HBO Renews Horribly Depressing Show 'The Leftovers' for Season 2
by Andy Neuenschwander
The show has been hailed by critics and fans alike as quite possibly the bleakest, most depressing show on television. Following the citizens of a small American town after a Rapture-like event causes 2% of the world's population to spontaneously disappear, the show focuses on themes of grief and loss.
So, obviously, it's kind of a downer.
Still, "The Leftovers" will get a shot at season two, despite a slow start in the ratings. The premiere episode saw just 1.7 million viewers, but numbers have picked up significantly when HBO Go and DVR viewings are factored in. All told, the show averages about 8 million viewers weekly.
HBO shows also tend to pick up viewers as they go, once word-of-mouth starts to get new viewers on board. That's what happened with "True Detective," which had just over 2 million viewers during its premiere but was practically a cultural phenomenon by the end of its short first season.
The renewal of "The Leftovers" also has interesting implications for fans of the source material (a novel written by series co-writer Tom Perotta), as the series will likely have to stray even further from the book in order to fill the overall screen time that comes with two seasons of an hour-long show.
You can catch "The Leftovers" on Sunday nights on on demand on HBO Go, if you're a subscriber.