Westworld Renewed for Season 3 at HBO

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'Westworld' Renewed for Season 3 at HBO

By Haleigh Foutch

Published May 1, 2018

Saddle up folks, we're all headed for the Valley Beyond.

The game is meant for you, folks. HBO has officially renewed Westworld for Season 3, just two episodes into the long-awaited second season. The hit series takes place in a near future, where humanity’s wealthy and elite enjoy decadent trips to a theme park known as Westworld, where hyperrealistic androids are ready to indulge their every fantasy no matter how dark or perverse. Well, at least that was the way of it in the first season. Season 2 has brought the robot uprising we’ve all been waiting for, along with plenty of new puzzles and mysteries

“It’s been an extraordinary pleasure to work with the exceptionally talented Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, as well as their gifted cast and crew,” said Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming. “From the inspired storytelling to the incredible visuals, we are so excited to see where the next chapter will take us.”

westworld-season-2-premiere-images — Image via HBO

Inspired by the Michael Crichton film and created for television by Nolan and Joy, Westworld stars Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, Jimmi Simpson, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Ben Barnes, Luke Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, among a larger and absolutely outstanding cast of supporting characters. The series is executive produced by Nolan, Joy, J.J. Abrams, Richard J. Lewis, Roberto Patino, Athena Wickham and Ben Stephenson. Kilter Films and Bad Robot Productions produce in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Westworld has proven a big hit for HBO, pulling steady and increasing ratings. The Season 2 premiere debuted up 5% from the series premiere in 2016 in its linear time slot with $2.1 million viewers. When all platforms are considered, Westworld is an even bigger smash, averaging an estimated 13.2 million views across platforms — a number that puts it on par with HBO’s goliath hit Game of Thrones. Westworld has also been an awards hit earning 22 Emmy nominations and five wins, along with three Golden Globe nominations and three SAG nominations.

Nolan and Joy have also made it clear that there's a massive world and story to explore with the series, especially in Season 2, which revealed there are five more parks outside Westworld, and that's before the robot uprising even reaches the real world. With that in mind, the renewal doesn't exactly come as a surprise, but the show does come with a hefty price tag and massive production requirements, so the question becomes how long until we get Season 3? The wait between the first two seasons was significant, and judging by Game of Thrones, HBO seems to be more and more comfortable with long lags between seasons of their hit series. Either way, it's time to saddle up because we're going to the Valley Beyond.