Damon Lindelof Developing THE LEFTOVERS for HBO

Screenwriter Damon Lindelof is set to embark on his first TV series since working on LOST. He will be adapting a book called The Leftovers into a series for HBO with the author Tom Perrotta. This sounds like a great project for Lindelof to tackle, as it's got some very cool elements that seem to fit his style. He will also serve as the showrunner. 

I wasn't familiar with the book until now, but it "revolves around the Rapture and follows a group of people who are left behind in the suburban community of Mapleton after the sudden departure of more than 100 people as they begin to rebuild their lives after their mysterious disappearance."

There's definitely a Twilight Zone kind of vibe to this story, and I'm looking forward to seeing it brought to life! I've enjoyed everything that Lindelof has worked on, and it will be fun to see what he does with this. 

Here's a full description of the story from the book:

What if—whoosh, right now, with no explanation—a number of us simply vanished?  Would some of us collapse? Would others of us go on, one foot in front of the other, as we did before the world turned upside down?

That’s what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, who lost many of their neighbors, friends and lovers in the event known as the Sudden Departure, have to figure out. Because nothing has been the same since it happened—not marriages, not friendships, not even the relationships between parents and children. 

Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized community. Kevin’s own family has fallen apart in the wake of the disaster: his wife, Laurie, has left to join the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence; his son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet named Holy Wayne.  Only Kevin’s teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she’s definitely not the sweet “A” student she used to be.  Kevin wants to help her, but he’s distracted by his growing relationship with Nora Durst, a woman who lost her entire family on October 14th and is still reeling from the tragedy, even as she struggles to move beyond it and make a new start.

With heart, intelligence and a rare ability to illuminate the struggles inherent in ordinary lives, Tom Perrotta has written a startling, thought-provoking novel about love, connection and loss.

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