The quest of Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), android in search of freedom, will never find an end. The HBO channel announced on Friday, November 4, that the series Westworld was canceled after four seasons. This decision comes only three months after the end of season 4, broadcast in France on OCS, notes the specialized publication Variety.
According to the American magazine, several factors pushed the chain, owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery, to halt production of the sci-fi series: “Among other things, huge production costs, the decrease in the audience and the evolution of the programs decided by the board of directors.” The parent company has cut spending, as part of a plan to implement synergies to achieve savings of up to $3.5 billion.
A series that will remain without conclusion
The cybernetic western created by the duo Jonathan Nolan (Christopher Nolan’s brother) and Lisa Joy therefore pays the price for this end of television abundance, especially since the audiences were no longer in line with the budget.
The final season, for example, cost nearly $160 million for just eight small episodes, the weekly reports. The Hollywood Reporter. The number of spectators meanwhile has steadily decreased from season to season. “This is the reality of television”, drags a source close to the folder.
This is a “unexpected fate for a series that was considered one of HBO’s most promising projects”, comment The Hollywood Reporter in another article, which recalls that the program has obtained 54 Emmy Award nominations since the start of its broadcast.
Last October, the producers told Variety that they were hoping for a final season to conclude the series. “We had always planned a fifth and final season”, clarified Jonathan Nolan. Final which will never see the light of day.
“Westworld was considered the heiress presumed to Game of Thrones. Six years after its debut, the torch is now passed on to House of the Dragon”, concludes The Hollywood Reporter.