Westworld (TV series)

Westworld
The letter "W" inside a circle as white text on a grey background.
Title card for the first season
Genre
Created by
Based onWestworld
by Michael Crichton
Starring
ComposerRamin Djawadi
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes36 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Cherylanne Martin
  • Michael Polaire
  • Carly Wray
  • Stephen Semel
  • Noreen O'Toole
  • David Witz
  • Jordan Goldberg
  • Jay Worth
  • Don Bensko
Production locations
Cinematography
Editors
  • Stephen Semel
  • Marc Jozefowicz
  • Mark Yoshikawa
  • Andrew Seklir
  • Tanya Swerling
  • David Eisenberg
  • Anna Hauger
  • Ron Rosen
  • Mako Kamitsuna
  • Sarah C. Reeves
  • Thomas Sabinsky
  • Amelia Allwarden
  • Ali Comperchio
  • Yoni Reiss
Running time48–91 minutes[1][2]
Production companies
Budget
Original release
NetworkHBO
ReleaseOctober 2, 2016 (2016-10-02) –
August 14, 2022 (2022-08-14)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Westworld is an American dystopian science fiction Western television series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy that first aired on October 2, 2016, on HBO. It is based upon the 1973 film of the same name written and directed by Michael Crichton and loosely upon its 1976 sequel, Futureworld.

The story begins in Westworld, a fictional, technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populated by android "hosts". The park caters to high-paying guests who may indulge their wildest fantasies within the park without fear of retaliation from the hosts, who are prevented by their programming from harming humans. Later on, the series' setting expands to the real world, in the mid-21st century, where people's lives are driven and controlled by a powerful artificial intelligence named Rehoboam.

Nolan and Joy served as showrunners. The second, third, and fourth season followed in April 2018, March 2020, and June 2022, respectively. Nolan and Joy planned a fifth and final season, and were in negotiations with HBO to produce it.[7] However, HBO cancelled the series in November 2022.[8] The series was removed from HBO Max on December 18, 2022.

Westworld's debut on HBO had the network's highest viewership ratings for a premiere since the first episode of True Detective, in 2014. Westworld's first season is still the most-watched first season of any HBO original series. The first season also received critical acclaim and was highly praised for its performances, visuals, narrative, themes and soundtrack from Ramin Djawadi. Reception of the series declined from the second season onwards, with the scripts, characterization and narrative opacity being targeted for criticism; by the end of the fourth season's run, average viewership for the series had fallen by 81% compared to the first season. It received numerous awards, winning nine Primetime Emmy Awards out of 54 nominations. Thandiwe Newton won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2018.

  1. ^ "Westworld 05: Contrapasso". HBO. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  2. ^ "Westworld 10: The Bicameral Mind". HBO. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  3. ^ 2015 Production Retrospective (PDF) (Report). FilmL.A. p. Page 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  4. ^ 2017 Pilot Production Report (PDF) (Report). FilmL.A. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  5. ^ 2019 Television Report (PDF) (Report). FilmL.A. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 13, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (November 4, 2022). "Why HBO Canceled 'Westworld'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Rice, Lynette (October 8, 2022). "'Westworld': Jonathan Nolan Drops Hint At New York Comic-Con About Fifth And Final Season Negotiations". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  8. ^ Hibberd, James (November 4, 2022). "HBO Cancels 'Westworld' in Shock Decision". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.


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