Westworld

The story is set in and around Westworld, a fictional, technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populated by android "hosts". The theme 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; the computer memory banks of the hosts are reset to their starting code each night. One of the creators of the hosts' software has a breakdown and adds code to allow them, over decades, to become sentient. This sets the hosts on a path to wipe out humanity. Later in the series, the hosts move outside the theme park into the real world, in the mid-21st century, where people's lives are driven and controlled by a powerful artificial intelligence named Rehoboam.

Nolan and Joy served as showrunners. The second, third, and fourth season followed in April 2018, March 2020, and June 2022, respectively. Nolan and Joy planned a fifth and final season, and were in negotiations with HBO to produce it, but HBO canceled the series in November 2022. The series was removed from HBO Max on December 18, 2022.

Westworld's debut on HBO had the network's highest viewership ratings for a premiere since the first episode of True Detective, in 2014. Westworld's first season was the most-watched first season of any HBO original series, until The Last of Us debuted in 2023. The first season also received critical acclaim for its performances, visuals, narrative, themes, and Ramin Djawadi's soundtrack. Reception of the series declined from the second season onward, with criticism for the scripts, characterization, and narrative opacity. By the end of the fourth season's run, average viewership for the series had fallen by 81% compared to the first season. It received numerous awards, winning nine Primetime Emmy Awards out of 54 nominations. Thandiwe Newton won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2018.