*UPDATE*

HBO President of Programming Casey Bloys made this official announcement today:

“I am thrilled to announce the pickup of our three fall series, all of which have distinctive, original voices. Critics and viewers alike have welcomed Westworld and Insecure, as well as the return of Sarah Jessica Parker to the network after 12 years with Divorce.”

This, after saying late last week that the show’s prospects were “looking really good.” So that’s that, folks! It’ll be back.

But there’s a catch…

We may have to wait until 2018 for the next season. Womp Womp!

Original Report:

You’ve heard it before. There’s been lots of chatter around the idea that HBO is hoping that Westworld becomes the next Game Of Thrones. The reviews have been great so far for its inaugural season, but will the ratings justify a continuation for the highly ambitious series? After all, Westworld can’t possibly become the next Game Of Thrones if it can’t manage to get picked up.

HBO President of Programming Casey Bloys was asked about the status of a second season for Westworld by Variety, and here’s what he told the outlet:

“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.”

Something to consider is the fact that, while Westworld opened to the strongest debut ratings for any new series on HBO in the last three years, it’s still not the juggernaut Game of Thrones was in its first season. Just for the sake of comparison, sci-fi/western just had its sixth episode, which pulled in 1.64 million viewers. When Thrones aired the sixth episode of its first season, it pulled in 2.44 million. So that’s 800,000 shy of that mark. For a series that carries a hefty $100 million price tag for its first season, HBO is probably hoping its audience grows. 

If you haven’t checked out Westworld yet, you’re missing quite the star-studded affair. The show features the talents of Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Jimmi Simpson, Rodrigo Santoro, Shannon Woodward, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Ben Barnes, Simon Quarterman, Angela Sarafyan, Luke Hemsworth and Clifton Collins, Jr.

The seventh episode, “Trompe L’Oell,” airs this Sunday.

SOURCE: ComicBook.com