'Westworld' Ends First Season on High Note

Sunday's season finale of HBO's Westworld was a ratings success, setting a new series high and ending the show's first season in positive territory. Now viewers just have to wait more than year, and perhaps as long as two years, until the next season hits the air.

The season-ending episode, which clocked in at 90 minutes instead of the usual hour, drew 2.2 million viewers to the live broadcast on the HBO cable network. When you take into account those viewers who watched Sunday night on HBO's digital streaming platforms, that number rises to 3.6 million.

Those ratings are very good for Westworld when compared to itself; the episode rose compared to last week's ratings and set a series high mark. But, more importantly, they're good numbers compared to any other HBO series. Westworld's average of 12 million viewers per episode (when delayed viewing is figured in) makes it the most-watched first season of any HBO series to date.

The only problem now is that Westworld will be on hiatus until sometime in 2018. That leaves HBO with a fantasy-drama vacuum until Game of Thrones premieres its seventh season, and there is not yet a definite official date for that premiere. It also leaves Westworld fans in limbo for a very long time, running the risk that the series will have to start all over again to build a fan base for its second season.