The hit sci-fi drama started out as a dark Wild West odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the birth of a new form of life on Earth. But with Season 3 moving beyond the park, the playground just got a whole lot bigger.

“It’s very different this season. The goal from the beginning was: Find the future. If you go out in the world, the future is there,” says series co-creator Jonathan Nolan.

The crew found their vision of the future in Singapore, where this season was largely shot. “The streets look beautiful, gleaming,” says co-creator Lisa Joy. “It really looks idyllic in a way, and ordered. But as Dolores comes to understand the world, she realises that there is a darkness underlying that order.”

“Dolores discovers that in the real world there has been some serious data collecting going on, just like the place that she came from,” says Wood. “She learns about this large company, Incite, which has all the promises of this utopia and a way to really carve out your life for you.” 

But Dolores, of all people, knows not to trust humanity’s idea of utopia…

New faces to look out for include Golden Globe nominee Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman) as Caleb, Emmy winner Lena Waithe (Ready Player One) as Ash, Vincent Cassel (Ocean’s Twelve, Black Swan) as Serac, Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy) as Martin Connells and NFL star Marshawn Lynch as a badass named – wait for it – Giggles. Also see if you can spot Avengers’ Mantis, Pom Klementieff, and Grammy-winning American rapper Kid Cudi.

“Lisa and Jona pitched me this idea for Caleb and my mind was blown,” says Paul. “Westworld is so ambitious and they’re not afraid to take giant swings, and this season completely takes Westworld to an entire different level.”

“The first two seasons do not paint a very warm picture of human behaviour, so for the third season we wanted a slightly more sympathetic take on it,” explains Nolan, adding, “With Caleb, we’re introduced to a different understanding of humanity.”

“We wanted this season to be hopeful,” says Joy, “and the thing that I’ve always admired about Aaron Paul’s acting is he so easily channels the everyman.”

Well, the everyman moonlighting as a criminal, perhaps. “You would imagine that a total surveillance state means no more crime,” says Nolan. “That’s not how things work out. Crime is part of our economy. It’s not going anywhere.” 

In the series, Nolan explains, an app called Rico is designed to facilitate underworld deals. “You and I can have an exchange of services that the government cannot possibly track or trace, that is infallible, meaning I can’t cheat you, you can’t cheat me. You download the app, and specify the level of criminality you are willing to participate in. Caleb is not willing to participate in what we call ‘personals’ – kidnapping, murder – the heavy sh*t. Petty larceny, grand theft auto, all those things, sure.”

“I think Caleb has nothing left to lose,” says Joy. “And maybe he doesn’t value his life that much, honestly. But the one thing that doesn’t really stop, is his capacity to feel for others. … So when he finds Dolores, his programming insists that he save her.”

[Spoiler alert]: That’s the really big news for Season 3: Caleb and Dolores. “While Dolores is very hard to kill, she is capable of dying, and of needing help, and being vulnerable,” says Wood. “She literally falls into Caleb’s arms, much like the way she fell into William’s arms. So I think right away we know that something’s about to begin.” 

The question is, will either Dolores or Caleb really get to choose what lies ahead?

“In Season 3 … the show suggests for the first time that the robots aren’t the only ones whose lives conform to existing scripts,” says The Atlantic. “Determinism aside, this is a zanier, sillier Westworld, and much more entertaining for it … but through it all, the show’s anxiety about free will—and its extension of that conundrum to its human characters—is apparent.” Westworld, they add, takes “the data mining and user profiling of contemporary life to its logical, dystopian extreme.”

“What if thirty more years elapse, exactly the trajectory we’re on right now?” asks Nolan. “What does that world look like?”

For the show’s creators, the answer is Westworld.

Westworld has won seven Emmys to date, including Best Supporting Actress (Thandie Newton) in 2018, with a further 33 nominations. The series has been nominated for four Golden Globes, including Best Drama Series. It’s #71, IMDB’s Top Rated TV Shows, with an 8.7/10 rating, and holds an 84% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 85% audience score for Season 3 so far.

Westworld S1-3 is available to watch on Showmax here. With all the buzz currently being around staying indoors, investing your time in watching this is one of the best decisions you’ll ever make in your viewing life, trust us.

Coming to Showmax and M-Net every Monday, starting 16 March 2020, we (courtesy of the Showmax cool kids) were kindly given the opportunity to checkout the first 4 episodes of the much anticipated third season. As always – we came, we watched and we are ready to share our thoughts on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDJbFA32_QY

Despite us temporarily losing touch with it in S2 (which we made up for), we have always taken a liking to a show that was created and (still is being) overseen by three of the best and most accomplished writers, producers and directors of our time, namely Jonathan Nolan (Person of Interest), Lisa Joy (Burn Notice) and J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias).

The plot for the upcoming season has been kept under wraps and we were also made to promise to not reveal too much so fear not, there won’t be any spoilers here. And for those who aren’t too familiar with it (and if so, why exactly?), this hit HBO series is generally a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the birth of a new form of life on Earth, exploring a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged. Yes this may sound confusing but that’s part of the charm and intrigue that Westworld offers, the new season is no different and continues in the very same way while managing to keep you hooked throughout.

It won’t come as a surprise that visually it’s a spectacular watch with the images being crisp and will have you crying out to watch on an HDTV. The story line, unlike previous seasons, is also easy to follow this time around but (still) with a certain level of complexity attached to it.

Westworld is one of the most intelligent shows around and isn’t easy to follow especially if you miss one episode or a certain scene for that matter, it forces you to pay attention to every single thing, action and dialogue that goes on. Part of the reason why we gave up on it in the second season is the fact that we felt it was slow in building up, we’re pleased to confirm that there is no such thing with this installment. It’s like the creators learned from the previous seasons and have put everything right with this one.

Very much shot in a futuristic world, the third season relies heavily on technology and’s amazing to see how it’s cleverly implemented to bring the whole story together. Us being gadget junkies here at TWFLD, we couldn’t help but be attracted and blown away by the array of gadgets on offer and how they’re slotted into the overall story line.

Clever, intelligent, visually appealing complete with nice pacing, the third season of Westworld is easily the best season yet. The only bad thing about this whole thing is that we now have to wait to checkout the rest of the episodes. It’s more than worth your time, be sure to check it out when it lands on both Showmax and M-Net every Monday, starting 16 March 2020.

Huge thanks to the team at Showmax for the pre-screener.

ZAC & MIA S2
Binge now

Zac & Mia, based on the multi-award-winning novel by AJ Betts, centres on two teenagers battling cancer in the same hospital. In the everyday world, Zac and Mia would have nothing in common, but in the hospital, where they’re the only teens on the ward, they develop an unbreakable bond.

In Season 2, Zac looks forward to things going back to normal as he returns home, but soon discovers that normal is not what it once was. Mia embarks on physiotherapy and is learning to adjust to life after her operation, but she has a long, hard road ahead of her. The one thing they have is each other, but could what brought them together become the thing that tears them apart?

Common Sense Media rates the show as 13+, saying Zac and Mia “examines the inner turmoil that comes with having a serious illness, but also the hope and clarity that can be found when people get real with one another.”

They also give the show kudos for “showing the mental health repercussions that come along with trying to be ‘strong’ for your family and friends, and how even the most stoic among us need the permission to fully express and experience our emotions.”

THE ORVILLE S2
Binge now

Series creator Seth McFarlane (the Oscar-nominated creator of Family Guy and Ted) is Ed Mercer, captain of the exploratory space vessel The Orville. He faces intergalactic challenges and interpersonal dynamics along with his crew, 400 years in the future.

Inspired by classic series like Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, Season 2 of this irreverent space adventure promises more character-driven drama (and comedy), with The Orville on course to make first contact with new alien civilisations, return to Moclus, and confront the Krill.

EMERGENCE S1
Binge now

Long Island police chief Jo Evans (Golden Globe nominee Allison Tolman from Fargo) investigates a case involving a young child found unscathed at the site of a mysterious plane accident. The girl has no memory of who she is or how she got there, but her arrival is marked by unexplained phenomena and electronic disruptions.

PRESS S1
First on Showmax, binge now

Staffers at two newspapers – a left-leaning broadsheet and a right-leaning populist tabloid – fight for truth, entertainment and the ultimate scoop as two British newspapers go head-to-head in a press world fraught with scandals, under pressure from the 24 hour news cycle, and constantly evolving in the digital age.

NOUGHTS + CROSSES
Express from M-Net; Thursdays from 12 March

The highly anticipated BBC sci-fi adaptation of the first book in Malorie Blackman’s best-selling young adult novel series is set in a dystopian alternate history where black “Cross” people rule over white “Noughts”. Against a backdrop of prejudice, distrust and rebellion, childhood friends Sephy and Callum must fight for more than simply the right to be together.

WESTWORLD S3
Same time as M-Net, express from the US, Mondays from 16 March

Sci-fi drama Westworld is a dark wild west odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the birth of a new form of life on Earth. And this season, they’re knocking it “out of the park”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64CYajemh6E&feature=emb_title

But wait, there more…

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE S6 – Comedy | Won two Golden Globes, for Best Comedy Series and Best Actor (Andy Samberg) | Binge now
SUPERSTORE S4 – Comedy | Teen Choice Award nominee for Choice TV Actress: Comedy (America Ferrera) | Binge now

To see everything on Showmax in March, click here. and as always, please note the schedule is subject to change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64CYajemh6E&t=1s

The hit HBO series is generally a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the birth of a new form of life on Earth, exploring a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged.

Returning cast members include Golden Globe nominee Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores, Emmy winner Thandie Newton as Maeve, Oscar nominee Ed Harris as Man in Black, Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Wright as Bernard, People’s Choice nominee Tessa Thompson as Charlotte, and Screen Actors Guild nominees Luke Hemsworth as Stubbs and Rodrigo Santoro as Hector Escaton.

New faces this season include Golden Globe nominee Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Emmy winner Lena Waithe (Master of None, A Black Lady Sketch Show), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), Lena Waithe (A Black Lady Sketch Show, Master of None), Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi), Marshawn Lynch (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), John Gallagher Jr. (The Newsroom), Michael Ealy (Stumptown) and Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy).

You (like us) are probably in need of catching up after seeing all the above, Showmax has S1-2 available here. S3 is scheduled for both the streaming service as well as on M-Net every Monday, starting 16 March 2020. More than enough time to catch-up before then we reckon, better start now.