Westworld sequel stars Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill, Stuart Margolin, John Ryan, and Yul Brynner, who makes a cameo appearance in a dream sequence. Other than Brynner, none of the cast members from the original film appear, and original writer-director Crichton was not involved. The story is set two years after the Westworld tragedy, with the Delos corporation having reopened the park. The story starts when newspaper reporter Chuck Browning (Peter Fonda) and TV reporter Tracy Ballard (Blythe Danner) are invited to review the park. "Beyond Westworld" was created by Michael Crichton which served as a continuation of the two
The Original (Westworld) exceptionally lifelike machines". Zack Handlen of "The A.V. Club" wrote in his review, "'The Original' is a terrific way to start. There are all sorts of possibilities here, and actors who don't get much to do (Thandie Newton, hello) but who'll presumably be more important as events unfold. And it's impressive to see how, with just some minor tweaking, the show manages to remake "Westworld" into something distinctively new." He gave the episode an A-. Liz Shannon Miller of IndieWire wrote in her review, "It's just the first episode, and already that control seems in flux as more questions arise.