HBO has now confirmed that Westworld season 2 will premiere next spring. When the show arrived last fall, it gave HBO something that the network had been looking for over many years: a buzzed-about genre hit to match Game of Thrones. Since Thrones first premiered, various HBO shows have come and gone without becoming the network's next big hit (see, for example, the period-music drama Vinyl). The hour-long, sci-fi/western hybrid that is Westworld finally bucked that trend and quickly earned a season 2 renewal. It even earned some Emmy nominations, including for Outstanding Drama, as the only HBO show in the category.

A remake of the 1973 film Westworld, which was written and directed by Michael Crichton, the HBO TV series hales from executive producers Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy and J.J. Abrams. Westworld season 1 told a compelling story about a robot-driven Western theme park, with a strong cast led by Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Thandie Newton, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright and Tessa Thompson. A new trailer for season 2 debuted last week at San Diego Comic-Con, and now we know more about when we will be seeing more Westworld.

The second season of Westworld, which is currently in production, will air in the spring of 2018 - as confirmed by a PR overview of the premiere dates for all of the current HBO/Cinemax TV series. Westworld aired its first season in the fall of 2016 but since it wasn’t on this fall’s schedule, it was soon made clear that we wouldn’t be seeing any new episodes until next year.

Westworld season 1 'Contrapasso' - Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood)

The Westworld season 2 Comic-Con trailer hinted at some dramatic developments (and lots of bloodshed) to come, in the episodes ahead. Following the surprise revelations at the end of Season 1, it looks like we’re heading for even more open conflict between the hosts and the guests of the eponymous park. Also, most of the cast appears to be back (sans Hopkins), and there’s a tiger, too.

Westworld’s spring scheduling is significant for HBO because it puts the series in the schedule spot that was held for years by Game of Thrones. The premium network’s flagship drama had aired all of its seasons, with the exception of the current one, in the March/April window, and the placing of Westworld there indicates that it’s the heir apparent as HBO’s major dramatic show. Whether Game of Thrones will return in the summer of 2018 for its final episodes, or sometime later, remains unclear.

NEXT: How Westworld Star Found Out About the Show's Multiple Timelines

Westworld season 2 premieres Spring 2018.

Source: HBO