'Lost' Writer Pairs with HBO for TV Series about the Rapture

Even though Harold Camping's big Rapture craze is over (for now, anyway), there will always be the question: what would actually happen if there was a Rapture? What would it be like to be left behind? And with the whole Mayan 2012 thing, you can bet it will be on some people's minds.

But when there's a quasi-supernatural, quasi-religious topic to be tackled, you can bet that "Lost" creator Damon Lindelof will take it. Lindelof is pairing up with HBO and novelist Tom Perotta to adapt Perotta's latest novel The Leftovers, which is about (you guessed it) the Rapture.

The book takes place after the Rapture has actually happened, and focuses on the remaining humans and their state of confusion. Why are there a bunch of Christians still left? What should they do now? Was that really a Rapture? Scientists react one way, religious folks react another way, and there's even a cult or two.

"You can't be an atheist anymore," said Lindelof of the book's story. "It takes us back in time to a place in human history where everyone's lives were dictated by the gods of Olympus or the gods of the heavens. [The book] tries to explain the purpose of it all, and that lined up with the meta level of 'Lost.'"

Lindelof also wrote "Prometheus," which tackled similar themes, so it's very clear where the writer's head is as far as sci-fi subject matter goes. The thought of a Lindelof-lead series on HBO is an intriguing one, so keep this one on your radar.