HBO Watchmen series officially picked up by premium TV network

For fans who worried that HBO might end up passing on the HBO Watchmen series, fret no more.

Deadline reports that HBO has officially picked up the pilot for Damon Lindelof’s HBO Watchmen and has ordered it direct-to-series. The new comic book adaptation will air in 2019.

This was hinted at last month at TCA when programming president Casey Bloys hinted that the HBO Watchmen series was likely to end up picked up for the network.

"“I have very, very high hopes,” Bloys said of the pilot then. “They did a great job. Damon wrote a phenomenal script, and Nikki Kassell did an amazing job shooting the show.”"

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The cast is top-notch, as we previously reported that Jeremy Irons (Alfred from the DC Comics movie universe) signed on for the lead role. He will join Regina King (Southland), Don Johnson (Miami Vice), Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk) and Louis Gossett Jr. (An Officer and a Gentleman) in the cast.

The good news is that the HBO Watchmen series is not going to just retell the story that Zack Snyder already adapted in his movie and isn’t an adaptation of the comic book either.

Damon Lindelof, who previously worked on Lost and The Leftovers, said that he is a huge fan of the comic book series.

Lindelof wrote a letter to fans explaining that the HBO Watchmen series will reside in the same world as that story but will come after the events of that story — with all the important events in the backstory of his series.

According to Bloys statement at TCA, if HBO picked up Watchmen for series, they want to go into production as soon as possible on the show. This is a necessity now that they say they want to launch the series next year.

Game of Thrones will end its run in 2019, and while there will be a spin-off series for that medieval drama, it won’t hit until 2020 at the earliest. The HBO Watchmen series will give the network something to try to build following the end of the original GOT series.

What are your thoughts about Damon Lindelof’s HBO Watchmen series getting picked up? Does his direction of the series excite you? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter for more on your favorite shows!