Westworld, The Nevers to be removed from HBO Max

Despite its recent cancellation, you would expect that a series as acclaimed as Westworld would remain on HBO Max for future viewing, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Deadline has reported that Westworld, as well as The Nevers, will be removed from HBO Max. This seems to be yet another cost-cutting measure from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, but it likely won’t sit well with fans who expect to be able to watch HBO shows on the studio’s own streaming services.

Deadline hears that both Westworld and The Nevers are “likely to resurface on other company platforms” after they are removed from HBO Max. This also marks the official cancellation of The Nevers, which aired the first half of its debut season last year. The second half of the first season hasn’t been scheduled, but with the series being removed from HBO Max, it will complete its run wherever it ends up. Sources told Deadline that the storyline has “been crafted in a way that it concludes” with the final six episodes.

Set in Victorian London, The Nevers follows a group of people, mostly women, known as the Touched, who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities. Among them are Amalia True (Laura Donnelly), a mysterious and quick-fisted widow, and her best friend Penance Adair (Ann Skelly), a brilliant inventor. The series was created by Joss Whedon, who departed halfway through its production and was replaced by Philippa Goslett.

Based on the 1973 movie written and directed by Michael Crichton, Westworld tells a mind-bending story that begins in a technologically advanced Wild West amusement park populated by androids known as hosts who exist purely for high-paying guests to indulge their wildest fantasies. Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy had hoped for one more season to wrap up the story. “We always planned for a fifth and final season,” Nolan told THR in October. “We are still in conversations with the network. We very much hope to make them.” Joy added, “Jonah and I have always had an ending in mind that we hope to reach. We have not quite reached it yet.“