Robot cowboy drama Westworld has been a massive hit for HBO in previous years, but it has slowly been declining in viewership and receiving less critical acclaim recently.
The fourth season finished with death and destruction – but sadly the show will not be returning for another season. Here is what we know about the Westworld cancellation.
Will there be a Westworld season 5?
Sadly, Westworld has been cancelled by HBO. This was allegedly down to massive budgets and falling ratings from season three onwards, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Nonetheless, this appears to be a very last minute decision, so much so that the cast were actually still paid for the final season, according to Deadline. There is a possibility that this could be due to the appointment of Warner Bros. Discovery’s new CEO David Zaslav, who has culled many projects across the board.
The creators were well into planning for season five earlier this year. Lisa Joy told Deadline that she and her co-showrunner – Jonathan Nolan – have “always had an ending in mind that we hope to reach. We have not quite reached it yet”.
In addition, Ed Harris, who plays William/The Man in Black told The Hollywood Reporter “We have one more season, which will start filming next April and May”, further corroborating that this was a snap decision.
How to watch Westworld
If you’re in the US, you can stream all previous seasons over on HBO Max.
For UK readers, you can sign up for Now. This streaming service boasts Sky content – including Westworld – so you’ll be able to watch Westworld whenever you want. The Entertainment Pass costs just £9.99 a month.
How did Westworld end?
Spoilers for Westworld season 4 ahead
Westworld season 4 ended on a huge cliff hanger, with almost the entire cast being wiped out and the updated version of Dolores – played by Evan Rachel Wood – creating a new version of Westworld in an effort to give humanity one final chance to redeem itself.
The final season was expected to wipe the slate clean and bring us back to the familiar Western Park setting.
Co-showrunner Lisa Joy told The Wrap that putting her at the centre was always the endgame: “…we always thought that Westworld should kind of come full circle and back to the West. But with Dolores, who was just a player in other people’s games, finally getting to write her own.
“Just to close up a lot of the stuff that we’ve seen before like the flashforward with The Man in Black and everything, so we have a plan for Season 5 but you know, life can make other plans for you. So we’ll just hope for the best.”
Sadly, unless the show gets saved by another network, we’ll never see these stories come to a satisfying end.
Author: Dominic Preston, Deputy Editor
Tech Advisor's Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming - plus he's a regular fixture on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.