This week’s streaming has two standouts that I cannot recommend enough. Each show is completely addicting and one is new flavor for you to try whilst the other is a remix of shorts. Two shows. Two totally different worlds. In Down Cemetery Road, Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson turn a conspiracy thriller into something far richer — darkly funny, deeply human, and crackling with the kind of dialogue that only great writing can deliver.
Across the streaming multiverse, The Witcher returns for its fourth season, swinging harder than ever as Liam Hemsworth officially takes up the sword from Henry Cavill.
Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson light up the screen in Down Cemetery Road, a sharp, witty, and unpredictable new thriller that blends dark mystery with biting humor.
For both Thompson and Wilson, it all began with the writing. “It is all the writing,” Thompson said. “We were thrilled at the idea of working together, but I wouldn’t have done it if the writing hadn’t been so good that I knew it would support us all the way through.”
Wilson had a similar reaction when the first script landed in her hands. “You’re excited, you’re surprised—it’s shocking, it’s funny—and you just want to know what’s going to happen next,” she said. “I only got one episode, but I signed on after that. One was enough.”
Thompson explained that she looks for the truth in how characters speak. “I look for dialogue, accuracy, and originality,” she said. “A lot of scripts come through and everyone sounds the same, but in really good writing, everyone has their own way of talking as they do in real life. The first thing I look for is dialogue and character—can I believe in all of them? Then I look at story, because without a really good story, it doesn’t matter. One of the worst things you can see is when one person’s writing is strong and everyone else’s isn’t.”
Wilson, who plays a seemingly ordinary woman caught in an extraordinary situation, was drawn to the show’s energy and tone. “I look at the whole thing and ask, does this feel different? Does it feel unique?” she said. “My character doesn’t really belong in this genre—she’s an everyday person who suddenly finds herself in a conspiracy thriller. That was really interesting to me, to explore how to maintain that relatability in something that’s quite heightened.”
Both actors were captivated not only by the show’s mystery but by its wit. “I just love the humor in this,” Thompson said. “That’s what makes it work. Any entirely humorless thriller—it’s not much fun. It doesn’t have to be laugh-out-loud funny, but there has to be wit. Otherwise, it becomes flat.”
Wilson agreed. “The characters themselves are funny—not necessarily because they’re witty, but because of how they deal with situations,” she said. “That’s very human. Mo [the writer] is brilliant at finding the absurdity in people and putting that into a thriller. Every day on set, we were finding the humor in the moment. That was the best part about it.”
The chemistry between Thompson and Wilson, both onscreen and in conversation, mirrors the show’s balance of gravitas and playfulness. Down Cemetery Road isn’t just a thriller—it’s so much more.
After three seasons of monster slaying, mysticism, and soul-searching, The Witcher is back for its highly anticipated fourth season — and this time, a new White Wolf prowls the Continent.
With Henry Cavill passing the sword to Liam Hemsworth, Season 4 marks both a new chapter and a bold reinvention for Netflix’s dark fantasy juggernaut. Under returning showrunner Lauren Hissrich Schmidt, the series continues to balance its sprawling mythology with intimate, character-driven storytelling.
“Things explode at the beginning of the season — in every way possible,” says Hissrich Schmidt. “We have a new Geralt, and for the first time, our three main characters — Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri — are on separate paths. Everyone’s story evolves independently. What I love is that each of them gets to fully become who they’re meant to be, not defined by the others but by their own journeys.”
That independence gives Season 4 a new rhythm — a slower burn that lets each storyline breathe before the fates inevitably intertwine again. “It’s one of the most exciting things about this season,” Hissrich Schmidt adds. “You’re watching these people evolve into the purest versions of themselves.”
For Freya Allan, who plays Ciri, isolation became the heart of her performance. She embraced it — and even welcomed the distance. “I’m living as the character, so I don’t need to know what anyone else is doing,” Allan explains. “Ciri doesn’t know what’s happening in everyone else’s story, and neither should I. It’s actually helpful not to know — it keeps you grounded in your own truth.”
Anya Chalotra, returning as Yennefer, approaches it from another angle. “Yen’s world is so layered,” she says. “I do like to know what’s happening around me, but mostly when I need it. Because you’re in it — eight months a year, your thoughts are spinning — and sometimes you need to step back and ask Lauren, ‘What are you seeing? How do you feel about this moment?’ Those conversations help guide me back to my instincts.”
That collaboration between cast and creator is the show’s secret weapon. “They live inside these characters in a way I don’t,” says Hissrich Schmidt. “When we talk about a specific scene, it’s so informative to hear what they’re experiencing on set. They bring emotional layers, moments, and lines that make the story deeper. It’s the essence of collaboration.”
Allan agrees. “It’s exciting when you feel like you have a real say,” she says. “Lauren is always open to hearing our ideas — even the constant thoughts flying out of our actor brains. It makes you feel trusted.”
Hissrich Schmidt continues. “It really is about trust. Sometimes they bring things that completely change a scene, and other times it’s about grounding everyone back to the core of what we’re doing. But that back-and-forth, that honesty, is what makes this team feel like a family.”
That sense of unity carries over to the other side of the Continent, where Hemsworth joins Lawrence Fishburne and Joey Batey (the ever-chaotic Jaskier). The chemistry between the trio is undeniable — a mix of wit, warmth, and occasional absurdity that mirrors The Witcher’s tonal balance of grim and goofy.
“There’s a campfire scene this season where someone says, ‘If he’s lost his love, he shouldn’t be the same,’” I mention to Hemsworth — a line that, even when not spoken by Geralt, feels like it belongs to him. Hemsworth grins. “Geralt says ‘f***’ a lot,” he laughs. “But it always feels right. It comes from a deep place.”
“You’re actually closer to the book Geralt than you think,” Fishburne tells Hemsworth. “You’ve got the look, the weight — it works.”
For Hemsworth, stepping into a role immortalized by another actor was daunting, but he found his own rhythm by focusing inward. “I looked over the broader storylines, sure,” he says, “but I didn’t want to be too aware of what Ciri or Yennefer were doing. I wanted Geralt’s perspective to stay singular — because he is isolated. That’s his world.”
Batey agrees. “We rely on the writers to hold the map,” he says. “There’s so much happening — the realms, the timelines, the braiding of stories — we just stay aware that our piece is part of something larger. Credit goes to the writers for keeping all of that straight.”
Season 4 feels like both a return and a rebirth. With new faces, shifting alliances, and that unmistakable Witcher humor cutting through the darkness, it’s clear the Continent isn’t done with its legends yet.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
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Brad Gilmore
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