HBO Gives Early Renewal For 'Westworld' Season 4

Though the third season seems to be watched by fewer people than previous seasons, HBO is committed to “Westworld.” So much so, the network has already given the sci-fi series early renewal for a fourth outing, while Season 3 is still airing.

HBO has announced that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are returning to tell another season’s worth of stories for “Westworld” in the future. Based on the film of the same name, written by Michael Crichton, “Westworld” tells the story of a future where robots are used as attractions in a highly-advanced theme Western-themed amusement park. While there, patrons are able to live out fantasies without the concern of harming real humans. Of course, that’s just the beginning, as the series has gone pretty far past that original concept in the subsequent seasons.

“From the western theme park to the technocratic metropolis of the near future, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed every twist and turn from the minds of master storytellers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy,” said President of HBO Programming, Casey Bloys. “We can’t wait to see where their inspired vision takes us next.”

Even with “Westworld” continuing to be one of the more popular series on HBO, the show isn’t without controversy. After a blockbuster first season, the second batch of episodes polarized viewers, with some writing of “Westworld” completely. However, the new season, which premiered mere weeks ago, was seen as a bit of a reboot of the show, allowing for new stories to take place in hopes of enticing spurned viewers back to the series. Of course, that new direction hasn’t been universally lauded, as one of the show’s actors, Ed Harris, recently spoke out about his displeasure with how his character is used in Season 3.

Obviously, with Season 3 still airing, it’s unclear when Season 4 might be premiering. The show is one of the more labor-intensive series on air, with its big budget and epic scale. So, we don’t know when the next round of episodes might hit HBO.