HBO surprised some people recently when it canceled Westworld and announced that the existing seasons would shift to non-HBO platforms. Speaking to Variety, HBO programming boss Casey Bloys said the higher-ups spent some time thinking about what was the right amount of money to spend on HBO Max original shows. Second, the team considered if every HBO show needed to run on HBO. The answer was no.

The decision, in the case of Westworld, was to cancel the planned fifth season and shift Seasons 1-4 to free ad-support TV (FAST) channels.