The Witcher Season 3 Vol. 2 Episode 1 Is Coming Early - Here's When & How To Watch

Whereas past seasons of "The Witcher" hit Netflix in their entirety following the binge-friendly model the streaming service pioneered, Season 3 is the first to premiere in two distinct halves just like the wildly successful "Stranger Things" Season 4 before it.

Netflix will release "The Witcher" Season 3, Volume 2 on July 27. Overall, "The Witcher" Season 3 consists of eight episodes and Volume 1 is already five episodes in length, so just three episodes will drop upon Volume 2's premiere. That said, fans eager for more "Witcher" can catch the first episode of this upcoming batch early through a special promotion Netflix is running prior to its official premiere date.

On July 25, Netflix will host a live, virtual screening of "The Witcher" Season 3, Volume 2, Episode 1 on a digital event platform called Splash That. To join, participants must RSVP ahead of time with a name and email address. After doing so, the episode will become available to watch live on July 25 at 8:00 pm EST.

The events of Volume 2 are critical to The Witcher's future

As viewers who have already completed "The Witcher" Season 3, Volume 1 are aware, the stakes for its central trio of characters — Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavil), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri (Freya Allan) — are only raising as they become wrapped up in political machinations with the potential to completely upend their world's status quo.

Season 3 is based on author Andrzej Sapkowski's second "Witcher" novel "Time of Contempt" which executive producer Baginski described in an interview with Yahoo UK as some readers' favorite entry in the six-book series. "It's very rich in the character arc and the events, which then influence the future of the franchise, the future of the universe, the stories of almost all characters, basically," he said. "It's the book where the future of the whole Continent changes, and changes dramatically."

So, even though Season 3, Volume 2 only consists of three episodes, each of them should impact the show's ongoing story significantly given the stakes going in. Now, fans who want an early look at this pivotal point in "The Witcher" can tune into Netflix's screening event on July 25 for a chance to watch Episode 1 two days before its official release.