Netflix halts production of The Witcher amid coronavirus outbreak

Production of The Witcher series on Netflix has been put on hold for at least two weeks amid the global outbreak of coronavirus.

The Witcher, which is filmed at Arborfield Studios in England, is the latest Netflix series to be put on hold in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, Deadline reports. Last week the streaming service made a blanket decision to shut down production of all shows filmed in Canada and the US. Anything shot outside of North America would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Entertainment publication Variety has also published an email sent to the production team behind The Witcher series, confirming the break.

“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,"

“Cast and crew health is our primary concern. We are dealing with an unprecedented global pandemic that is beyond our control, and in many instances with mandates or restrictions imposed by governments (including travel restrictions in many countries).

“As such, we have made the decision, effective immediately, to pause production for two weeks during this difficult time, and we will support our production partners working on Netflix UK scripted series in doing the same. This will allow everyone the time to make informed decisions about how to move forward.”

Season 2's eight episode arc was initially scheduled to begin production early next year for a release sometime in 2021. There is no word on how its release window will be affected by the production break.