'The Leftovers' HBO TV Show, Book Adaptation: Series Creator Dishes on Justin Theroux & Liv Tyler Fantasy/Drama
The Leftovers co-creator talked with Entertainment Weekly about the idea behind HBO's newest series and also how he was nervous returning to the small screen after the success of his co-creation Lost.
Damon Lindelof was at first unsure if he should work on another television show after Lost ended in 2010.
"When Lost was ending... The way I was answering the 'What's next?' question was, 'I don't really want to think about it right now-I just want to enjoy this process,' " he told the publication's 2014 Preview Issue. "But the truth was, 'I don't know if I can ever do another television show again because I'm so terrified that it'll just be so much less than Lost' and I didn't quite know any classy way of articulating that idea...I went off into movie-ville with no real strong feeling about whether or not I was going to do TV again."
He worked on major motion pictures for a while, including Prometheus and Star Trek: Into Darkness, but then a New York Times book review caught his attention.
The Leftovers is an adaptation of Tom Perotta's 2011 bestseller by the same name. After reading critic Stephen King give Perotta's novel rave reviews, Lindelof got the book and read it immediately.
"I got maybe 50 pages in before I decided: This should be a television show and I need to collaborate with Tom [Perotta, who is an exec producer and co-wrote the pilot with Lindelof] on that show," he said. "It took a year for things to sort themselves out but there was never any doubt as to like, 'Should this be my next project?' It was love at first sight."
The series takes place in a suburban community called Mapleton. A Rapture has occurred and the people left behind need to rebuild their lives after more than 100 others have disappeared.
"This is going to be a show about sudden and abrupt loss and more importantly, what will at least in its initial presentation seem to be one that you can't receive closure from," Lindelof said. "If someone dies, that's a horrible thing and they must be mourned. But in this instance, you don't even know if you're supposed to mourn who's been departed because they could be walking through your door tomorrow, or you could be zapped up or down or sideways to wherever they are."
The show stars Justin Theroux, Liv Tyler and Amy Brenneman. It currently has no release date.
