Netflix was hoping they’d have their own Game of Thrones with The Witcher, and they may have gotten their wish. Despite a middling critical reception, audiences everywhere quickly went head over heels for the show. Even now, more than two months after its release, The Witcher season 1 remains the most-streamed series in the world.
It has some real momentum behind it, too, with Netflix immediately beginning pre-production on a second season and planning out a seven-season story arc. They’ve also announced the animated movie The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, to fill the gap between seasons.
That second season began shooting earlier this week (a few days earlier than planned) and we’ve already seen a number of social media posts from the stars and creative team saying how nice it is to be back. Now that everyone’s seen the show, they can afford to be a little more open about it without worrying about spoiling how it looks.
Case in point: Henry Cavill, Geralt himself, has posted a picture on Instagram showing his reunion with his horse. You can see the photo for yourself below, along with the caption it was accompanied with:
“Look who I found! And for those asking. This is Zeus pronounced Zey-oos, but most may know this particular horse as Roach! And yes, Roach is traditionally a mare (lady horse) and if the name is anything to go by, Zeus, is not….but that shouldn’t limit his performance options. Why don’t we have an Oscar for best supporting horse?”
Cavill has a point. However, there’ve actually been awards shows for animal performers in the past. In 1939, the American Humane Association held the inaugural PATSY (Picture Animal Top Star of the Year and Performing Animal Television Star of the Year) Awards for animal performers. The first recipient was Francis the Talking Mule, whose award was presented by no less than Ronald Reagan.
The PATSYs ended in 1989 due to lack of funding, but an attempt was made to resurrect them as the Pawscars in 2015. Given that I can’t find anything out about recent Pawscars recipients, I’m guessing it didn’t take off, but maybe it’s time for one last shot at getting on-screen animals some recognition?
In the meantime, I look forward to seeing Geralt and Roach back in action in The Witcher season 2 later this year.
