HBO Cancels Westworld After Four Seasons
HBO is closing the door to the hit sci-fi series Westworld. The series comes to an end after four seasons and at one point, at the top of the streaming platforms properties right next to another familiar series Game of Thrones. This was a series cancellation nobody could have seen coming and the series which has earned over fifty Emmy nominations since it premiered, will not see a fifth and final season despite hopes of the opportunity to bring the story to an end.
Warner Bros. Discovery has been on a warpath of cancellations that goes back a few months when CEO David Zaslav started pulling the plug on many projects including the highly publicized cancellation of the direct-to-HBO Max film Batgirl and a slew of other TV series and films that will not see the light of day or have been pulled from the platform. Although the series’ viewership had wavered, Westworld still had a strong fan following and I am sure they along with creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy would hope that they had the opportunity to wrap the series up properly.
In speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan had mentioned his plans were always for a fifth and final season to complete the tale of the robot uprising, saying:
“We always planned for a fifth and final season. We are still in conversations with the network. We very much hope to make them.”
Joy added:
” Jonah and I have always had an ending in mind that we hope to reach. We have not quite reached it yet.”
The futuristic western theme park where the high-paying guests would venture out to live out their fantasies regardless of how dark they were while taking the series beyond those limits and expanding into artificial consciousness that would invoke an artificial intelligence uprising pitting humans against machines provided viewers with a one-of-a-kind viewing experience into a world unlike any other which led to its quick rise on the platform when it premiered in 2016. Despite its numbers becoming stagnant, the time and dedication put in by the cast, crew, creators and the platform itself would have left hope that the series would receive the final season needed to give everyone closure. Unfortunately, this will not be the case.
HBO also released its statement on the cancellation, saying:
“Over the past four seasons, Lisa and Jonah have taken viewers on a mind-bending odyssey, raising the bar at every step. We are tremendously grateful to them, along with their immensely talented cast, producers and crew, and all of our partners at Kilter Films, Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television. It’s been a thrill to join them on this journey.”
Kiltner Films added a statement thanking the cast and crew, saying:
“Over the past four seasons, Lisa and Jonah have taken viewers on a mind-bending odyssey, raising the bar at every step. We are tremendously grateful to them, along with their immensely talented cast, producers and crew, and all of our partners at Kilter Films, Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television. It’s been a thrill to join them on this journey.”
The cast of the series included Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris, Tessa Thompson, Luke Hemsworth, Thandiwe Newton, and Anthony Hopkins among others in the star-studded cast.
Source: HBO