"Westworld" has ended its first Season this past Sunday, Dec. 4 but Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes has already stated the show may become as big, if not bigger, than "Game of Thrones."
Both "Game of Thrones" and "Westworld" air on HBO, a property of Time Warner, and both have had highly successful premiere Seasons. According to the Wrap, Bewkes commented on the latter's runaway success during the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference held in New York.
"'Westworld' is a big success," he stated before alluding to the success of the show's recent finale episode. "The show actually just finished and had the biggest first year of any series, including 'Game of Thrones.'"
The finale episode of "Westworld" reportedly garnered 2.2 Million viewers on live telecast through HBO. However, live viewing is just a small piece of the total viewers and it is further stated that across all platforms, such as online streaming, the series averaged around 12 Million viewers in total.
While impressive for a show on its first Season, this is still dwarfed by the success of "Game of Thrones," which has managed an average of 23 Million viewers across all platforms.
"Game of Thrones" is ending soon, with only two Seasons left and it is stated that Time Warner and HBO may be looking to "Westworld" as their next big hit. The series thus far has garnered positive reviews and the ratings further indicate it will be the main focus of the network once "Game of Thrones" is gone.
Both shows also have a wealthy amount of violence and sex, Vanity Fair reported. These are not the main selling point of either show but they have become highlights for many audience members.
"Westworld" reportedly has an advantage to remain fresh without becoming an anthology series due to the finale episode teasing other parks, such as one that is populated by samurai warriors instead of cowboys.
"Game of Thrones" Season 7 will air in Summer 2017 and "Westworld" Season 2 is currently scheduled for a 2018 release.