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HBO’s Westworld renewed for Season 2 to premiere in 2018

By Hector Cruz

HOLLYWOOD, CA - SEPTEMBER 28: A general view of atmosphere at the premiere of HBO's 'Westworld' at TCL Chinese Theatre on September 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Barry King/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CA - SEPTEMBER 28: A general view of atmosphere at the premiere of HBO's 'Westworld' at TCL Chinese Theatre on September 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Barry King/Getty Images) /
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HBO has renewed three of their new series, including Westworld, for second seasons.

HBO announced this week that it is renewing freshman drama Westworld for Season 2 after it developed a strong fan base since debuting this fall, out-rating episodes of Game of Thrones and True Detective at this point in their first seasons. The New York Times reports that the premium cable network has also picked up second seasons of comedies Divorce and Insecure, which have aired alongside Westworld on Sunday nights.

Westworld has quickly become the third highest-rated scripted series on cable, attracting almost three million viewers each week, and averaging a gross audience of 11.7 million total viewers across all platforms, including HBO Go, HBO Now and via DVR viewings. Sadly, the sci-fi thriller, based on the 1973 Michael Crichton movie of the same name, isn’t expected to return until 2018 due to its “big and ambitious budget,” reportedly costing $100 million for the first season alone. Season 2 will again consist of 10 episodes.

The show’s success comes at a perfect time for the network following the big-budget failure of 70’s drama Vinyl, which was quickly cancelled after one season. The most popular series in the channel’s history, Game of Thrones, is also nearing its final 13 episodes, which will be spread out over two seasons.

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As for Divorce and Insecure, neither has attracted a large audience, though the latter from Issa Rae and produced by Larry Wilmore has been a critical darling and recently edged out the former in the demo (0.17 vs. 0.16) despite drawing a smaller audience of 388,000 live viewers compared to 512,000 viewers. Both will be back next year.

“If you’re going to take an honest and dark comedic look at divorce, it’s not going be for everybody,” Casey Bloys, the president of programming for HBO, said of the Sarah Jessica Parker vehicle, which has received mixed reviews from critics.

HBO also recently announced that they have cancelled Bill Simmon’s talk show Any Given Wednesday, which recently aired its final episode. Bloys noted that the sportswriter “wasn’t totally comfortable in front of a camera,” but may be used behind the scenes while he’s under contract for the next two years.

Next: Westworld Season 1, Episode 3 recap: Biggest WTF moments

Meanwhile, upcoming shows include the limited series The Young Pope with Jude Law and the star-studded Big Little Lies, along with comedy Crashing from Pete Holmes and Judd Apatow, in addition to the final seasons of Girls and The Leftovers.

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