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Westworld is an American science fiction western thriller television series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy for HBO. It is based on the 1973 film of the same name, which was written and directed by American novelist Michael Crichton, and to a lesser extent on the 1976 sequel Futureworld. It is the second TV series based on the two films, the first being the short-lived 1980 series Beyond Westworld. Nolan and Joy serve as executive producers along with J. J. Abrams, Jerry Weintraub, and Bryan Burk, with Nolan directing the pilot. The first season premiered on October 2, 2016, concluded on December 4, 2016, and consisted of ten episodes.[3] In November 2016, HBO renewed the show for a ten-episode second season,[4] which is set to premiere on April 22, 2018.[5]

The story takes place in the fictional Westworld, a technologically advanced Wild West-themed amusement park populated by android hosts. Westworld caters to high-paying guests, who may indulge in whatever they wish within the park, without fear of retaliation from the hosts.

The series' debut on HBO garnered the network's highest viewership ratings for a premiere since the first episode of True Detective in 2014 and Westworld ranks as the most-watched first season of an HBO original series ever.[6] Westworld has received largely positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for the visuals, story, and performances.

In the future, the Westworld theme park offers its visitors the opportunity to experience the Wild West in a large area of land that includes the frontier town of Sweetwater. The town and land are occupied by "hosts", androids indistinguishable from humans, with advanced programming following a pre-defined set of intertwining narratives, with the ability to deviate from these narratives as visitors interact with them. The hosts repeat these narratives anew each day, having their memories wiped of the previous day, until they are repurposed for other narratives or put away in storage for reuse later. For the visitors' safety, hosts are unable to harm any other living life forms, allowing visitors nearly unlimited freedom to engage in whatever activities they want without retribution, including sex and simulated murder with the hosts. A staff oversees the park, develops new narratives, and performs repairs on hosts as necessary.

The series begins as a routine update in the hosts' programming causes unusual deviations in their behavior that concerns the park's staff, with some of the hosts learning the truth about themselves and their world.

Warner Bros. had been considering a remake of Westworld since the early 1990s and after the departure of studio executive Jessica Goodman in 2011, the project was again under consideration.[45] Jerry Weintraub had been pushing for a remake for years and, after his success with HBO's Behind the Candelabra, he convinced the network to greenlight a pilot. He took the project to Jonathan Nolan and co-writer Lisa Joy, who saw the potential in the concept to make something far more ambitious,[46] and on August 31, 2013, it was announced that premium cable channel HBO had ordered a pilot for a potential television series version of the story, with Nolan, Joy, J. J. Abrams, Jerry Weintraub and Bryan Burk as executive producers.[47]

HBO later announced that Westworld had been taken to series and that it would premiere in 2015.[48] In August 2015, HBO released the first teaser, which revealed it would premiere in 2016.[49] It is the second series based on Crichton's original story after the 1980s Beyond Westworld, which aired only three episodes on CBS before being cancelled.[50]

Abrams suggested that the show be told with the perspective of the "hosts" in mind.[51] Nolan took inspiration from video games like BioShock Infinite, Red Dead Redemption and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to deal with the narrative's moral component on a spectrum.[52] During the research, the films of Sergio Leone provided reference points for the characters and visuals, novels by Philip K. Dick informed them about dilemmas concerning artificial intelligence, and for world-building and interlocking narrative, they consulted the Grand Theft Auto games.[53]

Nolan explained the show would explore why "violence is in most of the stories we like to watch, but it isn't part of what we like to do" through the characters known as guests, who give payment to satisfy those urges.[54] The autonomous existence of non-player characters in video games influenced the approach to the individual storylines in Westworld that are reset in a continuous loop.[55] A recitation from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet"These violent delights have violent ends"[56]is made part of the show as a virus trigger within the hosts that alters how they perceive their existence.[57] The series explores ideas about the bicameral mind by Julian Jaynes, about the existence of two separate mindsone that gives instructions and another that performs them, and how consciousness comes from breaking down the wall between them by exposing the individual to new kinds of stimuli.[58]

Costume designer Ane Crabtree approached her work by focusing upon the actual historical attire of the Wild West from the 1850s to 1890s for inspiration, rather than Western films. Fabrics were custom-woven, dyed and printed for any actor with a speaking role to capture the intricacies of the costumes (most of which were manufactured from scratch in Upstate New York and Los Angeles). Hat designs were described as the most challenging part of the process.[59]

The 1973 film also included a Roman World and Medieval World, but Nolan has counted these out.[60] Ed Brubaker served on the writing staff as supervising producer,[61] co-writing the fourth episode with Nolan.[62]

The story has been planned to last up to five seasons by the writers and producers.[63]

The ten episodes of the first season were reportedly produced on a budget of approximately $100 million, with per-episode budgets somewhere between $8 million to $10 million, and the pilot episode alone costing $25 million to produce. HBO and Warner Bros. Television shared the cost of producing the series; HBO reportedly also paid an undisclosed licensing fee to Warner Bros. Television for broadcast rights.[64]

Anthony Hopkins and Evan Rachel Wood were the first cast members formally announced, taking on the roles of Dr. Robert Ford and Dolores Abernathy, respectively.[7] Jeffrey Wright, Rodrigo Santoro, Shannon Woodward, Ingrid Bols Berdal, Angela Sarafyan, and Simon Quarterman were all announced as cast members in August 2014.[12] James Marsden and Eddie Rouse were also added to the cast.[10] Ed Harris was cast in a key villain role, known only as the Man in Black.[16] Other roles were filled by Demetrius Grosse, Kyle Bornheimer, Currie Graham, Lena Georgas, Steven Ogg, Timothy Lee DePriest, Ptolemy Slocum, Thandie Newton, and Miranda Otto.[8][11][20][65]

In July 2015, it was announced that Otto had departed the show due to her commitments to the fifth season of Homeland and she was replaced by Sidse Babett Knudsen. Additionally, three others were cast; Eion Bailey, Jimmi Simpson and Clifton Collins Jr.[14] Bailey was later replaced by Ben Barnes.[17] Talulah Riley was revealed to have a role as one of the hosts after her ex-husband Elon Musk had stated so on Twitter;[66] Riley will be promoted to series regular for the second season.[19]

After the last episode of the first season was broadcast, Nolan and Joy revealed that they had operated on a strict need-to-know basis with most of the actors, in order to "keep the story as fresh and present for them as possible."[67] For example, in Wood's case, they gave her strange acting directions without explaining why, and it took a while for Wood to infer she was actually playing five distinct characters within the same host: four different behavioral modes for Dolores, plus Wyatt.[68] However, Hopkins was made aware of Ford's general story arc up front (at the time he was pitched the role) to ensure he could fully convey the complexity of the character in his performance.[67][69] Even with that foreknowledge, Hopkins was initially given heavily redacted scripts, and he had to insist on access to entire unredacted scripts.[69]

Early on it was decided that the series would be shot on 35 mm film with assistance from HD taps, despite increasing difficulties in acquiring film stocks from the remaining manufacturers.[70] For a softer look, the filmmakers used Arri Zeiss master prime lenses with their coatings removed.[71] The series was primarily shot on Kodak motion picture film, which was processed by FotoKem in Burbank and scanned by Encore Hollywood to create digital intermediates of all takes suitable for use as dailies. The final cut was delivered to HBO in 2K JPEG digital format for broadcast and to Warner Bros. Television as a cut negative for archival purposes.[72]

Since much of the series is seen from the hosts' point of view,[73] Steadicams were used to film the whole first season, except for a couple of scenes in the last episode, where a handheld camera was used as a metaphor for hosts who broke free from their programming and acted of their own free will.[74] Filming for the show's pilot episode took place during a 22-day period[75] in August 2014 in and around Los Angeles[76] as well as Moab, Utah.[77]

Filming locations in California included various soundstages, backlots at both Universal Studios and Warner Bros., the Paramount Ranch in Agoura,[78] the Melody Ranch in Santa Clarita,[75][79] the Skirball Cultural Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles,[72] and the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.[80] The Melody Ranch set used for the town of Sweetwater had been used previously for many western films, such as Django Unchained and The Magnificent Seven, but was significantly upgraded for Westworld by production designer Zack Grobler to portray an idealized version of the American frontier.[79] Green screens were placed around the California sets to block modern objects like parking lots, so that the California shots could be later merged digitally with exterior shots from Utah.[79] For scenes showing the arrival of guests, the filmmakers were able to arrange with the Fillmore and Western Railway for the use of a small train originally built for the 2013 film The Lone Ranger. F&W also provided a few hundred feet of track on which to place the train; then a pusher vehicle was used to propel the train into the Sweetwater set. The scenes in the underground laboratory levels of Westworld's operations center were filmed on a soundstage at Melody Ranch. The lab set used glass walls extensively, which meant the crew had to be vigilant to avoid walking through glass on the rather dark set, and they had to keep identifying and suppressing unwanted reflections. Hawthorne Plaza was used for filming the "cold storage" level where decommissioned hosts are stored.[72]

For the show's large-scale exterior look, the producers drew inspiration from the work of John Ford, who shot four of his Western films in Castle Valley, east of Moab.[78] In early 2014, Nolan visited southern Utah with key crew members and a location scout to explore the possibility of filming there, and promptly fell in love with the place.[77] Location shooting for the pilot episode later occurred over five days in southern Utah,[77] including Castle Valley.[78] Most Utah locations, like Dead Horse Point State Park, were "walk-in" areas where both cast and crew were required to hike in and out with all their gear.[77] Horseback riding scenes were filmed at a private ranch, where the filmmakers were not subject to as many restrictions as when working on public land.[80] To seamlessly blend California sets with Utah scenery, set walls were shipped to Utah so that they could be used to film reverse angles of scenes originally filmed in California.[80] For example, conversations on the exterior balcony of Westworld's operations center were shot on a balcony at the Skirball Center facing towards the center, then reverse angles over the shoulders of the cast members were shot at Dead Horse Point, to make it seem as if the operations center was located on top of the state park's steep cliffs.[77][80][72] The train interior scenes were created by mounting the entire train car set on the back of a flatbed truck and driving the truck back and forth along Utah State Route 128.[77]

The 3D printing of hosts was shot utilizing almost entirely practical effects, of which some were polished by the visual effects team.[81] The show used real guns, although they were usually unloaded.[68] Out of respect for the actors and extras involved, filming of nudity was conducted on a closed set, and for sex scenes, a sex consultant was used.[82]

Production was temporarily halted for a couple of months in early 2016 so that showrunners Nolan and Joy could complete the scripts for the last four episodes of the first season.[83] The climax of the first season's finale was filmed at Paramount Ranch in April 2016, with approximately 300 people on set.[84] The crew spent 10 days in May striking the set, which included having to modify structures installed by the filmmakers, such as the chapel, so that HBO's "intellectual property" would not be "violated."[84]

Production on the second season began in July 2017.[22]

The series' title sequence was created by production studio Elastic, which had previously created the title sequences for Rome, Carnivle and Game of Thrones for HBO. Patrick Clair acted as creative director for the title sequence,[85][86] which took about five weeks to conceptualize.[87]

Clair met with Nolan and Joy in February 2016 to discuss its development. He was interested in their decision to approach the show's point of view from that of the hosts, deeming the result an inherent psychological study. Upon its inception, the sequence would translate elements present in the series via computer-aided design. For example, once Clair was sent footage by composer Ramin Djawadi of a player piano in motion, its actual counterpart, situated in the Westworld production office, was photographed and then reconstructed in computer-generated imagery.[56][87] Nolan also applied the self-playing instrument in reference to Kurt Vonnegut's first novel Player Piano. It was meant to represent the first Rube Goldberg machine to evoke human motion.[57] Clair saw the metaphor behind the player piano"a primitive form of robot"as an exploration into the disparity between man and machine "being created to be made redundant." Hosts that were bathed in white liquid struck Clair as a juxtaposition of the grit and grain of the Western genre with its basis in science fiction. Motifs of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man came about from Clair's wish to convey Westworld's depiction of the naked human body.[56] The sequence also references Chris Cunningham's 1999 music video for the Bjrk song "All Is Full of Love", in a way that Clair called "a bit shameless... because I worship Chris Cunningham and ... it seemed like the perfect place to do it because it was dealing with all the right themes and all the right aesthetics."[87]

The sequence commences with the rib cage of a horse, along with a set of hosts manufactured by industrial robots. The skeletal horse is shown in mid-gallop to subvert the iconography of such a depiction.[87] As for Clair's efforts in exposing the Western landscapes in connection with a world of robotics, he thought it sensible that it be done inside a single eye; craters and valleys are formed as the simulacrum of an iris.[56]

The music is composed by Ramin Djawadi, who also worked with showrunner Nolan on the TV series Person of Interest.[88] The main theme blends the use of bass notes, light arpeggios and melody, all of which complement the idea of an amusement park.[89] The first season soundtrack was released on December 5, 2016.[90]

Djawadi spoke about the modern songs used in the show, stating, "The show has an anachronistic feel to it, it's a Western theme park, and yet it has robots in it, so why not have modern songs? And that's a metaphor in itself, wrapped up in the overall theme of the show",[91] but credited Nolan with coming up with the idea.[92]

Player piano and strings renditions featured in Westworld include Radiohead's "No Surprises",[93] "Fake Plastic Trees", "Motion Picture Soundtrack" and "Exit Music (For a Film)",[94] Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun", The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black",[57] Scott Joplin's "Pine Apple Rag"[95] and "Peacherine Rag", Claude Debussy's "Reverie L.68",[96] The Cure's "A Forest",[97] The Animals' version of "The House of the Rising Sun", Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" and Nine Inch Nails' "Something I Can Never Have".[98] Licensing costs ranged from $15,000 to $55,000.[99]

The series premiered October 2, 2016 in North America and Australia,[100][101][102] and on October 4, 2016 in the UK and Ireland.[103] The series is broadcast on HBO in the United States, on HBO Canada in Canada, on HBO Latin America in Mexico, in Australia on Showcase,[104][102] and in the UK and Ireland on Sky Atlantic.[103]

The second episode was released on HBO in the US on October 7two days ahead of the episode's announced broadcast dateto avoid competing with the second U.S. presidential debate of 2016.[105][106]

Prior to the airing of Westworld, HBO held virtual reality exhibits at events like San Diego Comic-Con and Techcrunch Disrupt devoted to Westworld: A Delos Destination. Attendees were allowed to navigate the process by which guests would enter Westworld, and interact with the 3D environment.[57][107][108] Made to run on the HTC Vive virtual reality headset, the piece was conceived by showrunners Nolan and Joy. It was designed using Unreal Engine 4, combining computer-generated content and live action 360-degree video. Users received a binary code, permitting access to the website DiscoverWestworld.com as part of a viral marketing campaign. Visitors were shown a trailer of a fictional travel site, leading them to order a trip to Westworld. A chatbot featured on the website, named Aeden, is available as a Google Assistant action on the smart speaker Google Home.[109]

The first season of Westworld (subtitled The Maze) was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on November 7, 2017. It is the first scripted TV series to be released on 4K Blu-ray in the United States.[110]

Reception of the series has been largely positive, with particular praise for the visuals, story, and performances.[111][112][113] On the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 88% based on 78 reviews, with an average rating of 8.13/10, and an average episode score of 94%. The site's consensus reads "With an impressive level of quality that honors its source material, the brilliantly addictive Westworld balances intelligent, enthralling drama against outright insanity."[114] On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 74 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[115]

The editors of TV Guide placed Westworld fifth among the top ten picks for the most anticipated new shows of the 201617 season. In writer Tim Surette's overall review, he notes the perfect concept of blending the western premise into a futuristic setting, saying, "Well, Westworld has both, ensuring that it will be an exciting mashup of genres that will disrupt a television landscape that typically says we can only have one or the other." He also added, "The look of the show and its fine cast swing open the saloon doors, but the real treat will be the intelligent discussion of whether or not robots will eventually kill us all. Thankfully, creator Jonathan Nolan already showed us he's the go-to guy for A.I. with Person of Interest."[116] Mary McNamara of Los Angeles Times wrote in a lauded review, "It isnt just great television, its vivid, thought-provoking television that entertains even as it examines the darker side of entertainment."[117] Writing for San Francisco Chronicle, David Wiegand said, "Westworld isnt easy to understand at first, but you will be hooked nonetheless by unusually intelligent storytelling, powerful visuals and exceptionally nuanced performances."[118] Time's chief critic Daniel D'Addario wrote, "Its carefully chosen details add up to a pulp spectacular thats more thoughtful than any other of this falls new dramas."[119]

Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly also lauded the series and said, "The depth of Westworld lies not in asking questions about memory, free will, and what makes us human, but in whether we can become more human than what we let ourselves to be, whether our stories can be richer and more meaningful than what the culture allows."[120] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe quipped, "Westworld has fewer heroes than Game of Thrones, which makes it a bit harder to warm up to, but like a good, thought-provoking puzzle, it is compelling and addictive."[121] In a brief review from The Hollywood Reporter, Tim Goodman said, "Where Westworld is at its best is in the deeper issues that will unspool slowly, like a good mystery. Early episodes are adept at getting at the base attractions of the park and why people would come, but also in setting up a sense of confusion about motives. ... The series benefits from a number of standout performances."[122] Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote, "The reward, beyond the visual splendors youve come to expect from big-budget HBO productions, is a set of characters who grow ever more complex."[123] Several other publications wrote positive reviews, including Indiewire,[124] The A.V. Club,[125] RogerEbert.com,[126] The New Yorker,[127] and The Atlantic.[128]

However, in a moderate review for The New York Times, chief critic James Poniewozik said, "Its an ambitious, if not entirely coherent, sci-fi shoot-em-up that questions nihilistic entertainment impulses while indulging them."[129] Hank Stuever of The Washington Post also joins Poniewozik saying, "Westworld off as a dreary trot from start to finish; parts of it are as imaginative and intriguing as anything thats been on TV recently, particularly in the sci-fi realm," and further said, "Its definitely not the cyborg Deadwood, that some HBO fans were actively wishing for, nor does it roll out the welcome mat as a riveting, accessible adventure."[130] Chief journalist Rob Owen of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also critiqued the show less favorably saying, "It is the definition of a slow-burn series, a program that should be exciting rendered as kind of dull."[131] In a less enthusiastic review for Variety, Maureen Ryan said, "Westworld looks terrific; its directors have shot its Western locations to stunning effect. But its warmly saturated outdoor scenes and its surface slickness arent enough to mask the indecision, condescension, and hollowness at its core."[132]

The series premiere had viewership numbers slightly less than those for True Detective, but much better than Vinyl, that meant it was seen as "...off to a relatively promising start..."[142][143] Mandy Adams, of iTechPost noted that, "Emotional reactions on Twitter were estimated to be 545-percent greater compared to the debut of Vinyl and 326-percent higher than the latest The Leftovers season."[144] The U.S. series premiere attracted 1.96 million viewers, with 0.8 million in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic.[33] The premiere episode received 3.3 million viewers for its three Sunday night airings as well as on HBO's streaming platforms.[145] The season one finale received 2.2 million viewers for its initial broadcast, and increased to 3.5 million including replays and on-demand viewing. The first season had an average cumulative viewership of 12 million viewers, making it the most-watched first season of an HBO series,[6] and TorrentFreak gauged Westworld as the third most-torrented television show of 2016.[146]

Westworld has been nominated for 22 Emmy Awards,[147] 3 Golden Globe Awards, 2 Satellite Awards, 4 Critics' Choice Television Awards, and 2 Writers Guild of America Awards.

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Westworld (TV series) - Wikipedia