The Leftovers (HBO – 2014-2017)
Initially based on the Tom Perrotta novel of the same name, The Leftovers began as a series, adapted to the screen by writer Damon Lindelof and director Mimi Leder, about grief and existential dread in the face of an impossible loss. It explored a world where 2% of the global population disappeared without a trace and without any rationale for who left and who remained.
Starring an excellent ensemble of mostly character actors including Justin Theroux, Carrie Coons, Amy Brenneman, Ann Dowd, and Christopher Eccleston, this series’ first season was depression incarnate. However, as the series grew, it broadened its worldview, including an amazing turn by Regina King, and narrowed its scope, only telling deeply personal stories from the perspectives of individual characters. It also embraced the perverse joy, humor, absurdism, and desperation at the heart of coming to grips with a world you can’t make sense of and aren’t sure you even want to live in. This might sound bleak, but the show has moments of surreal humor and profound grace.
In a real world that seems to be sliding into the surreal evermore each day, The Leftovers’ resonance only continues to grow. It is a vital entry into the modern American TV cannon, and one that truly must be seen to be believed.
–Alex Marcus
