Damon Lindelof didn’t plan to make a regular TV show with HBO’s The Leftovers. The show, made by Lindelof and Tom Perrotta (who wrote the book it’s based on), starts with a sad idea: What would happen if 2% of all people in the world suddenly disappeared without a reason?
One of the things that made it so special was that it wasn’t for everyone. So much of the work that we all do and are asked to do is to make it as accessible to as many people as possible.
Lindelof said during a Leftovers reunion panel at ATX TV Festival on Saturday.
Lindelof explained that the series wasn’t meant to leave anyone out, but he and the team wanted to make something that would make viewers think and feel deeply.
The first season, in many ways, is like, ‘Stop f—ing watching!
said Lindelof, who went on to describe an episode in season 1, “Gladys,” in which a character is stoned to death
He also talked about a scene from his earlier show Lost, where a dog licks a main character’s face, and compared it to a scene in The Leftovers pilot, where a main character sees a dog getting shot on the street. But the many upsetting scenes in The Leftovers were there for a reason.
It was a show about overcoming suffering.
Lindelof said
The Leftovers ended eight years ago, on June 4, 2017, after three seasons. Each season took place in a different location — New York, Texas, and Australia — but kept the same main cast, including Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Ann Dowd, Margaret Qualley, Liv Tyler, Amy Brenneman, and Christopher Eccleston. Regina King joined the cast in season 2.
Coon, Dowd, and Brenneman also attended the ATX panel and shared their memories of working on the show.
I just wanted a job. I was young; it was my first real job.
said Coon, who played Nora on the series
The actress also remembered feeling “nervous” around King because “she’s always so amazingly good.”
Dowd and Brenneman talked about the risk of choosing roles that had no speaking lines at first, since both played members of the Guilty Remnant — a group that dressed in all white and stayed silent.
I can’t believe the power you have in the room when you’re not speaking. Everybody is waiting for you to do what you’re going to do. I loved her.
said Dowd of her character, Patti
Brenneman, who played Laurie, said she enjoyed the “challenge” of playing a character who didn’t speak at first. But going without makeup was hard. She remembered trying to wear things like lip gloss secretly, but Lindelof caught her.
We all see it!
she recalled him saying
Lindelof, who later worked on Watchmen and Mrs. Davis, is now leading the new DC Comics series Lanterns.
Also Read: Garret Dillahunt Joins the HBO Original Drama Series ‘Lanterns’ in a Major Recurring Role
The Leftovers is the one that is closest to my heart.
Yet of all the shows he’s created, he said
Source: EW