Netflix's 'The Witcher' is one of the biggest shows in the US despite poor reviews from critics

• Netflix's "The Witcher" has a "rotten" 56% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes but a 93% audience score.
• Yet it's one of the most in-demand original streaming shows in the US, according to data from Parrot Analytics.
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Some critics aren't in love with Netflix's new fantasy series, "The Witcher," but it's a hit with viewers.

The show has a "rotten" 56% critic score on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes based on 57 reviews, but a 93% audience score based on nearly 12,000 user ratings.

It's also one of the biggest TV shows in the US right now. "The Witcher", which debuted December 20, was the third most in-demand original streaming series in the US for the week of December 18 to December 24, according to data provided to Business Insider by Parrot Analytics. It's only behind Netflix's mega hit "Stranger Things" and Disney Plus' "Star Wars" series, "The Mandalorian."

Parrot Analytics measures "demand expressions," its globally standardized TV-demand measurement unit that reflects the desire, engagement, and viewership of a series weighted by importance.

"The Witcher" is based on the fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which also inspired the hit video-game series. Henry Cavill stars as Geralt, a monster hunter.

Entertainment Weekly called the series a "borefest" and gave the series an "F" grade, though critic Darren Franich admitted to skipping to the fifth episode. The show's creator, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, tweeted on Saturday "Who do I care about? 'Professional' critics who watched one episode and skipped ahead? Or REAL fans who watched all eight in one day, and are starting their rewatch?"

Not all of the reviews have been bad. Indiewire's Ben Travers called "The Witcher" a "pretty entertaining spectacle." The New York Times' Mike Hale wrote that the show has a "lighthearted sense of humor" and that Cavill "brings a convincing physical presence and some wry humanity and emotional depth" to the series as the title character.

Netflix renewed "The Witcher" for a second season in November ahead of the show's premiere.