**Spoilers ahead** To those who furrowed their brow at the season one finale of “Westworld,” I’m not sure what else you could’ve wanted. One major theory was confirmed (yep, William was The Man In Black all along), Ford unleashed his wild new narrative, narrative threads were closed, with a few tantalizingly left open for second two, and we got a glimpse at SAMURAI WORLD, which was, frankly, fucking awesome. Executive producers and showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy not only aimed high with “Westworld,” they nailed the target, and in the process, have created something historic for HBO.
With 2.2 million viewers tuning in last night for the finale, and a total of 3.6 million including those who watched replays or booted up HBO Go, it all helps tally up to making “Westworld” the most watched first season of an original HBO series ever. That will make likely make network executives swoon, particularly with “Game Of Thrones” — their other massive series — now headed toward the end. HBO now has their big anchor series to carry them ahead for the next few years.
So, it’s champagne all around at HBO, and work starts on the already renewed second season, but you’ll be waiting for a bit — it’s not expected to arrive until 2018. [Deadline]