As far as television shows go, HBO’s Westworld has definitely gotten our attention. So much so that we’ve dedicated an entire podcast called Violent Delights for it (you should really listen to it if you haven’t already). Judging by people’s reactions on social media, everyone who is watching the show has their theories about the park, the hosts, QA, and Ford. Now, as we reach the midway point of the series, HBO president of programming Casey Bloys is addressing the future of Westworld and some of those fan theories that are floating around. More on the story below.
In an interview with Variety, Bloys spoke highly of how Westworld was performing in the ratings, but stopped short of saying that it would get renewed for Season 2.
“I want to get a very complete picture of the ratings, which seem to be doing very well, so we’re happy with that. [The executive producers are] going to talk to us about what they envision a second season being. But right now I would say it’s looking really good. We’re very pleased with how it’s doing.”
It’s not that Bloys isn’t confident in the show. The fact that he spoke highly of it shows that he does have confidence in it, and wouldn’t be saying such things if he didn’t. But it is still very interesting to see why he hasn’t confirmed that the series would be getting renewed, especially since everyone on social media is on board with it. Speaking of which, Bloys also took some time to address those fan theories that are floating around on social media, going as far as saying that some of them “are close”:
“There are a lot of theories out there, and with some of them, I’ve been very impressed with how they’ve constructed the guesses. I’ll just say, they’re getting close.”
Obviously, they’re are a few big ones, like the idea that William (Jimmi Simpson) is The Man In Black (Ed Harris) – although that seemed to be disproven towards the end of The Stray. Or that Westworld is not even on planet Earth – not entirely sure how that would have an effect on the narrative. Or even the idea that Arnold’s consciousness or some aspect of him was built into Bernard (Jeffery Wright), who is a host. With many theories out there, it’s hard to figure out which ones are “close.”
But it seems that Bloys is enjoying how the show is bringing people together to make these theories, and that the end will be a satisfying one where all our questions will be answered:
“All I would say is, it’s a very satisfying end. I think questions will be answered. I love reading the fan theories online. I think it’s great the way people have engaged. I’m just pleased to see the reception from an engagement point of view, and that it has started all of these conversations. I think people will get the answers they’re looking for by the end of Season One. A lot of the ones that people are buzzing about.”
Westworld airs on Sundays at 9pm on HBO.
[Source: Variety]
Am I wrong it thinking it should be a tight 1 and done type of story?
Comment by Mo Dane — October 29, 2016 @ 7:33 pm