HBO’s ‘Westworld‘ mesmerized viewers across the globe when it first premiered in 2016. The dystopian sci-fi western is based on the 1973 film of the same name written and directed by Michael Crichton. It won nine Primetime Emmy Awards in its entire run on the channel.
However, in recent years, the show saw a dip in its television rating. Now, HBO has canceled the show all of a sudden after its fourth season. Let’s find out the reason behind this sudden cancellation and if a low rating played a part in it. Keep on reading.
HBO Cancels ‘Westworld’ After Four Seasons
One of the most popular shows of HBO, ‘Westworld‘ has been canceled after its fourth season. The move has shocked everyone, from audiences to insiders because of its suddeness.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter last month, the show’s co-creator Jonathan Nolan had said that he wants to conclude the show with a fifth and final season.
“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 also echoed the sentiment, “Jonah and I have always had an ending in mind that we hope to reach. We have not quite reached it yet.”
In an issued statement, HBO said: “Over the past four seasons, Lisa and [Jonathan] 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.”
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Why Did HBO Cancel The Show?
The show enjoyed impressive rating during the first two seasons. However, ratings fell sharply or its third season, and then dropped even further for season four; from 12 million to 4 million.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the ratings declined from the mid-80s for its first two seasons to the mid-70s for the last two. This might have forced the studio to scrap the show ahead of its final season.
All this comes at a time when Warner Bros Discovery has been laying off employees, shelving films to cut costs. Now, the mantle rests entirely on ‘House of the Dragon.’
“We’ve been privileged to tell these stories about the future of consciousness — both human and beyond — in the brief window of time before our AI overlords forbid us from doing so,” Joy and Nolan’s Kilter Films said.
Read More: Why Did HBO Renew ‘House Of The Dragon’ For Season 2? Here Is All You Need To Know
