working on set on productions for Netflix. We are very grateful for all the work everyone has done to keep cast and crew safe during this pandemic.”
It follows Netflix’s blanket decision last week to shut down productions in the U.S. and Canada. Shows made outside of the U.S. are being assessed on a case-by-case basis, making The Witcher the first major international casualty.
Deadline understands that Netflix’s independently-produced shows in the UK are also being encouraged to wind down for two weeks. The streamer currently has less than five third-party shows in production, but this does include Left Bank Pictures-produced The Crown. Netflix discussions with Left Bank are ongoing.
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