by Thinus Ferreira
HBO announced late on Friday that it has cancelled its science fiction drama series Westworld after four seasons which was seen in Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) and MultiChoice's video streamer Showmax.
The TV series of which just the first season cost reportedly cost $100 million, was based on Michael Crichton's science fiction film of 1973 about a futuristic amusement park where self-conscious androids start to kill and escape and made its debut in 2016 - but to ever-dwindling ratings which fell from 12 to 4 million over the course of its run.
Westworld's ratings fell sharply in the United States as viewers and critics complained that the story became too dense and confusing, with the show that has now fallen victim to Warner Bros. Discovery's ongoing cost-cutting across the company.
Hope however remains that HBO might eventually commission a standalone made-for-TV film for Westworld to wrap up the story like what eventually happened with HBO's Deadwood: The Movie.
The Westworld husband-and-wife showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy originally envisioned Westworld to run for at least six seasons and have been outspoken that they would have liked to do a fifth and final season to wrap up the story of the android show.
Now the series won't have a proper conclusion, ending with the fourth season which had what will now be its series finale, three months ago.
"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," HBO said in a statement announcing Westworld's cancellation.
Kilter Films in a statement says "Making Westworld has been one of the highlights of our careers. We are deeply grateful to our extraordinary cast and crew for creating these indelible characters and brilliant worlds".
"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."
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on the company's latest earnings call told investors that the company is going to be leaning into the strength of its existing franchises like DC Comics' Superman and is also open to working with author J.K. Rowling on expanding the Harry Potter-franchise. Henry Cavill recently announced that he would be returning to the role of Superman.
