Still mad about HBO canceling Westworld? Dark is the mind-bending series that delivers a real ending

Let's face it-things got dark when HBO pulled the plug on Westworld. Created by the duo Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the dystopian sci-fi show debuted almost a decade ago in 2016. Based on 1973 Michael Crichton's film with the same title, this Evan Rachel Wood and Thandiwe Newton-starring show won several awards, including Emmys. So when the show was not renewed after four seasons, with several loose ends and unsolved queries, fans were left disappointed.

So if you are still fuming over the lack of closure, there's good news: Netflix's Dark offers a gripping alternative. It's smart, mysterious, and most importantly, it wraps up its story.

Netflix's Dark, the head-spinning sci-fi, is a perfect alternative to HBO's Westworld

With a rating of 8.7/10 on IMDb and 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, Netflix's Dark remains one of the most loved sci-fi shows even after five years since the series finale. Created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, Dark, Netflix's first German original series, has three seasons in total and spans across three years (2017-2020). The creators of the show planned the series with a clear beginning, middle, and end-with tight and intentional storytelling. Most importantly, it doesn't get cancelled before resolving its biggest mysteries. The finale season might end on an intense note and may leave you emotionally wrecked, but it successfully tries to close the unresolved ends.

Dark is set in a small, fictional, and mysterious town in Germany called Winden. It begins with the disappearance of a young boy called Mikkel Nielsen. What initially starts as a missing persons case spirals into a multi-generational mystery involving time travel, secret societies, and a web of interconnected families. Unlike Westworld, which increasingly expanded its world outward, Dark folds its story inward, exploring how events ripple across decades.

While Westworld leaned into high-tech dystopias and robot revolutions, Dark grounds in sci-fi setting-forests, caves, and small town eeriness. Multiple timeline-based stories are hard to pull off, but Dark does it brilliantly. If you are someone who loves pondering over timelines or obsessing over paradoxes, this series begs you to theorize. Unlike Westworld, those theories often lead to satisfying pay-offs.

Ultimately, what sets Dark apart from Westworld and many other ambitious sci-fi series is its discipline. Every twist, every jump through time, every eerie whisper through the woods is important. Initially, it might be complicated, but it easter eggs and theories make up for it in the end.

Honestly, Westworld fans deserved closure. They deserved to see what Dolores' final experiment truly meant- was it a reset, a judgment, or a final simulation? They deserved clarity on the fate of Outliers and whether humanity had any survivors or a future. Westworld was dropped due to constantly falling viewership, hence, the high cost of production forced HBO Max to cancel it. This could have been avoided if the show had been approached with a strategic plan like Dark.

With careful planning, high-concept sci-fi shows can be both mind and narratively satisfying. So if you are still furious over Westworld's cancellation, give Dark a try.

All episodes of Dark are available to watch on Netflix.

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Also read: 10 biggest twists from Netflix's Dark, ranked

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