Before Westworld concluded its third season, HBO had already green lit a fourth with rumors the series could stretch as long as six seasons. With ratings down and a mixed reaction to the recent season finale, creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy Nolan are saying it’s unclear how long the series will go.
Speaking with Variety, Nolan addressed the rumor directly and says nobody knows when Westworld will come to a close…
“Well, I just want to clarify, you know, Lisa and I have never actually talked about a number of seasons.[T]here’s been reporting about deals and other stuff like that. But we’ve never actually talked out loud about how many seasons we imagine this thing going, because I think you’d be foolish to. Things change, circumstances change. I think when we sat down to do the show, we didn’t quite realize how difficult it would be to make this show — [laughing] how many years it would take per season. So we’ve never actually talked about how many seasons that plan was, and indeed I think when we had the plan it didn’t actually map out to a specific number of seasons, exactly. It was a beginning, a middle and an end.”
What he says next, I think, is the crucial part…
“When you have a show going like this, you want to stay as long as you’re telling a compelling story. We’re heading towards that end, but we haven’t completely mapped it out. At this point, part of the work is looking at the rest of the story we have to tell. It’s two impulses, one against the other. You don’t want to walk away from people who are as talented and cool as this. They’re all lovely, lovely people, and they love working together, we like working together. At the same time, you don’t want to outstay your welcome. You have a story to tell, and you want to go out without feeling like you’ve outstayed your welcome. So we’re trying to balance those things a bit.”
That sounds like someone who is ready to go after one more season. Westworld wasn’t able to hold my attention past season 2, and we’ll see how much audience they retain going into season 4.