Westworld

Westworld begins in a luxury theme park where human guests live out Western adventures among artificial people known as hosts. The guests can leave. The hosts repeat lives designed by somebody else, with staff working behind the scenes to keep the experience convincing.

Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy's series is at its strongest when the spectacle leads back to a question about the people inside it. Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton and Jeffrey Wright give those questions emotional weight, while Anthony Hopkins and Ed Harris supply very different kinds of authority.

The first season is the clearest recommendation. Later seasons change the scale and ask more patience, but the ambition remains part of the attraction. The series ended after four seasons without the planned fifth, so do not begin expecting every thread to receive a final resolution.

If the premise appeals, avoid reading about the characters beforehand. Discovering how this place works is much of the pleasure. Severance and Black Mirror are natural companions for more uneasy encounters between technology and human behaviour.