HBO cancels Westworld before what was to be its final season

HBO canceled the series due to high production costs and declining viewership.

Read the whole story

 

[MathExtremist]

What if Season 5 is just watching Season 1 after you finish Season 4?

 

[PaulWTAMU]

Rome was so well done. The story was from over.

A historical drama where the protagonist didn't have morals and ethics in line with modern western audiences but weren't just borderline sociopaths either; I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know enough about Roman history to know if they were accurately portrayed though. But damn it was a good watch.

 

[MathExtremist]

Made famous by Dorothy Heidt on usenet to indicate the point where you're sick of a book, "I don't care what happens to these people".

Honestly, that puts into words what I'm thinking unconsciously when I stop watching a show or reading a book with the corollary, "The world would probably be better off if they all just died."

Which is why I couldn't get past two episodes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, most seasons of American Horror Story, the third season onward of Game of Thrones... Really, a vast majority of popular dramas for the last 20 years. Nothing but terrible people doing terrible things to each other and I couldn't care less if they lived or died.

I'd urge you to give Breaking Bad another shot. I thought that one was well worth it, terrible people notwithstanding.

 

[Peevester]

Aw bummer.
Well, I'm enjoying The Peripheral right now

NO! I'm so surprised to hear people like this show. For me its a snooze fest.

I like it ok but it looks like they were too lazy and/or stingy to include some weirdness from the book that would have been too much work (=expense) so they compensated by adding some random weirdness that doesn't make any sense, like the giant statues in future London.

The giant statues are sequestering captured carbon from the atmosphere. It was explained in a blink and you'll miss it moment. I'm wondering what you think is missing, we've even got Ash and Ossian's vocal encryption, an easy quirk to omit.

So far, I find it very faithful to the book, other than they just tossed the viewers in at the deep end, while the book did more upfront exposition. But I think that works great, by revealing things only as the stubbies learn them.

Also, it's super cool that there are still bitter carnivale fans out there. Such a great show, and such an unsatisfying point to be canceled at.

 

[Peevester]

Made famous by Dorothy Heidt on usenet to indicate the point where you're sick of a book, "I don't care what happens to these people".

Honestly, that puts into words what I'm thinking unconsciously when I stop watching a show or reading a book with the corollary, "The world would probably be better off if they all just died."

Which is why I couldn't get past two episodes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, most seasons of American Horror Story, the third season onward of Game of Thrones... Really, a vast majority of popular dramas for the last 20 years. Nothing but terrible people doing terrible things to each other and I couldn't care less if they lived or died.

I'd urge you to give Breaking Bad another shot. I thought that one was well worth it, terrible people notwithstanding.

While I watched and enjoyed BB to the finish, I'm actually 100% behind what Panton is saying. I find it very, very hard to watch or read a story where everyone is terrible, no matter how well made it is.

 

[ralphnobody]

I am disappointed that I won't get a chance to see season 5 anytime soon, since I just bought season 4 after finishing season 3 last weekend.

While season 1 is exquisite, season 2 had issues with comprehension and continuity if one isn't really paying close attention to the concepts being conveyed. I think season 3 went in a different direction in terms of the human-centric story line but seems unusually poignant considering the influence of Big Tech on our lives by powers bent on control. A little too close for comfort maybe? Either way I enjoyed most of it, but wish they could have expanded on the host development and future more.

I have to start season 4 now to see just how much it answers my expectations and decide on whether season 5 has a reason to be made.

I thought I was weird for enjoying the series. Season 4 is a logical conclusion to Season 3.

If you found some of hosts as characters you cared, then I think you’ll enjoy Season 4.

A high point of the show for me was Maeve realizing she was tricked, but whole-heartedly accepting her task and outcome.

It was completely wordless and a very fine bit of physical acting by Thandie Newton over a brief few seconds, to convey a range and transition of emotions.

 

[Joseph Acerbic]

Aw bummer.
Well, I'm enjoying The Peripheral right now

NO! I'm so surprised to hear people like this show. For me its a snooze fest.

I like it ok but it looks like they were too lazy and/or stingy to include some weirdness from the book that would have been too much work (=expense) so they compensated by adding some random weirdness that doesn't make any sense, like the giant statues in future London.

The giant statues are sequestering captured carbon from the atmosphere. It was explained in a blink and you'll miss it moment. I'm wondering what you think is missing, we've even got Ash and Ossian's vocal encryption, an easy quirk to omit.

Well, the whole really futuristic, nanobot constructed London which would have cost more to shoot scenes in instead of just plain present London with giant statues pasted on.

 

[Aurich]

Aw bummer.
Well, I'm enjoying The Peripheral right now

NO! I'm so surprised to hear people like this show. For me its a snooze fest.

The Peripheral is great, I've read the book twice and I'm enjoying the show's take. Everyone has different tastes, but if you're bored by it then I don't think I'm really interested in what you like. It's moving rather fast frankly.

 

[architecture_lecture]

I always felt like HBO were the only ones left in the game who wanted to tell a complete story, damn the costs. And just as I was considering pulling the trigger on a subscription, too.

Oh well, hope The Peripheral doesn't suck.

 

[graylshaped]

HBO is unfortunately known for cancelling series before their creators' intended conclusion, however I am glad 'Westworld' got further than most.

One series that I really wish had gotten more seasons was the show 'Carnivàle' --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniv%C3%A0le

In my opinion, it was a very original and creative series that featured excellent performances all around, both from the known cast members (Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Adrienne Barbeau) and from the unknown cast members.

Season two ended on a cliff hanger, and I really wanted to know where the story was going to take us..

You just had to remind me of Carnivale. Loved that show. Closest similar kind of story is probably something written by Tim Powers.

Now I have to watch it, even if I know I won't have closure.

Speaking of which, a limited run series of The Anubis Gates could be spectacular.

 

[architecture_lecture]

Westworld's long-form storytelling has been disjointed at best and pretentious nonsense at worst. It's mainly survived because of a killer score and a knack for producing glorious moments...

This would also perfectly describe a number of anime series which I was happy to stumble upon long after their conclusion. I understand not wanting to let a series wander aimlessly for too long, but when only one season is left I figure it's important to let them finish for posterity.

 

[ralphnobody]

I knew it!

I’m glad I cancelled HBO Max months ago.

While my tastes are clearly in the minority, I paid a premium over the years to fund quality content that I care about.

Still: Who’s left to compete with Disney?

 

[DaVuVuZeLa]

The first season was excellent. I'm only about half-way through the second season and it's like the Matrix sequels or the second+ season of The Good Place. It's like they didn't really expect to get a second season and had no real plan for it, so they were just winging it.

I haven't seen the movie they based all this on, but my guess would be that the first season used up most of the source material and when they had to go off on their own it didn't go so well. Only one season and they were already out of ideas and had to come up with a Samurai World and hint at other potential similar parks.

Spoiler

Once you've finished watching the second season stop, and go no further.

 

[rhgedaly]

By the end of Season 4, the virtual worlds plotline had gotten out of control, with time passing more quickly there and hosts being able to run zillions of simulations in order to predict events in the real world.

I was curious how the showrunners were going to write their way out of this rabbit hole in Season 5. Guess someday we'll get a HBO reunion special where the creators and writers explain their plan for how the series was supposed to conclude.

 

[Soothsayer786]

I’ll never forgive them for canceling John from Cincinnati. (I know that makes me weird.)

Meanwhile I'm still sad they canceled Deadwood for the absolute waste of time that was John from Cincinnati.

As for Westworld, I bailed in Season 2 in the episode that ended with the reveal of Samurai World or whatever it was called. I just found I didn't care anymore. About any of the characters, about where the plot was going or had been, none of it.

It sucks fans don't get the final season, I feel for them still, even if I found I lost interest already.

Deadwood was the last time I ever had a subscription to HBO. I was so mad when they cancelled it. Such an epic series with incredible acting. Now they did release that movie not too long ago, and I enjoyed it, but it was by no means a proper fitting end to that story.

That one is definitely up there near the top when it comes to good shows cancelled before their time.

More recently I've been rather upset with Netflix for cancelling Altered Carbon. I truly enjoyed that show, it was good cyberpunk and I loved it.

 

[scpATL4now]

This all has come about because AT&T got into a business they had no business being in. They knew nothing about producing content (some might say they didn't even know much about providing internet), and ran Warner straight into the ground, and now Discovery is in a dick swinging contest about whose content is going forward. Pardon me if I am not impressed with the network of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo...I mean, really. These people are greatly out of touch with viewership. I guess they are trying to appeal to the 58 year old crowd. I was pissed when they cancelled Raised by Wolves, then all the DC TV, although some of the CW stuff is well past it's due date, some of it is pretty good. Stargirl has been really good this season...cancelled. I see very little reason to pay these guys. I'll probably ditch it after Titans, and if there is anything I want to see...it will be by other means

 

[graylshaped]

I knew it!

I’m glad I cancelled HBO Max months ago.

While my tastes are clearly in the minority, I paid a premium over the years to fund quality content that I care about.

Still: Who’s left to compete with Disney?

All of them. They just aren't doing it particularly well, but darned if Apple didn't hit a home run with a show that is right in Disney's wheelhouse in Ted Lasso.

 

[jeblis]

Mercy killing

 

[Nicky G]

Aw bummer.
Well, I'm enjoying The Peripheral right now

Definitely check out the book if you like the show.

I like the show, but the book is a masterpiece. And it’s weirder than the show, in a good way.

The audiobook is really well read, too.

 

[jeblis]

Dumb decision, but not surprising considering it is par for the course these days - I mean why bother watching a series without a commitment from the streaming company? Declining viewership is probably due to the fact it's been made harder to actually view. I had to torrent S3 and will have to do the same with S4. Why not syndicate it out to a broader audience of streaming platforms? This fragmentation is bad for consumers, so I'll just return to downloading.

You pirate the show and wonder why it’s cancelled?

 

[Apple fanboy 101]

The show works for me and even if the plot is BS I am 100% in it.
I always could tell there was a problem because so few people watched it outside of the US, whereas everyone in the world watched GoT.

 

[MagneticNorth]

HBO is unfortunately known for cancelling series before their creators' intended conclusion, however I am glad 'Westworld' got further than most.

One series that I really wish had gotten more seasons was the show 'Carnivàle' --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniv%C3%A0le

In my opinion, it was a very original and creative series that featured excellent performances all around, both from the known cast members (Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Adrienne Barbeau) and from the unknown cast members.

Season two ended on a cliff hanger, and I really wanted to know where the story was going to take us..

You just had to remind me of Carnivale. Loved that show. Closest similar kind of story is probably something written by Tim Powers.

Now I have to watch it, even if I know I won't have closure.

Speaking of which, a limited run series of The Anubis Gates could be spectacular.

I would love to see someone tackle Declare.

 

[Ras Thavas]

HBO is unfortunately known for cancelling series before their creators' intended conclusion, however I am glad 'Westworld' got further than most.

One series that I really wish had gotten more seasons was the show 'Carnivàle' --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniv%C3%A0le

In my opinion, it was a very original and creative series that featured excellent performances all around, both from the known cast members (Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Adrienne Barbeau) and from the unknown cast members.

Season two ended on a cliff hanger, and I really wanted to know where the story was going to take us..

Not to mention the great Michael J. Anderson…

“Until the day that a false sun exploded over Trinity, and man forever traded away Wonder for Reason”

Unquestionably #1 on my list of shows that were ended before their time. I very much wanted to go deeper into Daniel Knauf’s Lynch-inspired modern mythology as the Avatars of Light and Dark circle each other on the path to Armageddon

 

[dogs4funlove]

HBO is unfortunately known for cancelling series before their creators' intended conclusion, however I am glad 'Westworld' got further than most.

One series that I really wish had gotten more seasons was the show 'Carnivàle' --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniv%C3%A0le

In my opinion, it was a very original and creative series that featured excellent performances all around, both from the known cast members (Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Adrienne Barbeau) and from the unknown cast members.

Season two ended on a cliff hanger, and I really wanted to know where the story was going to take us..

Same and Rome. I really was hoping for more seasons of Rome

Well just after season 3 of Rome was approved...the set burned down...just bad luck.

 

[Ras Thavas]

HBO is unfortunately known for cancelling series before their creators' intended conclusion, however I am glad 'Westworld' got further than most.

One series that I really wish had gotten more seasons was the show 'Carnivàle' --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniv%C3%A0le

In my opinion, it was a very original and creative series that featured excellent performances all around, both from the known cast members (Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Adrienne Barbeau) and from the unknown cast members.

Season two ended on a cliff hanger, and I really wanted to know where the story was going to take us..

You just had to remind me of Carnivale. Loved that show. Closest similar kind of story is probably something written by Tim Powers.

Now I have to watch it, even if I know I won't have closure.

Speaking of which, a limited run series of The Anubis Gates could be spectacular.

I would love to see someone tackle Declare.

Oh indeed. The list of directors/creators who one would trust with the material has to be pretty short. Now I’m going to have to reread Declare!

If you haven’t seen it already, I would recommend checking out Counterpart starring J.K. Simmons. It’s available on Amazon Prime. It scratches many of the same itches as Declare, and I think Carnivale as well.

 

[graylshaped]

HBO is unfortunately known for cancelling series before their creators' intended conclusion, however I am glad 'Westworld' got further than most.

One series that I really wish had gotten more seasons was the show 'Carnivàle' --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniv%C3%A0le

In my opinion, it was a very original and creative series that featured excellent performances all around, both from the known cast members (Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Adrienne Barbeau) and from the unknown cast members.

Season two ended on a cliff hanger, and I really wanted to know where the story was going to take us..

You just had to remind me of Carnivale. Loved that show. Closest similar kind of story is probably something written by Tim Powers.

Now I have to watch it, even if I know I won't have closure.

Speaking of which, a limited run series of The Anubis Gates could be spectacular.

I would love to see someone tackle Declare.

Not in a movie. Six-eight episodes.

I'd also suggest for a series Last Call, which is a stunning novel of redemption told via a...Tim Power-ish set of unique characters moving through a multi-faceted world that the reader probably doesn't grasp on first reading... would be an interesting choice, but would take someone better equipped than me to translate it to the screen.

Last Call also gets kudos for being the first book in a trilogy that no one knew was a trilogy until the third book came out.

 

[Constant Variable]

Apparently it was only getting 500K viewers for the 4th season. Fewer than reruns of The Big Bang Theory, Let that sink in.

Will do.

 

[aleph_nought]

Aw bummer.
Well, I'm enjoying The Peripheral right now

NO! I'm so surprised to hear people like this show. For me its a snooze fest.

The Peripheral is great, I've read the book twice and I'm enjoying the show's take. Everyone has different tastes, but if you're bored by it then I don't think I'm really interested in what you like. It's moving rather fast frankly.

It's also slightly depressing to realize the Jackpot might not be fictional, in our timeline.

 

[omgia]

Westworld reminds me of Smallville. Both were titled after a place. Once the characters left the place, it jumped the shark.

 

[Flying Officer Ives]

“This doesn’t look like anything to me”…

 

[xWidget]

Westworld S1 was amazing and felt like a genre in and of its own.

Westworld S2 and on just felt like... reverse-Sword Art Online, but in mystery thriller format. It was ok, but it definitely felt like watching primetime TV to me, compared to how the first season sucked me in.

 

[Fuzzypiggy]

One of the reasons I tend to not bother watching series with long season runs until I know they're complete. Can't imagine anything worse regarding TV shows than really getting into a show and then watching it get the chop before it's time, like reading a book and someone rips out the last chapter just as you get to it!

 

[WereCatf]

Made famous by Dorothy Heidt on usenet to indicate the point where you're sick of a book, "I don't care what happens to these people".

Honestly, that puts into words what I'm thinking unconsciously when I stop watching a show or reading a book with the corollary, "The world would probably be better off if they all just died."

Which is why I couldn't get past two episodes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, most seasons of American Horror Story, the third season onward of Game of Thrones... Really, a vast majority of popular dramas for the last 20 years. Nothing but terrible people doing terrible things to each other and I couldn't care less if they lived or died.

I'd urge you to give Breaking Bad another shot. I thought that one was well worth it, terrible people notwithstanding.

While I watched and enjoyed BB to the finish, I'm actually 100% behind what Panton is saying. I find it very, very hard to watch or read a story where everyone is terrible, no matter how well made it is.

I'm entirely guessing here, but I would assume that most people are like that: they need to like the main characters at least a small extent to want to continue watching a show. My husband and I, on the other hand, are probably outliers, because we've watched and very much enjoyed plenty of shows where the main characters were horrible and very much dislikeable people; we just simply were drawn in by the story so much.

I suppose it says something about me, when I actually find it easier to suspend disbelief, when even the main characters are more-or-less nasty people. Whether what it says about me is anything positive, though...

 

[nzod]

There were a few great moments in seasons after the first but I didn't really find myself waiting for the next one. Nowadays I get my cyberpunk fix elsewhere, namely all the animated works I missed before, and the game CP 2077 (which is unexpectedly great storytelling-wise, and also has a killer score).

 

[BrangdonJ]

I haven't seen the movie they based all this on, but my guess would be that the first season used up most of the source material and when they had to go off on their own it didn't go so well. Only one season and they were already out of ideas and had to come up with a Samurai World and hint at other potential similar parks.

Agreed, they were out of ideas. Worse, they'd written themselves into a corner. After the events of the movie, the only reasonable and realistic response to this uprising would be to rain holy hell down on them. That is, the only response that would make any real sense is a massive military crackdown to wipe them all out.

But wouldn't work for a season 2 or beyond. So instead, we got a Delos QA assault team riding around in ATVs (no gunships or other military vehicles?) that possesses absolutely no tactical or strategic sense, armed with automatic weapons and yet still suffer a lot of losses. My 6th grader and his Fortnite friends could mount a better attack than that.

Anyhow, it had a lot of good ideas, was pretty and had some excellent performances. But there was no way to get past the shortsighted and sometimes truly bad writing....

A bunch of other things don't make sense at all. Assuming some of the AI units achieve sentience, and manage to convince some of the other AI units to follow them... they still would have no concept of a modern automatic weapon. As soon as the clip ran out of ammo, they'd be screwed. And then how all of a sudden did they get ammo that can kill humans, even for the period weapons? Even accepting a lot of things about the show, those just seem kind of obvious and glaring. Not even getting into how they power the robots or that they'd probably need some kind of wireless connection to a central server keeping them captive to a confined area.

Now that I think about it, the second season reminds me of that Resident Evil movie... The first one where they send a small group of people into the facility. Except, despite the larger budget and everything else, not executed nearly as well.

I disagree. I thought it was incredibly well done. I also enjoy shows and movies that are opaque and slowly put themselves together to some interesting reveal. I enjoyed the cerebral concepts and nonlinear timeline.

Specifically, because I'm a nerd...

Spoiler

When Ford released his final "game" he altered the systems to allow the guns to hurt people. The guns were always selective but their exact mechanism was never described. (Just handwavy sci-fi.) This also unlocked the host's ability to physically attack guests. They watched their attackers use the automatic weapons and learned from that, or just figured it out. (How hard is it?) It's also shown that Ford at least partially removed the host's limitations on physical strength and mental capabilities. (Maeve being the ultimate showing of these abilities being unlocked.) It's my understanding that basically all of the hosts were sentience capable because they were all based on Dolores and the original bicameral design.

Delos would not have wanted the military to come in and it's not really clear that their island was under any governmental control at all. They wanted to protect their assets (primarily the guest data) which would also have been a nightmare for them if it had gotten out what they were doing all along. In their hubris, they underestimated the hosts and thought some automatic weapons would be enough to wipe them out. That was incredibly misguided for a number of reasons, only some of which they could have known about anyway.

Yes, some things were not explained like the host's internal power source and the munitions selectivity capabilities. Those details weren't important to the story either. The fact that they worked was. If you don't like that, then that's fine, but it doesn't make it a bad story.

The second season expanded the world and showed that there were more parks. It was also a way to show that the hosts and their stories were basically reproduced with minor modifications as way of exploring what exactly makes up individuality. What makes you, you? Which, like the expansion of the world, is an expansion of the themes of the show. What is consciousness? What does it mean to be alive?

The third season again expanded the world. It also brought in questions and discussions on the value of our personal data and how over-reaching simulations could enable the powerful to shape the world. While still examining interesting ideas about individuality and consciousness. The multiple Dolores plotline examining the literal question of "if there was another you living a different life how much of you would still remain?" It even was able to show the pain of an incongruity between who you think and feel you are against who you present yourself to be to the world.

The fourth season tried to bring this back to humanity. It examined the difference between our internal realities and the external world. I also found the unstoppable force of the hosts control of humanity to be a compelling and terrifying concept. It also continued on the examination of self and consciousness with the differences between William's and Caleb's host forms. Also the loss of control of the hosts in Charlotte's cities.

I'm sad that I won't see what the had planned for the final season. Maybe they'll find someone else to let them make it.

Good post. On season 3 I'd add that:

Spoiler

it continued the theme of free will by showing how humans are manipulated until they virtually don't have it. In particular, the prime-mover antagonist character turns out to be the puppet of a computer program that feeds him his every action through an earpiece. If season 1 is about the hosts wanting to be human, and season 2 about the humans wanting to become hosts, season 3 is about how humans are hosts in some important ways.

 

[Relikk]

Season 4 was one of the worst seasons of big budget TV I've ever seen. It was cliché ridden, amateur hour writing, so I'm not surprised this got canned. The first season is a masterpiece that was never bettered (and not even close) by any of the subsequent series.

 

[DeerSteak]

I really enjoyed the first two seasons of Westworld, but Season 3 was rough and it only got rougher from there. I felt like Season 4 was way off the rails, and had hoped that season 5 would get the show back on track and finish strong. At this point it's probably for the best.

I don't have particularly high hopes for Joy and Nolan's Fallout series after seeing what Amazon did to Middle Earth, either. Rings of Power is atrocious - everything was so telegraphed, and I won't watch subsequent seasons of that.

 

[O_mia_bela_Madonina]

I really liked season 1 and 2, while I found season 3 underwhelming. When I heard about s4 I really hoped it would be the last one and, of course, the one to deliver a proper conclusion.
Unfortunately not only it wasn't, but I also found it to be worse than S3.
I must admit I'm a bit irritated that they decided to cancel westworld with only one season remaining, but in all honesty given what was anticipated at the end of S4 I can't really blame them for this decision.

 

[Zoolook]

Dumb decision, but not surprising considering it is par for the course these days - I mean why bother watching a series without a commitment from the streaming company? Declining viewership is probably due to the fact it's been made harder to actually view. I had to torrent S3 and will have to do the same with S4. Why not syndicate it out to a broader audience of streaming platforms? This fragmentation is bad for consumers, so I'll just return to downloading.

When it was only on cable, back in the 'olden' days, HBO was a premium add-on. In today's streaming world, HBO is a premium add-on and actually costs a lot less than it did back in 2005 when I first paid for it, especially if you take into account inflation.

So when you say you "had to torrent it", that seems unlikely to be true - you could have subscribed. One of the benefits of these streaming services now is you can subscribe for a month, binge a bunch of shows then cancel.

 

[ready_load$81]

Dumb decision, but not surprising considering it is par for the course these days - I mean why bother watching a series without a commitment from the streaming company? Declining viewership is probably due to the fact it's been made harder to actually view. I had to torrent S3 and will have to do the same with S4. Why not syndicate it out to a broader audience of streaming platforms? This fragmentation is bad for consumers, so I'll just return to downloading.

Not that dumb, viewership fell off a cliff after the 2nd season and didn't recover.

Good riddance.

This, 100%. Fanbois are downvoting, but the story sucked after season 2, turned into just another yawn drama. Typical brain-dead viewers love this shlock, but some see it for what it is.