Blood Origin parents guide and age rating

The Witcher prequel series, The Witcher: Blood Origin, is coming to Netflix on Christmas day. Below, we’ve included a parent’s guide and information regarding the fantasy show’s age rating so parents can decide whether to let anyone under 17 watch the show.

Set over a thousand years before the events of The Witcher, The Witcher: Blood Origin introduces us to a group of outcasts who must band together to stop a powerful force. The prequel will also explore the origins of Witchers and how they came to be.

The Witcher: Blood Origin is rated TV-MA, which isn’t surprising considering the parent series also has a mature rating. In Australia, the show is rated MA15+; in the Netherlands, it’s rated 16; in the United Kingdom, it’s rated 15; and in Singapore, it is rated R21. TV-MA is the most intense rating for a television show, whereas its film equivalent, the R rating, comes between PG-13 and NC-17.

In the U.S., The Witcher: Blood Origin received a TV-MA rating for gore, language, smoking, and violence. The gore is likely the most extreme of all the various warnings, as The Witcher universe is known for its dark fantasy violence. Using “gore” in the warning means the show contains significant bloodshed, violence, and other things that could disturb young viewers.

For reference, the original series often has Geralt hacking off limbs, gouging eyes, and more. That said, most of the violence is over-the-top and not necessarily super realistic. It’s more fantastical and aimed at monsters, which might help it feel less scary. But The Witcher: Blood Origin is not about a monster hunter, so expect more violence between characters than on creatures.

The Witcher has several graphic sex scenes, and it’s unclear if The Witcher: Blood Origin will have similar moments. There isn’t a warning for sexual content or nudity in the rating, which means that if there is sexual content in the show, it’s probably minimal.

If you are considering watching this show with young viewers, you might want to screen it first to ensure it is appropriate, although if they have seen The Witcher‘s first two seasons, they will likely be okay to watch the prequel series.

The Witcher: Blood Origin releases on Sunday, December 25, on Netflix.