HBO cancels Westworld before what was to be its final season

Enlarge / Now we'll never know how Dolores Abernathy's story ends. (credit: YouTube/HBO)

HBO surprised its subscribers and the TV industry on Friday by announcing that it has canceled the big-budget science-fiction series Westworld just a few months after its fourth season concluded, Variety reports.

The series, which has received 54 Emmy nominations during its run, was intended to end with its fifth season, according to recent statements from its two showrunners, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. The husband-and-wife creative couple had a specific ending in mind that now won't make it to the screen, though many viewers felt that the ending of the fourth season also worked as a conclusion.

Several reasons contributed to HBO's decision, including high production costs, declining viewership, and sliding critical response amid an overall effort to cut costs at the newly formed parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. Westworld set records when it first premiered, but its viewership declined with each season, with the recently aired season four experiencing an especially sharp drop.

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