Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Cancelled or Renewed?
    • Cancelled TV Shows (lists)
    • Cancellations
    • Renewals
    • TV Show Status Pages
    • Vulture Watch
  • TV Ratings
    • Daily Network Ratings
    • Ratings by Season/Channel
    • Weekly Averages
    • Soap Opera Ratings
    • Archive
    • Viewer Votes
      • ABC TV shows
      • CBS TV shows
      • The CW TV shows
      • FOX TV shows
      • NBC TV shows
      • All Viewer Votes
  • About
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • RSS
  • Mail

canceled + renewed TV shows - TV Series Finale

   

The Leftovers: Lindelof Contrasts HBO Series with Lost

by Cindy McLennan, December 6, 2015

The Leftovers TV show on HBO: season two (canceled or renewed?)

The season two finale of The Leftovers airs on HBO, tonight at 9:00pm ET/PT. It remains to be seen if this is also The Leftovers‘ TV series finale. In a conversation with Variety‘s Maureen Ryan, co-creator Damon Lindelof discussed some of the differences between The Leftovers, and his Lost TV show, which aired for six seasons on ABC.

Along with Carlton Cuse, Lindelof famously negotiated an end date for Lost. The duo essentially asked for the series to be be cancelled three years ahead of time, for plotting purposes. Both have acknowledged that having an end date freed them creatively.

In his interview with Variety, Lindelof also seems to feel freed by writing a story that is not a mystery series. While no one knows why people disappeared in the “Sudden Departure,” The Leftovers is not about what caused it. It is about living with the effects.

During the conversation, which included mention of Lindelof’s decision to leave Twitter, Ryan observed that by its nature, The Leftovers is not a show about answers and payoffs, in the way Lost was. Lindelof, who agrees, replied:

Right. This is the area that I really want to mine. I do feel like this premise finds a way to talk about loss. To me, it’s not a Sept. 11 metaphor, it’s a death metaphor. When death happens, it’s shocking and it’s sudden and it’s permanent and you have no answers. You’re like, “Why did this happen to this person? Why did this happen to me? What am I supposed to do about it?”

Ryan said that while The Leftovers uses some of Lost‘s “storytelling moves,” it feels more open-ended. She asked Lindelof if that’s the sense he has when writing the series. Here is his answer, from Variety:

You know, “Lost,” by the very nature of what the premise was, you always had to be thinking about the future. Until we got the end date, we were in a very nebulous space in terms of how the show should be paced and how mysteries should be answered and how new characters should and should not be introduced. You had to be kind of talking about the long game, the entire game plan. For “The Leftovers” you can talk about it on a season by season basis the way Vince Gilligan talked about “Breaking Bad.” He would say, “Then we would have the scene where Walt opened up the trunk of his car and there’d be a gun in there and we had no idea what the payoff was going to be.” The audience would say, “Okay, we’re cool with that.”

I would read those interviews and I would be like, “Why aren’t they killing Vince Gilligan? How is he allowed to say that they’re making it up as they go along?” The answer to the question is, because Vince Gilligan’s not writing a mystery show. When you’re writing a mystery show, you have to know the answers to the mysteries that you are presenting to the audience. And if you don’t know the answers, they can smell it. That is the lesson that was learned. If you don’t know the answer to your mystery, the audience can smell it. They’re just way too smart.

As previously reported, book series author and co-creator of The Leftovers TV series, Tom Perrotta, says they’re still waiting to hear from HBO whether The Leftovers will be cancelled after two season, or renewed for season three. According to star, Justin Theroux, while he is hoping for a third season of The Leftovers, season two is a nice “bookend” to the show. There almost wasn’t a second season of The Leftovers. Early on, Lindelof thought of ending it with one season.

Were you a fan of Lost? Have you been watching The Leftovers? Do you expect it to be renewed for a third season, or cancelled after season two? If you’ve watched the season two finale, do you feel like it is enough of a bookend to the series? Please share your thoughts, in the comments.

More about: Lost, Lost: canceled or renewed?, The Leftovers, The Leftovers: canceled or renewed?

Related Articles

  • Watchmen TV show on HBO: season 1 (canceled or renewed?)
    Watchmen on HBO: Damon Lindelof (Lost) Says Adaptation to Be an Original ‘Mix’
    May 23, 2018
  • Lost TV show on ABC: canceled or renewed?
    Lost: Damon Lindelof Hopes a Future Revival Will Be Missing One Thing
    July 27, 2017
  • The Leftovers TV show on HBO: season 3, TV series finale (canceled or renewed?)
    The Leftovers: Watch the HBO TV Series Finale, Here and Now
    June 21, 2017
  • The Leftovers TV show on HBO: (canceled or renewed?)
    The Leftovers: Was Nora Telling the Truth in the Series Finale?
    June 20, 2017
  • The Leftovers: Damon Lindelof Talks About the Episodes You Didn’t See
    June 9, 2017
  • The Leftovers TV show on HBO: (canceled or renewed?)
    The Leftovers: Damon Lindelof Talks About that Perfect Strangers Homage
    April 24, 2017
  • Lost TV show on ABC: canceled or renewed?
    Lost: Damon Lindelof on the Chances of a Reboot Series
    January 25, 2017
  • Manhattan TV show on WGN America
    The Leftovers: Season Three to Feature Katja Herbers (Manhattan)
    August 23, 2016
  • The Leftovers TV show on HBO: season 3 ending (canceled or renewed?).
    The Leftovers: Lindelof Says Final HBO Season Won’t Be Lost
    May 18, 2016
  • The Leftovers: Season Three Production of HBO Series Moving to Australia
    May 1, 2016
  • The Leftovers: HBO Series Renewed for Third, Final Season
    December 10, 2015
  • Lost TV show on ABC: ended, no season 7 (canceled or renewed?)
    Lost: Damon Lindelof Struggled with Depression During Series
    November 12, 2015
  • The Leftovers: Season Three And Beyond Teased; Five Seasons Possible?
    October 21, 2015
  • The Leftovers: Damon Lindelof Almost Cancelled Show Himself
    October 1, 2015
  • The Leftovers: Season Two Renewal for HBO Series
    August 13, 2014
  • The Leftovers: HBO Series Delayed Two Weeks
    April 25, 2014

Canceled and renewed TV show
« Previous Post
Next Post »

5
Leave a Reply

avatar
4 Comment threads
1 Thread replies
3 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
5 Comment authors
AudraJoeIzzyVince humbleSandra Shill Recent comment authors
avatar

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Audra
Reader
Audra

Love this show…Love Justin Theroux. Can’t believe it hasn’t been renewed yet. We need this, do it.

Vote Up1-1Vote Down Reply
December 7, 2015 1:49 pm
Izzy
Reader
Izzy

I’ve wanted to watch this series but the fact that Lindelof is involved (Lost) has held me back. I’ll probably take the plunge and watch but, if he fails again I may be done with his work.

Vote Up1-1Vote Down Reply
December 7, 2015 8:37 am
Joe
Reader
Joe

Ok.

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
December 7, 2015 10:13 am
Vince humble
Reader
Vince humble

3rd season, PLEASE !!!! Best show on TV. It can’t be over after only 2 seasons. Please renew the leftovers…PLEASE.

Vote Up4-1Vote Down Reply
December 6, 2015 11:21 pm
Sandra Shill
Reader
Sandra Shill

The biggest difference between Lost and The Leftovers, is that Lost didn’t make you feel suicidal at the end of each episode, lol!

Vote Up4-2Vote Down Reply
December 6, 2015 8:43 pm
wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz
Fall 2020 Schedule Cancelled TV Show Lists Ratings (by TV Channel) Status Lists of 800+ Shows
  • Cancellations
  • Renewals
  • At Home with Amy Sedaris TV show on truTV: (canceled or renewed?) At Home with Amy Sedaris: Cancelled by truTV, No Season Four
  • Peaky Blinders TV show on BBC One and Netflix, ending no season 7 Peaky Blinders: Season Six; BBC & Netflix Series Ending But the Story Will Continue
  • High Maintenance TV show on HBO: (canceled or renewed?) High Maintenance: "Cancelled," No Season Five for HBO Comedy Series
  • Animal Kingdom: season six renewal, no season 7 Animal Kingdom: Season Six; TNT Series Gets Early Renewal for Final Season
  • Insecure TV show on HBO: ending, no season 6 Insecure: Season Five to End Issa Rae TV Series on HBO
  • The Haves and the Have Nots TV show on OWN: ending, no season 9 The Haves and the Have Nots: OWN Series Ending Confirmed; No Season Nine
  • More...
  • Snowpiercer TV show on TNT: season 3 renewal Snowpiercer: Season Three; TNT Series Gets Early Renewal Ahead of Second Season premiere January 19, 2021
  • Tyler Perry's Sistas TV show on BET: season 3 renewal Tyler Perry's Sistas: Season Three; BET TV Series Renewal Announced January 19, 2021
  • Queen Sugar TV show on TNT: season 6 renewal ahead of season 5 premiere Queen Sugar: Season Six; OWN TV Series Renewed Ahead of Season Five Premiere (Video) January 14, 2021
  • Animal Kingdom: season six renewal, no season 7 Animal Kingdom: Season Six; TNT Series Gets Early Renewal for Final Season January 14, 2021
  • Amazon TV Shows: canceled or renewed? The Offenders: Season Two; Early Renewal for BBC and Amazon Series January 14, 2021
  • Big City Greens TV Show on Disney: canceled or renewed? Big City Greens: Season Three Renewal for Disney Channel Animated Series January 14, 2021
  • More...
  • TV Ratings
  • Quick Questions
  • TV show season ratings 3 2020-21 TV Show Season Ratings (week 17)
  • New TV show ratings (cancel or renew?) 5 2020-21 Season Ratings for New TV Shows (week 17)
  • The CW TV show ratings (cancel or renew?) The CW 2020-21 Season Ratings (updated 1/20/21)
  • All American TV show on The CW: season 3 ratings All American: Season Three Ratings
  • 9-1-1: Lone Star TV show on FOX: season 2 ratings 9-1-1: Lone Star: Season Two Ratings
  • More...
  • Salvation TV show on CBS: season 3 (canceled or renewed?) Salvation: Season Three? Should the CBS Summer Series Be Renewed? September 18, 2018
  • Take Two TV show on ABC: canceled or renewed for season 2? Take Two: Season Two; Should the ABC TV Show Be Renewed? September 13, 2018
  • Shooter TV show on USA Network: canceled, no season 4 Shooter: Season Four? Would You Watch the Cancelled Show on Another Channel? September 13, 2018
  • Shades of Blue TV show on NBC: no season four Shades of Blue: Season Four? Would You Have Kept Watching the NBC Series? August 20, 2018
  • Quantico TV show on ABC: canceled, no season 4 Quantico: Season Four; Would You Have Watched More of the Cancelled ABC Series? August 4, 2018
  • More...

The Latest

  • Peaky Blinders: BBC and Netflix Series to Wrap Up with a Movie
  • At Home with Amy Sedaris: Cancelled by truTV, No Season Four
  • Titans: Season Three; HBO Max Series Casts Savannah Welch as Barbara Gordon
  • CBS All Access Streaming Service Relaunching as Paramount+ in March
  • Saved By the Bell: Season Two; Peacock Renews TV Series Revival
  • Snowpiercer: Season Three; TNT Series Gets Early Renewal Ahead of Second Season premiere
  • Tyler Perry's Sistas: Season Three; BET TV Series Renewal Announced
  • T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle: Season Four Renewal, Coming to VH1 in Spring 2021
  • If We Built It Today: Season Two Coming to Science Channel This Month
  • Debris, Kenan, Young Rock: NBC Releases Teasers for Upcoming New Series
  • Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Annabella Sciorra to Reprise Role for NBC's SVU
  • Peaky Blinders: Season Six; BBC & Netflix Series Ending But the Story Will Continue
  • Crikey! It's the Irwins: Season Three Coming to Discovery+
  • Bosch: Season Seven; Michael Connelly on Ending the Amazon TV Series
  • Game of Talents: FOX Previews Wayne Brady Variety Show (Video)
  • For All Mankind: Season Two Trailer Released by Apple TV+
  • Vice: Season Two; Showtime Reveals Documentary Series Return Date (Video)
  • All My Children, One Life to Live, General Hospital: ABC Soap Casts to Reunite for Charity
  • Swamp Thing: Season Two? CW Boss on Character's Possible Future
More...

Popular

  • 2020-21 TV Show Season Ratings (week 17)
  • 2020-21 Season Ratings for New TV Shows (week 17)
  • FOX TV Shows: 2020-21 Viewer Votes
  • The CW TV Shows: 2020-21 Viewer Votes
  • CBS TV Shows: 2020-21 Viewer Votes
  • Viewer Votes Ranking for the 2020-21 Network TV Shows
  • ABC TV Shows: 2020-21 Viewer Votes
  • NBC TV Shows: 2020-21 Viewer Votes
  • The CW 2020-21 Season Ratings (updated 1/20/21)
  • FOX 2020-21 Season Ratings (updated 1/20/21)
  • NBC 2020-21 Season Ratings (updated 1/20/21)
  • CBS 2020-21 Season Ratings (updated 1/20/21)
  • ABC 2020-21 Season Ratings (updated 1/20/21)
  • Showtime TV Show Ratings (updated 1/20/21)
  • Starz TV Show Ratings (updated 1/20/21)
  • Soap Opera Ratings for the 2020-21 Season (updated 1/15/21)
  • Cancelled or Renewed? Status of Cable & Streaming TV Shows (E-L)
  • OWN TV Show Ratings (updated 1/13/21)
  • Cancelled or Renewed? Status of NBC TV Shows

No infringement of previously copyrighted material is intended on this site. DMCA.

Copyright © TV Series Finale. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

wpDiscuz