Author Tom Perrotta Talks About Bringing The Leftovers to HBO

The little show about the end of the world that could

The Leftovers will return for season 3, which will act as the final season. That is perhaps two seasons longer than some assumed the show would run, considering its dark content and lack of ratings. The original author of the novel, Tom Perrotta, has worked closely with showrunner Damon Lindelof on the entire series – that’s not something that happens all too often.

Giving an interview to Awards Daily, Perrotta talked about bringing The Leftovers to life. The first season covers the book fairly well, with some understandable differences, while season 2 had to branch out a bit. It’s worth noting that The Leftovers didn’t really find its critical footing until season 2, which is when it won its Peabody. It turns out that Perrotta was excited to branch away from the novel:

"“Maybe there are writers who would be alarmed by this, but to me that’s been the greatest surprise and adventure of collaborating…Many times it’s by the writing, but it’s also by the actors who bring their own personality into a role and make us see things we might not have seen had a different actor been playing that role.”"

More from Show Snob

• The Santa Clauses season 2, episode 6 recap “Wanga Banga Langa!”
• Lawmen: Bass Reeves season 1, episode 7 preview: Non-spoiler thoughts for Part VII
• Goosebumps season 1, episode 6 recap: “Night of the Living Dummy”
• Beacon 23 season 1, episode 3 recap: “Why Can’t We Go on as Three?”
• Upload season 3, episode 2 recap: “Strawberry”

Having to create something new in the world of The Leftovers really seems to have agreed with Perrotta, and it has certainly agreed with us. He also goes on to refer to the upcoming third season as “a gift,” which could be read a number of ways, including HBO admitting that the series has never really taken hold. HBO is less beholden to ratings than regular networks, but it still does play a part of how they function.

Next: Go Inside the Episode of Girls, 'Hostage Situation.'

It’s nice to hear from Tom Perrotta for a change, as Damon Lindelof is usually the one in charge of promoting the series and talking about its creation. The two of them have worked very well over the course of the last several years, and we wouldn’t mind seeing them continue to do so in the future.