The Leftovers (TV series)


The Leftovers is an American supernatural drama television series created by Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta that aired on HBO from June 29, 2014, to June 4, 2017. Based on Perrotta's 2011 novel, the series begins three years after the "Sudden Departure", a global event that resulted in 2% of the world's population disappearing. The lives of police chief Kevin Garvey and his family, along with grieving widow Nora Durst and her brother, Reverend Matt Jamison, are the focal points of the series as they struggle to adjust to life after the Departure.
The pilot was written by Lindelof and Perrotta and directed by Peter Berg. The series stars an ensemble cast led by Theroux and features Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Chris Zylka, Margaret Qualley, Carrie Coon, Ann Dowd, Regina King, Jovan Adepo, Kevin Carroll, Janel Moloney, and Scott Glenn. The series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 4, 2015, and concluded December 6, 2015. On December 10, 2015, at Lindelof's request to be able to conclude the series, HBO renewed it for a third and final season, which premiered on April 16, 2017, and concluded on June 4, 2017. Over the course of the series, 28 episodes aired over three seasons.
The first season received mostly positive reviews, though some criticized the series for its grim tone. The series underwent a critical reevaluation during its acclaimed second and third seasons, with many critics referring to The Leftovers as one of the greatest television series of all time, with particular praise for its writing, directing, acting and thematic depth. The musical score composed by Max Richter also attracted critical praise. Despite receiving average Nielsen ratings throughout its run, the series has developed a cult following. The series has been compared favorably to Lost, a previous series co-created by Lindelof.

Premise

The Leftovers starts three years after a global event called the "Sudden Departure", the inexplicable, simultaneous disappearance of 140 million people, 2% of the world's population, on October 14, 2011. Following that event, mainstream religions declined, and a number of cults emerged, most notably the Guilty Remnant, a group of white-clothed, chain-smoking nihilists, and a cult led by Holy Wayne, a man who views himself as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The first season revolves around the Garvey family and their acquaintances in a fictionalized version of the town of Mapleton, New York. Kevin Garvey Jr. is the chief of police. His wife, Laurie, has joined the Guilty Remnant. Their son, Tommy, has left home to become a follower of Holy Wayne, and their daughter, Jill, is acting out. Meanwhile, grieving widow Nora Durst and her brother, Reverend Matt Jamison, struggle to deal with their respective traumas while adjusting to life post-Departure. It also follows Meg Abbott, a woman who is slowly seduced by the Mapleton faction of the Guilty Remnant, led by Patti Levin. These characters' lives intertwine and collide as they find themselves in the middle of an ongoing conflict between the Guilty Remnant and the townspeople of Mapleton.
In the second season, the location shifts from Mapleton to the fictional town of Jarden, Texas, where not a single citizen was lost in the Sudden Departure. The Murphy family becomes a key focal point of the season. The patriarch, John, is the chief firefighter of the town, also acting as a vigilante deterrent of people exploiting Jarden's "miracle". His wife, Erika, is a doctor. Their son, Michael, is an aspiring pastor and their daughter, Evie, is a high school student with epilepsy. The Garvey family, Nora, and Matt move to Jarden at a time which coincides with an incident that leads to the disappearance of three young girls, followed by mass panic and chaos that threatens the town's safety and forces the Garvey and Murphy families to confront their inner demons.
The third and final season unfolds three years later, in 2018, starting 14 days before the seventh anniversary of the Sudden Departure. The setting of the third season moves between Jarden and Victoria, Australia, as most of the lead characters—particularly the Garvey and Murphy families—undergo emotional journeys that make them reflect upon their lives, their beliefs, and the events they have encountered in the previous two seasons. Kevin's father, the mentally ill former chief of police of Mapleton, is also a main focus in the final season as he embarks on a spiritual journey to fulfill a cryptic purpose, and eventually crosses paths with the other members of the Murphy and Garvey families.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Justin Theroux as Kevin Garvey, initially Mapleton's chief of police and a father of two, who is trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy after the Sudden Departure.
  • Amy Brenneman as Lorelei "Laurie" Garvey, Kevin's wife, who left her life behind to join a mysterious cult called the Guilty Remnant.
  • Christopher Eccleston as Matt Jamison, a Reverend and editor of a self-published tabloid that outs sinners. He later relocates to Jarden, Texas and takes over its church.
  • Liv Tyler as Megan "Meg" Abbott, a woman who becomes involved with the Guilty Remnant and comes to lead its more radical faction.
  • Chris Zylka as Tom "Tommy" Garvey, Laurie's son, who takes refuge with a mysterious guru called "Holy Wayne", before starting an alternative cult with Laurie.
  • Margaret Qualley as Jill Garvey, Kevin and Laurie's teenage daughter, a straight-A student who has a difficult relationship with her father.
  • Carrie Coon as Nora Durst, a wife and mother who lost her husband, son and daughter in the Sudden Departure. She is Matt's sister, and later becomes Kevin's partner and the adoptive mother of Lily, an infant fathered by Holy Wayne.
  • Emily Meade as Aimee, Jill's free-spirited high school friend, who lives with the Garveys in Mapleton.
  • Amanda Warren as Lucy Warburton, Mapleton's mayor who struggles to appease the local community amidst frequent clashes with the Guilty Remnant. She was in a relationship with Kevin's father prior to the Sudden Departure and continues to visit him while he is in psychiatric care.
  • Ann Dowd as Patricia "Patti" Levin, the leader of the Mapleton chapter of the Guilty Remnant, who continues to haunt Kevin following her death.
  • Michael Gaston as Dean, a mysterious man who hunts dogs across Mapleton, and accompanies Kevin during his various sleepwalking nights.
  • Max Carver as Adam Frost, a friend of Jill and Aimee.
  • Charlie Carver as Scott Frost, Adam's identical twin brother.
  • Annie Q. as Christine, one of Holy Wayne's former "groupies" who bears one of his children and is subsequently placed under Tommy's protection.
  • Janel Moloney as Mary Jamison, Matt's wife, who was rendered catatonic by a car crash during the Sudden Departure.
  • Regina King as Erika Murphy, a doctor who runs an urgent-care facility. The Murphys are the Garveys' neighbors in Jarden.
  • Kevin Carroll as John Murphy, Erika's husband and head of Jarden's volunteer fire department. He subsequently marries Laurie, and operates as a fraudulent medium.
  • Jovan Adepo as Michael Murphy, Erika and John's devout teenage son.
  • Scott Glenn as Kevin Garvey Sr., Kevin's father and Mapleton's former chief of police, who relocates to Australia following his release from a mental health institute.

    Recurring

  • Paterson Joseph as Henry "Holy Wayne" Gilchrest Jr., a post-Sudden Departure savior who "heals" people of their burdens.
  • Natalie Gold as Sam's Mother, a woman who lost her baby son in the Sudden Departure.
  • Marceline Hugot as Gladys, a member of the Guilty Remnant.
  • Frank Harts as Officer Dennis Luckey, Kevin's deputy in Mapleton.
  • Wayne Duvall as Detective Louis Vitello, a belligerent officer in the Mapleton police force who frequently clashes with Kevin.
  • Jasmin Savoy Brown as Evangeline "Evie" Murphy, Erika and John's teenage daughter and Michael's twin sister.
  • Darius McCrary as Isaac Rayney, a fortune teller in Jarden who is old friends with John.
  • Steven Williams as Virgil, Evie and Michael's estranged grandfather. He serves as Kevin's guide during his first visit to the afterworld.
  • Turk Pipkin as Edward/Pillar Man, a mysterious figure residing atop the pillar in Jarden Square.
  • Kenneth Wayne Bradley as Ranger Bob
  • Lindsay Duncan as Grace Playford, a former missionary who lost her entire family and crosses paths with Kevin Sr.
  • Damien Garvey as Kevin Yarborough, an Australian police chief.
  • Katja Herbers as Dr. Eden, one of the scientists experimenting with a machine purported to reunite its test subjects with the Departed.
  • Victoria Haralabidou as Dr. Bekker, one of the scientists experimenting with a machine purported to reunite its test subjects with the Departed.

    Guests

  • Brad Leland as Congressman Witten, a newly recruited follower of Holy Wayne's cult.
  • David Turner as Anthony
  • Victor Williams as Ron Jensen, a banker in Mapleton who handles the foreclosure of Matt's church.
  • Sebastian Arcelus as Doug Durst, Nora's husband who departed with their two children.
  • Billy Magnussen as Marcus, an employee at a business that creates lifelike mannequins of the Departed, who Nora meets at a conference in New York City.
  • Tom Noonan as Casper, one of Holy Wayne's followers who Nora encounters in New York City.
  • Bill Heck as Darren, Meg's ex-fiancée.
  • Dominic Burgess as Dr. Brian Goodheart, an Australian scientist who illegally collects water from a reservoir in Jarden. He is one of the first people accused of being involved in the disappearance of three teenage girls due to his appearance and proximity to them on the day.
  • Mark Linn-Baker as himself, an actor who faked his Departure after his co-stars from Perfect Strangers disappeared during the incident without him.
  • Brad Greenquist as an adoption agent who officiates Kevin and Nora's adoption of Lily.
  • Charlayne Woodard as Lois Makepeace
  • Roger Narayan as Bhagat
  • Heather Kafka as Susan, a former member of the Guilty Remnant who joins Laurie's therapy group for ex-GR members.
  • Mark Harelik as Peter, a publisher interested in Laurie's book.
  • Alon Moni Aboutboul as Viktor
  • Sam Littlefield as Almer
  • Brett Butler as Sandy, the wife of Edward the pillar resident who lives in a shantytown outside Jarden.
  • Joel Murray as George Brevity, an agent of the Department of Sudden Departures who befriends Nora in Jarden.
  • Sonya Walger as Dr. Allison Herbert
  • Bill Camp as David Burton, an Australian former sportscaster who seemingly returned from the dead and now claims to be God. He appears to Kevin during his visits to the afterlife, and later meets Matt on the ferry between Tasmania and Melbourne.
  • Gary Basaraba as Neil, Patti's husband
  • Betty Buckley as Jane, Meg's mother, who died one day before the Sudden Departure.
  • Adina Porter as a G.R. Leader who disagrees with Meg's increasingly violent activism on behalf of the cult.
  • Lasarus Ratuere as Officer Bardo
  • Jason Douglas as Jed
  • Alexandra Schepisi as The Woman
  • David Gulpilil as Christopher Sunday, a native elder living in the Australian outback who Kevin Sr. pursues for mystical knowledge.
  • Benito Martinez as Arturo, a loyal member of Matt's congregation in Jarden.