The one-hour drama series Westworld kicks off its ten-episode season Sunday, October 2nd at 9pm, exclusively on HBO and HBO Canada.
Created for television by Jonathan Nolan (Interstellar, The Dark Knight, Person of Interest) and Lisa Joy (Pushing Daisies, Burn Notice), both of whom are executive producing and writing, with Nolan directing, the series is based on the 1973 film Westworld, written by Michael Crichton.
Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, Westworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin, exploring a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged.
Co-creator Nolan explained in a media release, “Building on the incredibly evocative concept of the original film, we wanted to pose the question: If you could be completely immersed in a fantasy, one in which you could do whatever you wanted, would you discover things about yourself that you didn’t want to know?”
Co-creator Joy added, “We also wanted to explore what it means to be human from the outside in – through the eyes of the ‘hosts’: the lifelike AI characters that are the main attractions of the park. It’s a meditation on consciousness – the blessing and the burden of it – beautifully portrayed by our remarkable cast.”
Westworld stars Anthony Hopkins (Academy Award winner for The Silence of the Lambs; Academy Award nominee for Remains of the Day, Nixon, Amistad), Ed Harris (Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee for HBO’s Game Change; Academy Award nominee for Pollock, Apollo 13), Evan Rachel Wood (Golden Globe nominee for Thirteen; Emmy and Golden Globe nominee for HBO’s Mildred Pierce), James Marsden (the X-Men films), Thandie Newton (Mission: Impossible II) and Jeffrey Wright (HBO’s Confirmation; Emmy and Golden Globe winner for HBO’s Angels in America).
Photo: HBO Canada/Westworld