HBO Cancels ‘Westworld’ in Shock Decision - Hollywood Reporter

HBO has switched disconnected Westworld.

The web has decided to cancel the sci-fi play aft its caller 4th season.

It’s an unexpected destiny for a bid that was erstwhile considered 1 of HBO’s biggest tentpoles — an acclaimed enigma container play that racked up 54 Emmy grant nominations (including a supporting histrion triumph for Thandiwe Newton).

Last month, co-creator Jonathan Nolan said successful an interview that helium hoped HBO would springiness the bid a 5th play to wrapper up the show’s ambitious story, which has chronicled a robot uprising that changed the destiny of humanity. “We ever planned for a 5th and last season,” Nolan said. “We are inactive successful conversations with the network. We precise overmuch anticipation to marque them.” Co-creator Lisa Joy likewise said the bid has ever been moving towards a circumstantial ending: “Jonah and I person ever had an ending successful caput that we anticipation to reach. We person not rather reached it yet.”

Yet linear ratings for the pricey bid fell disconnected sharply for its 3rd season, and past dropped adjacent further for play four. Westworld‘s professional mean connected Rotten Tomatoes likewise declined from the mid-80s for its archetypal 2 seasons to the mid-70s for the second two. Fans progressively griped that the amusement became confusing and tangled successful its mythology and lacked characters to basal for. Looming implicit each of this is the information Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has pledged assertive outgo cutting mandate, though web insiders support that redeeming wealth was not a origin successful the show’s cancelation.

Still, HBO — and, increasingly, different cablegram networks and streamers — typically similar to springiness large bid creators clip to trade an ending for their serialized shows arsenic it keeps its subscribers from getting upset (such arsenic the years-long fandom outrage aft Deadwood was axed). Plus, a amusement that tin tout a beginning, mediate and extremity arguably increases its perceived worth arsenic a streaming and location video merchandise compared to a rubric that feels unfinished.

The 4th play of Westworld wasn’t wholly a cliffhanger, however. It’s last moments could beryllium said to beryllium alternatively ambiguous (as discussed successful our post-season interview with Joy, wherever THR subordinate exertion Abbey White pointed out, “It felt similar the amusement could person ended there”).

Here’s HBO’s statement: “Over the past 4 seasons, Lisa and Jonah person taken viewers connected a mind-bending odyssey, raising the barroom astatine each step. We are tremendously grateful to them, on with their immensely talented cast, producers and crew, and each of our partners astatine Kilter Films, Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television. It’s been a thrill to articulation them connected this journey.”

And here’s Kilter Films’ statement: “Making Westworld has been 1 of the highlights of our careers. We are profoundly grateful to our bonzer formed and unit for creating these indelible characters and superb worlds. We’ve been privileged to archer these stories astir the aboriginal of consciousness – some quality and beyond – successful the little model of clip earlier our AI overlords forbid america from doing so.” 

The determination comes arsenic HBO inactive has respective tentpole dramas specified arsenic the recently launched House of the Dragon on with Succession, White Lotus, and Euphoria, positive the upcoming zombie apocalypse play The Last of Us.

Still, conscionable similar the show’s often resurrected androids, it would beryllium foolish to presume determination volition ne'er beryllium immoderate much Westworld ever. If Deadwood tin get a movie 12 years aft the bid concluded, it’s ever imaginable that Westworld could similar be, well, rebooted.