HBO has announced that the AI-drama Westworld has been cancelled after four seasons even though the show’s creators were hoping for a fifth and final season to wrap up its storylines. Declining viewership and cost-cutting measures may have driven the decision.
Another show falls this week. We have already seen the cancellation of The CW’s Stargirl as well as the future of The Winchesters put in doubt, and Netflix’s Fate: The Winx Saga was cut short after two seasons. Now HBO has announced the cancellation of its high-profile series Westworld after four seasons. Series creators Christopher Nolan and Lisa Joy had originally planned out a six-season story arc and had previously mentioned that they had hopes for at least a fifth and final season, but the premium cable channel has decided to cap the show’s run at four years. The acclaimed series earned nine Emmys and fifty-four nominations during its run. The network released the following statement with the announcement:
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.
Why Was It Cancelled?
When Westworld first premiered back in 2016, it drew strong viewership numbers and immediately became one of television’s most buzz-worthy shows with its talented cast and intriguing look at a struggle between humans and androids in a near-future setting. It had a 0.8 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with close to two million total viewers per episode in its first year and it also saw notable gains in delayed viewing. In its second season, its numbers slipped a bit to a 0.6 ratings average per episode and about 1.5 million total viewers, but its attention at awards time definitely gave the network a boost. By its third year, its numbers had dropped to a 0.2 rating and about 800K total viewers per episode, though that was after an extended break driven by COVID-related production shutdowns. This past Summer, the fourth season saw the numbers drop even further to a 0.06 ratings average per episode and about 350K total viewers.
The premium cable channels do not pay as much attention to the same-day viewing because they do not have sponsors that are closely watching those numbers like with the broadcast nets. But those still act as a leading indicator, and the drop from a 0.8 average in the first season to a 0.06 in its fourth shows a notable decline in viewership. The series did not place in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings during the fourth season for its encore run on HBO Max, so it was not making up much slack in digital viewing. A common complaint against the show was that the writing got murkier in later seasons, and that likely led to a drop in viewership.
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav made the statement that “the grand experiment of creating something at any cost is over” during the Q3 earnings call. But a source from Deadline claims that the cancellation was not a cost-cutting move. Still, Westworld averaged at least ten million dollars per episode in its third and fourth seasons, so it would have been hard to justify a fifth season based on those numbers. And that company has been shaking things up during the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery which has led to other cancellations such as Raised by Wolves getting cut short after two seasons.
Can Westworld Continue on Another Network?
This is a high-profile series for HBO, and they almost certainly will not be keen on another venue to picking up the torch and carry the show into additional seasons. Warner Bros. Discovery–which owns HBO–has already shown a willingness to cancel properties that it owns from existence in order to just get a tax write-off, so the chances that a fan campaign could lead to another network picking the show up are slim at best. Nor is it likely that such an effort would cause network execs to reverse the cancellation considering the costs of the show.
The fourth season did wrap up many of the ongoing storylines, but it had a rather murky ending and the show’s creators did want to continue with a fifth and final season. The best that I believe we can hope for is a final movie that might give Nolan and Joy the chance to tie up as many loose ends as possible. If fans were to stage a Call to Action on the social networks and if the creators believe a final movie would work, perhaps HBO would give it a greenlight to allow the show to have a better ending.
About the Show
Westworld starts off in the adult-oriented theme park of the title where humans interact with androids in a setting designed to replicate the Old West. As the androids become more aware of the reality of their situation, they begin to revolt against their human creators and plan to venture into the real world. It is based on the book and 1973 film by Michael Crichton
Aired: 2016-2022, 4 Seasons Totaling 40 Episodes
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Jimmi Simpson, Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins, Aaron Paul
Created By: Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy
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