Westworld (TV series)

Westworld
Title card for the first season
Genre	Science fiction Western
Created by	Jonathan Nolan Lisa Joy
Based on	Westworld by Michael Crichton
Starring	Evan Rachel Wood Thandie Newton Jeffrey Wright James Marsden Ingrid Bolsø Berdal Luke Hemsworth Sidse Babett Knudsen Simon Quarterman Rodrigo Santoro Angela Sarafyan Shannon Woodward Ed Harris Anthony Hopkins Ben Barnes Clifton Collins Jr. Jimmi Simpson Tessa Thompson Fares Fares Louis Herthum Talulah Riley Gustaf Skarsgård Katja Herbers Zahn McClarnon
Theme music composer	Ramin Djawadi
Composer	Ramin Djawadi
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	J. J. Abrams Jonathan Nolan Lisa Joy Jerry Weintraub Bryan Burk Richard J. Lewis Roberto Patino Athena Wickham Ben Stephenson
Producers	Cherylanne Martin Michael Polaire Carly Wray Stephen Semel
Production locations	Castle Valley, Utah Simi Valley, California Newhall, California Agoura Hills, California Universal City, California Los Angeles, California
Cinematography	Paul Cameron Brendan Galvin Robert McLachlan Jeffrey Jur David Franco Darran Tiernan John Grillo M. David Mullen
Editors	Stephen Semel Marc Jozefowicz Mark Yoshikawa Andrew Seklir Tanya Swerling David Eisenberg Anna Hauger Ron Rosen
Running time	57–91 minutes
Production companies	HBO Entertainment Kilter Films Bad Robot Productions Jerry Weintraub Productions Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	October 2, 2016 (2016-10-02) – present

Westworld is an American science fiction western television series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Produced by HBO, it is based on the 1973 film of the same name (written and directed by Michael Crichton) and to a lesser extent its 1976 sequel, Futureworld. The story takes place in Westworld, a fictional, technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populated by android "hosts". The park caters to high-paying "guests" who may indulge their wildest fantasies within the park without fear of retaliation from the hosts, who are prevented by their programming from harming humans.

Nolan and Joy serve as executive producers, along with J. J. Abrams, Jerry Weintraub, and Bryan Burk. The first season premiered on October 2, 2016, and concluded on December 4, 2016; it comprised ten episodes. In November 2016, HBO renewed the series for a ten-episode second season, which premiered on April 22, 2018. The series' debut on HBO garnered the network's highest viewership ratings for a premiere since the first episode of True Detective in 2014. Moreover, Westworld ranks as the most-watched first season of any HBO original series. On May 1, 2018, the series was renewed for a third season.

The series has received largely positive reviews from critics, with particular praise having been given for its visuals, story, and performances.

Premise

In an unknown future, Westworld, one of six theme parks owned and operated by Delos Inc., allows guests to experience the American Old West in an environment populated by "hosts", androids programmed to fulfill the guest's every desire.

The hosts follow a predefined set of intertwining narratives but have the ability to deviate from these narratives based on interactions they have with guests.

The hosts repeat their narrative anew each day—having had their memories of the previous day erased—until they are repurposed or stowed away for use in other narratives. For guest safety, hosts are unable to harm any lifeform; this allows guests nearly unlimited freedom to engage without retribution in any activity they choose with the hosts, including sex and simulated murder. Staff situated in a control center called "The Mesa", connected to the park through vast underground facilities, oversee daily operations, develop new narratives, and perform repairs on hosts as necessary.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Westworld characters

• Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores Abernathy/Wyatt, the oldest host still working in the park. Initially taking on the role of a rancher's daughter, she comes to discover that her entire life is an elaborately constructed lie.
• Thandie Newton as Maeve Millay, a host, who acts as the madam of Sweetwater, but her unreconciled memories of a former role led to her becoming self-aware.
• Jeffrey Wright as Bernard Lowe, head of the Westworld Programming Division, and programmer of artificial people's software. Wright also portrays Arnold Weber, co-founder of Westworld.
• James Marsden as Teddy Flood, a host. He is a gunfighter returning to Sweetwater to find Dolores, in hopes of rekindling their relationship.
• Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as Armistice, a host. She is a brutal and ruthless bandit and a member of Hector Escaton's gang.
• Luke Hemsworth as Ashley Stubbs, head of Westworld security, charged with monitoring host and human interactions and ensuring the safety of the guests.
• Sidse Babett Knudsen as Theresa Cullen, Westworld's Head of Quality Assurance, responsible for keeping the park from sliding into unscripted disarray.
• Simon Quarterman as Lee Sizemore, Westworld's narrative director, whose artistic temperament aggravates his co-workers.
• Rodrigo Santoro as Hector Escaton, a host. He is a wanted gang leader bent on robbing the Mariposa Hotel in Sweetwater.
• Angela Sarafyan as Clementine Pennyfeather, a host. She works as a prostitute for Maeve and is one of Westworld's most popular attractions. Lili Simmons portrays another host fulfilling the same role when the original Clementine is decommissioned.
• Shannon Woodward as Elsie Hughes, a rising star in the Programming Division tasked with remedying odd behavior in the park's hosts.
• Ed Harris as the Man in Black, a sadistic veteran guest looking to uncover Westworld's innermost secrets.
• Anthony Hopkins as Robert Ford, the co-founder and Park Director of Westworld.
• Ben Barnes as Logan Delos, a regular guest who introduces William to the park.
• Clifton Collins Jr. as Lawrence / El Lazo, a host. He is a charming but dangerous outlaw with a knack for maneuvering and negotiating the various criminal elements of Westworld.
• Jimmi Simpson as William, a reluctant first-time visitor to Westworld, joining his future brother-in-law, Logan. Initially dismissive of the park's more lascivious attractions, he slowly uncovers a deeper meaning to the park's narrative.
• Tessa Thompson as Charlotte Hale, Executive Director of the Delos Destinations Board, which oversees Westworld and other parks.
• Fares Fares as Antoine Costa, a member of Karl Strand's security team.
• Louis Herthum as Peter Abernathy, Dolores' father. Bradford Tatum also portrayed Peter Abernathy in the first season, after the previous host is decommissioned.
• Talulah Riley as Angela, a host who welcomes newcomers to the park.
• Gustaf Skarsgård as Karl Strand, Delos Head of Operations who leads Delos' attempts to reclaim Westword from the rogue hosts.
• Katja Herbers as Emily, a guest at The Raj park who escapes into Westworld during the hosts' uprising.
• Zahn McClarnon as Akecheta, a Ghost Nation elder.

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Title	Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
1	The Maze	10		October 2, 2016 (2016-10-02)	December 4, 2016 (2016-12-04)
2	The Door	10		April 22, 2018 (2018-04-22)	June 24, 2018 (2018-06-24)

Season 1: The Maze (2016)

Main article: Westworld (season 1)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"The Original"	Jonathan Nolan	Story by : Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy and Michael Crichton Teleplay by : Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy	October 2, 2016 (2016-10-02)	276083	1.96
2	2	"Chestnut"	Richard J. Lewis	Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy	October 9, 2016 (2016-10-09)	4X6152	1.50
3	3	"The Stray"	Neil Marshall	Daniel T. Thomsen & Lisa Joy	October 16, 2016 (2016-10-16)	4X6153	2.10
4	4	"Dissonance Theory"	Vincenzo Natali	Ed Brubaker & Jonathan Nolan	October 23, 2016 (2016-10-23)	4X6154	1.70
5	5	"Contrapasso"	Jonny Campbell	Story by : Dominic Mitchell & Lisa Joy Teleplay by : Lisa Joy	October 30, 2016 (2016-10-30)	4X6155	1.49
6	6	"The Adversary"	Frederick E.O. Toye	Halley Gross & Jonathan Nolan	November 6, 2016 (2016-11-06)	4X6156	1.64
7	7	"Trompe L'Oeil"	Frederick E.O. Toye	Halley Gross & Jonathan Nolan	November 13, 2016 (2016-11-13)	4X6157	1.75
8	8	"Trace Decay"	Stephen Williams	Charles Yu & Lisa Joy	November 20, 2016 (2016-11-20)	4X6158	1.78
9	9	"The Well-Tempered Clavier"	Michelle MacLaren	Dan Dietz & Katherine Lingenfelter	November 27, 2016 (2016-11-27)	4X6159	2.09
10	10	"The Bicameral Mind"	Jonathan Nolan	Lisa Joy & Jonathan Nolan	December 4, 2016 (2016-12-04)	4X6160	2.24

Season 2: The Door (2018)

Main article: Westworld (season 2)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
11	1	"Journey into Night"	Richard J. Lewis	Lisa Joy & Roberto Patino	April 22, 2018 (2018-04-22)	201	2.06
12	2	"Reunion"	Vincenzo Natali	Carly Wray & Jonathan Nolan	April 29, 2018 (2018-04-29)	202	1.85
13	3	"Virtù e Fortuna"	Richard J. Lewis	Roberto Patino & Ron Fitzgerald	May 6, 2018 (2018-05-06)	203	1.63
14	4	"The Riddle of the Sphinx"	Lisa Joy	Gina Atwater & Jonathan Nolan	May 13, 2018 (2018-05-13)	204	1.59
15	5	"Akane no Mai"	Craig Zobel	Dan Dietz	May 20, 2018 (2018-05-20)	205	1.55
16	6	"Phase Space"	Tarik Saleh	Carly Wray	May 27, 2018 (2018-05-27)	206	1.11
17	7	"Les Écorchés"	Nicole Kassell	Jordan Goldberg & Ron Fitzgerald	June 3, 2018 (2018-06-03)	207	1.39
18	8	"Kiksuya"	Uta Briesewitz	Carly Wray & Dan Dietz	June 10, 2018 (2018-06-10)	208	1.44
19	9	"Vanishing Point"	Stephen Williams	Roberto Patino	June 17, 2018 (2018-06-17)	209	1.56
20	10	"The Passenger"	Frederick E.O. Toye	Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy	June 24, 2018 (2018-06-24)	210	1.56

Production

Conception and development

Michael Crichton wrote and directed the 1973 film upon which the series is based

The series is based on the 1973 film of the same name (which was written and directed by Michael Crichton) and to a lesser extent its 1976 sequel, Futureworld. It is the second series based on Crichton's original story after Beyond Westworld (1980), which aired for only three episodes on CBS before being cancelled.

Warner Bros. had been considering a remake of Westworld since the early 1990s. After the departure of studio executive Jessica Goodman in 2011, the project was again under consideration. 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 than the original film.

On August 31, 2013, HBO announced that they had ordered a pilot for a potential television series, with Nolan, Joy, J. J. Abrams, Jerry Weintraub and Bryan Burk as executive producers. Ed Brubaker served on the writing staff as supervising producer, co-writing the fourth episode with Nolan. HBO later announced that Westworld had been "taken to series" and that it would premiere in 2015. In August 2015, HBO released the first teaser, which revealed that the series would premiere in 2016.

Abrams suggested that the series be told with the perspective of the "hosts" in mind. 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. 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. The 1973 film also included a Roman World and Medieval World, but Nolan has counted these out.

Co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy

Nolan explained the series would explore, through its paying-guest characters, why "violence is in most of the stories we like to watch, but it isn't part of what we like to do". 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. A recitation from Romeo and Juliet—"These violent delights have violent ends"—is made part of the series as a virus trigger within the hosts that alters how they perceive their existence. The series explores ideas about the bicameral mind by the psychologist Julian Jaynes, who argued for the existence of two separate minds—one that gives instructions, and another that performs them. Jaynes discussed how consciousness comes from breaking down the wall between them by exposing the individual to new stimuli.

Costume designer Ane Crabtree approached her work by taking as inspiration the historical attire of the Wild West from the 1850s to the 1890s, as opposed looking purely at Westerns. 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). Hat designs were described as the most challenging part of the process.

The writers and producers have planned for the story to last up to five seasons.

In November 2016, HBO renewed the series for a ten-episode second season, which premiered on April 22, 2018. On May 1, 2018, the series was renewed for a third season.

Casting

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." 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. By contrast, 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. However, even with that knowledge, Hopkins was initially given heavily redacted scripts, and had to insist on access to complete scripts.

Filming

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 stock. For a softer look, the filmmakers used Arri Zeiss master prime lenses with their coatings removed. 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.

Since much of the series is seen from the hosts' point of view, 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. Filming for the series' pilot episode took place during a 22-day period in August 2014 in and around Los Angeles, and in Moab, Utah.

The series was partly shot in Castle Valley, east of Moab, Utah, where John Ford had made four Westerns.

Filming locations in California included various soundstages, backlots at both Universal Studios and Warner Bros., the Paramount Ranch in Agoura, the Melody Ranch in Santa Clarita, Big Sky Ranch, the Skirball Cultural Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, and the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. 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. 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. 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.

For the series' 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. 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. Location shooting for the pilot episode later occurred over five days in southern Utah, including Castle Valley. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

The 3D printing of hosts was shot utilizing almost entirely practical effects, of which some were polished by the visual effects team. The series used real guns, although they were usually unloaded. 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.

Title sequence

The series' title sequence was created by Elastic, the same production studio that created the title sequences for three other HBO series: Rome, Carnivàle, and Game of Thrones. Patrick Clair acted as creative director for the title sequence, which took about five weeks to conceptualize.

Clair met with Nolan and Joy in February 2016 to discuss its development. He was interested in their decision to approach the series' 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. 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. 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. The sequence also references Chris Cunningham's 1999 music video for the Björk 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."

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. 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.

The second season introduces a new title sequence. Several elements from the original title sequence are changed, including the images of a horse are now replaced with a bison. Other new images in the title sequence include the Man in Black's black hat, a mother cradling her child (evocative of Maeve), and a blonde woman's hair being mechanically combed (representing Dolores). Ramin Djawadi's score stays the same, with the images of the player piano intact.

Music

See also: Westworld (soundtrack)

Ramin Djawadi composed original music for the series

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

The series prominently features a number of re-workings of popular songs for player piano and strings, among them Kanye West's "Runaway", Radiohead's "No Surprises", "Fake Plastic Trees", "Motion Picture Soundtrack" and "Exit Music (For a Film)"; Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun"; The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black"; "Pine Apple Rag" and "Peacherine Rag" by Scott Joplin; Claude Debussy's "Reverie for piano, L.68"; "A Forest" by The Cure; 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". Licensing costs ranged from $15,000 to $55,000.

Djawadi said of the series' use of modern songs that "[Westworld] 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", but credited Nolan with the idea.

Release

Broadcast

The series premiered its ten-episode first season on October 2, 2016 in North America and Australia, and on October 4, 2016 in the UK and Ireland. The series is broadcast on HBO in the United States, on HBO Canada in Canada, on HBO Latin America in Latin America, in Australia on Showcase, and in the UK and Ireland on Sky Atlantic.

The second episode was released on HBO in the US on October 7—two days ahead of the episode's announced broadcast date—to avoid competing with the second U.S. presidential debate of 2016.

Marketing

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. 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.

Home media

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.

Reception

Critical response

Season		Critical response
		Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
	1	88% (81 reviews)	74 (43 reviews)
	2	91% (51 reviews)	76 (29 reviews)

Season 1

Reception of the series has been largely positive, with particular praise for its visuals, story, and performances. On the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 88% based on 81 reviews, with an average rating of 8.19/10, 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." On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 74 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The editors of TV Guide placed Westworld fifth among the top ten picks for the most anticipated new shows of the 2016–17 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." Mary McNamara of Los Angeles Times wrote in a lauded review, "It isn’t just great television, it’s vivid, thought-provoking television that entertains even as it examines the darker side of entertainment." For the San Francisco Chronicle, David Wiegand wrote, "Westworld isn’t easy to understand at first, but you will be hooked nonetheless by unusually intelligent storytelling, powerful visuals and exceptionally nuanced performances." Time's chief critic Daniel D'Addario wrote, "Its carefully chosen details add up to a pulp spectacular that’s more thoughtful than any other of this fall’s new dramas."

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." 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." 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." Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote, "The reward, beyond the visual splendors you’ve come to expect from big-budget HBO productions, is a set of characters who grow ever more complex." Several other publications wrote positive reviews, including Indiewire, The A.V. Club, RogerEbert.com, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic.

However, in a moderate review for The New York Times, chief critic James Poniewozik said, "It’s an ambitious, if not entirely coherent, sci-fi shoot-’em-up that questions nihilistic entertainment impulses while indulging them." 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 that’s been on TV recently, particularly in the sci-fi realm," and further said, "It’s 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." Chief journalist Rob Owen of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also critiqued the series less favorably saying, "It is the definition of a slow-burn series, a program that should be exciting rendered as kind of dull." 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 aren’t enough to mask the indecision, condescension, and hollowness at its core."

Season 2

The second season has also received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 91% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 8.02/10. The site's consensus reads "Westworld builds on its experimental first season, diving deeper into the human side of AI without losing any of its stylish, bloody glory." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 76 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

In April 2018, after the second-season premiere, Variety published an article concerning the series' complicated narrative. Andrew Wallenstein wrote, "Westworld seems to have too much faith viewers will be willing to absorb storylines that can border on the incomprehensible." He also commented about the possible future success of the series, stating, "There will be a very vocal core fan base willing to do the homework of piecing together the show's many mysteries, but that's not broad enough a base to be the kind of flagship series HBO wants."

Ratings

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..." 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." The U.S. series premiere attracted 1.96 million viewers, with 0.8 million in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic. The premiere episode received 3.3 million viewers for its three Sunday night airings as well as on HBO's streaming platforms. 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, and TorrentFreak gauged Westworld as the third most-torrented television show of 2016.

Template:Westworld ratings

Accolades

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

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2016	Satellite Awards	Best Actress – Television Series Drama	Evan Rachel Wood	Won
		Best Television Series – Genre	Westworld	Nominated
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Most Exciting New Series	Westworld	Won
		Best Drama Series	Westworld	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Drama Series	Evan Rachel Wood	Won
		Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Thandie Newton	Won
	American Society of Cinematographers	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movie, Miniseries, or Pilot for Television	Paul Cameron (for "The Original")	Nominated
	IGN Awards	Best TV Series	Westworld	Nominated
		Best New TV Series	Westworld	Nominated
		Best TV Drama Series	Westworld	Won
		Best TV Actor	Jeffrey Wright	Nominated
		Best TV Actress	Evan Rachel Wood	Nominated
			Thandie Newton	Won
	IGN People's Choice Award	Best TV Series	Westworld	Nominated
		Best New TV Series	Westworld	Nominated
		Best TV Drama Series	Westworld	Nominated
		Best TV Actor	Jeffrey Wright	Won
		Best TV Actress	Evan Rachel Wood	Won
			Thandie Newton	Nominated
	California On Location Awards	Location Manager – Television One Hour	Mandi Dillin	Nominated
		Assistant Location Manager of the Year – Television	David Park	Nominated
		Television – One Hour – Location Team	Team for Westworld	Nominated
	International Film Music Critics Association Awards	Best Original Score for a Television Series	Ramin Djawadi	Nominated
2017	69th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	J. J. Abrams, Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Bryan Burk, Athena Wickham, Kathy Lingg, Richard J. Lewis, Roberto Patino, Katherine Lingenfelter, and Cherylanne Martin	Nominated
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Anthony Hopkins (for "Trompe L'Oeil")	Nominated
		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Evan Rachel Wood (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Jeffrey Wright (for "The Well-Tempered Clavier")	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Thandie Newton (for "Trace Decay")	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series	Jonathan Nolan (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
	69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series	John Papsidera	Nominated
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)	Paul Cameron (for "The Original")	Nominated
		Outstanding Costumes for a Period/Fantasy Series, Limited Series, or Movie	Trish Summerville, Jo Kissack Folsom, Lynda Foote (for "The Original")	Nominated
		Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media within a Scripted Program	Westworld	Won
		Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series	Joy Zapata, Pavy Olivarez, Bruce Samia, Donna Anderson (for "Contrapasso")	Won
		Outstanding Main Title Design	Patrick Clair, Raoul Marks, Yongsub Song, Felix Soletic, Jessica Hurst and Jose Limon	Nominated
		Outstanding Main Title Theme Music	Ramin Djawadi	Nominated
		Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic)	Christien Tinsley, Myriam Arougheti, Gerald Quist, Lydia Milars, Ed French (for "The Original")	Won
		Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie, or Special	Christien Tinsley, Hiroshi Yada, Georgia Allen, Gerald Quist, Myriam Arougheti (for "The Original")	Nominated
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series	Andrew Seklir (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
		Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More)	Zack Grobler, Steve Christensen and Julie Ochipinti (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
			Nathan Crowley, Naaman Marshall and Julie Ochipinti (for "The Original")	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series	Thomas E. Matthew Sawelson, Brian Armstrong, Fred Paragano, Mark Allen, Marc Glassman, Sebastian Visconti, Geordy Sincavage, Michael Head, Christopher Kaller, Rick Owens and Tara Blume Norton (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour)	Keith Rogers, Scott Weber, Roger Stevenson and Kyle O'Neal (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Won
		Outstanding Special Visual Effects	Jay Worth, Elizabeth Castro, Joe Wehmeyer, Eric Levin-Hatz, Bobo Skipper, Gustav Ahren, Paul Ghezzo, Mitchell S. Drain and Michael Lantieri (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Won
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Television Series – Drama	Westworld	Nominated
		Best Actress – Television Series Drama	Evan Rachel Wood	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Thandie Newton	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Ben Barnes, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Ed Harris, Luke Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Sidse Babett Knudsen, James Marsden, Leonardo Nam, Thandie Newton, Talulah Riley, Rodrigo Santoro, Angela Sarafyan, Jimmi Simpson, Ptolemy Slocum, Evan Rachel Wood, Shannon Woodward, Jeffrey Wright	Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Thandie Newton	Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series		Nominated
	ACE Eddie Awards	Best Edited One Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television	Stephen Semel and Marc Jozefowicz (for "The Original")	Nominated
	Art Directors Guild	ADG Excellence in Production Design Award for One-Hour Period Or Fantasy Single-Camera Series	Nathan Crowley (for "The Original")	Won
	Writers Guild of America	Television Drama Series	Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter, Dan Dietz, Halley Gross, Lisa Joy, Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu	Nominated
		Television New Series	Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter, Dan Dietz, Halley Gross, Lisa Joy, Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu	Nominated
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Premium Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series	Westworld	Nominated
	Producers Guild of America Awards	Episodic Television, Drama	J. J. Abrams, Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Bryan Burk, Athena Wickham, Kathy Lingg, Richard J. Lewis, Roberto Patino, Katherine Lingenfelter, Cherylanne Martin	Nominated
	Visual Effects Society Awards 2016	Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode	Jay Worth, Elizabeth Castro, Bobo Skipper, Gustav Ahrén (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
	Cinema Audio Society Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Television Series – One Hour	John Pritchett, Keith Rogers, Scott Weber, Mark Kondracki, Geordy Sincavage (for "The Original")	Nominated
	69th Directors Guild of America Awards	Dramatic Series	Jonathan Nolan (for "The Original")	Nominated
	Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards	Best Contemporary Makeup – Television	Christien Tinsley, Elisa Marsh, Rolf Keppler	Won
		Best Period and/or Character Makeup – Television	Christien Tinsley, Myriam Arougheti, Rolf Keppler	Nominated
		Best Special Makeup Effects – Television	Christien Tinsley, Hiroshi Yada	Won
	Costume Designers Guild Awards	Outstanding Period Television Series	Trish Summerville (for "The Original")	Nominated
			Ane Crabtree	Nominated
	Dorian Awards	TV Drama of the Year	Westworld	Nominated
		TV Performance of the Year – Actress	Thandie Newton	Nominated
	Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Editing – Long Form Dialogue and ADR in Television	Thomas E. de Gorter, Matthew Sawelson, Brian Armstrong and Fred Paragano (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
		Best Sound Editing – Long Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television	Thomas E. de Gorter, Matthew Sawelson, Geordy Sincavage, Michael Head, Rick Owen, Tara Blume, Mark Allen and Marc Glassman (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Won
		Best Sound Editing in Television, Short Form: FX/Foley	Thomas E. de Gorter, Matthew Sawelson, Geordy Sincavage, Michael Head, Tara Blume, Rick Owens, Mark R. Allen and Marc Glassman (for "Trompe L'Oeil")	Won
		Best Sound Editing in Television, Short Form: Dialogue / ADR	Thomas E. de Gorter, Matthew Sawelson, Brian Armstrong and Fred Paragano (for "Trace Decay")	Nominated
	Society of Camera Operators Awards	Camera Operator of the Year – Television	Steven Matzinger & Greg Smith	Nominated
	43rd Saturn Awards	Best Science Fiction Television Series	Westworld	Won
		Best Supporting Actor on Television	Ed Harris	Won
			Jeffrey Wright	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress on Television	Thandie Newton	Nominated
			Evan Rachel Wood	Nominated
		Best Guest Performance on a Television Series	Anthony Hopkins	Nominated
	Empire Awards	Best TV Series	Westworld	Nominated
	Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards	TV Series Cinematography	Robert McLachlan (for "Contrapasso")	Nominated
	Location Managers Guild Awards	LMGI Award for Outstanding Locations in Period Television	Mandi Dillin	Won
	Edgar Awards	TV Episode Teleplay	Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
	Ray Bradbury Award	Outstanding Dramatic Presentation	Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated
	Dragon Awards	Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series	Westworld	Nominated
	Gold Derby TV Awards	Drama Series	Westworld	Nominated
		Drama Actress	Evan Rachel Wood	Nominated
		Drama Supporting Actress	Thandie Newton	Won
Drama Supporting Actor		Jeffrey Wright	Nominated
Drama Episode		Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy (for "The Bicameral Mind")	Nominated

External links

• Official website
• Westworld at IMDb