UPDATED 12/13, 12:20 a.m. ET:Things are getting even worse for Westworld fans, as HBO Max is pulling the series from streaming. The same will happen to The Nevers, which has only aired part of its debut season.
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva points out that both offerings “are high-end Warner Bros. Discovery drama productions for HBO proper, and I hear they are likely to resurface on other company platforms.”
Pulling series from HBO Max in this manner, Variety points out, means “WB Discovery is able to save money in residuals paid to cast and crews of productions, on top of the money saved by not continuing with the shows at all.”
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HBO has pulled the plug on Westworld.
Created by husband-and-wife showrunners Jonah Nolan and Lisa Joy, the sci-fi series, an adaptation of the 1973 film written and directed by Michael Crichton, premiered in 2016 to critical acclaim. Back in August, Westworld wrapped its fourth season, which many critics had considered a return to form following two mediocre seasons.
“Over the past four seasons, Lisa and Jonah have taken viewers on a mind-bending odyssey, raising the bar at every step,” HBO said in an official statement. “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.”
Kilter Films added, “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.”
Featuring a cast that included Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Thandiwe Newton, Tessa Thompson, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Luke Hemsworth, and Aaron Paul among many others, Westworld amassed 54 nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards (including nine wins).
