In a quite shocking move, HBO has pulled the plug on “Westworld” after four seasons.
The original plan for the series, according to co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, was to tell the series’ entire story in five seasons.
It’s an unexpected fate for a series that was once considered one of HBO’s biggest tentpoles — an acclaimed mystery box drama that racked up 54 Emmy award nominations (including a supporting actress win for Thandiwe Newton).
“Westworld” first premiered in 2016 and instantly became a hit, drawing audiences in with its multi-layered mysteries and mix of futuristic and wild west settings.
The series maintained its popularity through season 2, but it fell off sharply in the third season after leaving the Westworld part of its android-filled theme park behind. Finally, the series’ fourth season, which ended in August, struggled even more to break through with audiences.
“Westworld‘s” critic average on Rotten Tomatoes likewise declined from the mid-80s for its first two seasons to the mid-70s for the latter two. Fans increasingly griped that the show became confusing and tangled in its mythology and lacked characters to root for.
Last month, co-creator Jonathan Nolan said in an interview that he hoped HBO would give the series a fifth season to wrap up the show’s ambitious story, which has chronicled a robot uprising that changed the fate of humanity.
“We always planned for a fifth and final season,” Nolan said. “We are still in conversations with the network. We very much hope to make them.”
Co-creator Lisa Joy likewise said the series has always been working towards a specific ending: “Jonah and I have always had an ending in mind that we hope to reach. We have not quite reached it yet.”
This decision comes amidst a number of cuts at HBO parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. The company has canceled a number of shows and movies in the last few months, as it retools its brand to be more focused on theatrical blockbusters and long-running franchises.
