To little surprise, the watercooler hit will be back, though it's unclear how long the Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan drama will take off between seasons.

HBO has booked a return trip to Westworld.

To little surprise, the premium cable network has renewed the heavily dissected sci-fi drama for a third season. Still to be determined is just when season three will return after the Warner Bros. Television project took more than a year between seasons so showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan could complete writing the complex sophomore run before production began in a bid to keep the twisty series from experiencing the multiple delays that plagued its freshman run.

“It’s been an extraordinary pleasure to work with the exceptionally talented Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, as well as their gifted cast and crew,” HBO programming president Casey Bloys said Tuesday in a statement. “From the inspired storytelling to the incredible visuals, we are so excited to see where the next chapter will take us.”

While it has become a watercooler hit and critical favorite, season two of Westworld returned April 22 mostly even with its 2016 premiere with 3 million viewers across multiple platforms (including HBO Go and HBO Now). That's off a modest 9 percent from the 3.3 million who tuned in for the series premiere.

HBO has a lot riding on Westworld, with the J.J. Abrams-produced drama considered the heir apparent to Game of Thrones. While the cabler is developing multiple Game of Thrones offshoots, Bloys has remained adamant that none will premiere until well after the final season of the flagship — which will bow sometime in 2019.

HBO's remaining drama roster includes season two of Big Little Lies, anthology True Detective, David Simon's The Deuce, Marti Noxon's Sharp Objects, Succession, Abrams' Lovecraft Country and Demimonde and Nicole Kidman and David E. Kelley's The Undoing. On the pilot side, the network is reteaming with Damon Lindelof for Watchmen and also has Euphoria. The Westworld renewal comes on the heels of HBO's decision to cancel the Alan Ball family drama Here and Now, which starred Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter, after one season.

Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright and James Marsden lead the ensemble cast of the Bad Robot- and Kilter Films-produced Westworld from Warner Bros. Television, where Joy, Nolan and Abrams are all under overall deals.

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