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Damon Lindelof’s first series project since Lost, drama The Leftovers based on Tom Perrotta’s 2011 book, has received a pilot order at HBO where it had been in development since last summer. The project, which the two co-wrote together, 
marked the first foray into cable for the Lost executive producer/co-showrunner and the first project under the rich three-year overall deal he signed with Warner Bros. TV last spring. The Leftovers, produced by WBTV, takes place after the Rapture happens but not quite like it’s supposed to. It is the story of the people who didn’t make the cut… and a world that will never be the same. Lindelof and Perrotta executive produce with Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger. Lindelof serves as the showrunner.
HBO acquired rights to The Leftovers for series development with Perrotta attached as writer/executive producer and Yerza and Berger as executive producers in August 2011, shortly before the book came out. Lindelof read the novel that fall and immediately fell in love with it. He tracked the rights down to HBO. Once Lindelof’s deal at ABC Studios expired, he met with Perrotta. The two hit it off and began discussing what a potential Leftovers series would look like.
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I like the idea and hated Lost. But I’m in!
Dear HBO, You used to make shows set in today’s world that were real and about something (The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under). Now all your dramas are style over substance (True Blood, Boardwalk, Game of Thrones). What happened to you? Love, Forever Longing for Quality Not Television
So all great fiction is required to be contemporary and definitely not have supernatural elements? Poor Will Shakespeare, he got that so wrong…
I don’t think that is what Oh No meant. Like him/her, I miss the Albrecht days of character-driven storytelling over these fully-loaded concept-driven series.
Since you evidently don’t recognize “Quality” or “Substance” when they are in front of you, your longing will be a thirst never quenched.
I agree. Just saying. Want real characters. Not high concept. Boo high concept. Boo.
Excellent point, Oh No–only I think this trend of the “supernatural” is representative of a general trend in features, too. (No, I’m not including the Awards fare). The ubiquity of films like Beautiful Creatures, Twilight, Red Riding Hood, not to mention ALL of the everpresent superhero films and B-ish horror pics …at a recent trip to the cinema, while watching all of the trailers, I thought to myself “What do all of these fantastical movies Hollywood keeps churning out say about our country’s collective state of mind?”
Realism is a plague among fiction writing.
@ Oh No
So because a story isn’t set in the today’s “real” world, they can’t be about something? Boardwalk and Game of Thrones are two of the best shows currently on television, so you’re only selling yourself short on that front. And funny how you forget that in 2012 they also aired Luck, The Newsroom, and Treme – all contemporary dramas.
On-topic: While I didn’t like how Lost cell apart in its last two seasons (three, to an extent, even), I think this is the kind of material that Lindelof could really do wonders with. He’s a very good writer, in terms of characterization and plotting, but resolution isn’t a strong point of his. Luckily, the story told in this novel doesn’t require that kind of resolution, as it is much more interested in its characters. I’d really like to see this one get a series order.
Luck, Newsroom, and Treme. Unfortunately all easy to forget, Weez.
Feel sorry for any of the writers who work with Lindelof. He treated his writers terribly at LOST. When his career is over, the shameful way he has treated people will be his true legacy…
I was to be believed he worked very well with the staff at lost/abc during his time there
That’s hysterical. The LOST writing room was known to be the nastiest, most abusive room in tv — all led by the insecure Lindelof and his sidekick Sarnoff. Go and speak to any junior writer who worked there, ask them about the demeaning nicknames they were given by Lindelof. Anyone who was in that room knows the truth about Lindelof…
This saddens me to hear since I’m a fan of Lindelof.
No matter what you do in life, in all areas of your life, a LITTLE KINDNESS will go a long way. Maybe someone should explain that Lindelof.
Damon is incredibly generous with his writing staff. Would Once Upon A Time be where it is if he hadn’t helped shepherd it along?
I couldn’t agree more, Ted. It was the most abusive work environment I have ever experienced; I will never forget it. It’s hard to create quality work when you’re constantly being degraded and insulted.
Game rocks! I’m with you on the others… if I want soft core, I had to Cinemax. No need for all that talkie talkie.
Yeah. Where is Tony Soprano when we need him most ????
Guess I can’t account for all tastes, including but not limited to that of the bad variety, but I’d say two of those shows are fantastic and the other is just pretty good with the potential to get better in its second season. So, uh, yeah – go watch Big Bang Theory?
Please send me your email address so we can discuss your allegations. I take them very seriously.
That was meant for “Ted.”
If you read the book, or any of Tom Perrotta’s writing, you’ll know that it’s very much set in the real world and is completely character driven. In the book, you don’t see the rapture, or do people really talk about it much, and that’s kinda the point. It’s about people struggling to talk about it or struggling to suppress it. It’s very much a contemporary drama set in New England and uses an event like a rapture to talk about how quickly we can forget an event like 9/11, or how hard it can be to overcome it. For fans of realism and character driven story lines, this is actually a good thing.
I totally agree with Read It First. I’ve read The Leftovers and there’s nothing high concept about it.
And regarding these rumors about the LOST writers room. I don’t know Damon but I do know Liz Sarnoff, and she’s just about as helpful and kind of a person as I’ve ever met in the entertainment industry. I have a few other connections to the LOST writers as well and everyone has only spoken very positively of the experience.