The Leftovers is an American fantasy drama television series created by Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta and based on Perrotta's novel of the same name which takes place in the wake of a global Rapture, which caused the unexplainable disappearance of 2% of the world population, and centres not on the people who were taken but on the ones left behind.
When 2% of the world's population abruptly disappears without explanation, the world struggles to come to terms with what happened. Three years later, The Leftovers is the story of the people who didn't make the cut.
Based on Tom Perrotta's bestselling novel of the same name, The Leftovers is an original look at The Rapture... or was it The Rapture at all?
Set in a small New York suburb, the intimate family drama focuses on the residents of the fictional town of Mapleton, whose preconceptions are shattered in the wake of a global event dubbed The Sudden Departure.
Three years after the fateful day when 140-million people disappeared without a trace, the series focuses on the ways ordinary people react to inexplicable events that can unite or divide families and communities, examining how their untold grief and the strain of an unprecedented calamity can turn faith into cynicism, paranoia, madness or cult-like fanaticism.
At the heart of The Leftovers is the Garvey family. Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux), the town's beleaguered chief of police and father of two, is trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy when the notion no longer applies.
While Kevin and his rebellious daughter, Jill (Margaret Qualley), try to go back to the way things used to be, Kevin's son, Tom (Chris Zylka), sees the event as a wakeup call to take action.
At the same time, Kevin is faced with the conflict between the townspeople of Mapleton and the Guilty Remnant, a mysterious cult-like group that seems to offer an escape for traumatized residents.
In addition to Theroux (Mulholland Drive; John Adams and Six Feet Under), series regulars include: Amy Brenneman (Private Practice) as Laurie, a mother with a successful career who felt all she could do after the Departure was surrender; and Christopher Eccleston (28 Days Later) as Reverend Matt Jamison, who thinks he knows exactly what the Departure was and wasn't, and is committed to renewing the town's faith.
Also starring are Liv Tyler (The Lord of the Rings) as Meg, who has serious doubts about her impending wedding; Chris Zylka (The Amazing Spider-Man) as Tom Garvey; Margaret Qualley as Jill Garvey; Carrie Coon (Gone Girl) as Nora Durst, who lost her entire family in the Departure; Emily Meade (Boardwalk Empire) as Aimee, Jill's friend and the big sister she never had; Amanda Warren (The Adjustment Bureau) as Mayor Lucy Warburton; and Ann Dowd (True Detective) as Patti, a Guilty Remnant leader.
Rounding out the starring cast are Michael Gaston (The Mentalist) as Dean, a stranger who could be Kevin's greatest ally, or a force to be reckoned with; Max and Charlie Carver (Teen Wolf) as Adam and Scott Frost, twins who forge a friendship with Jill and Aimee; and Annie Q (The Rewrite) as Christine, a follower of Holy Wayne and object of Tom's interest.
The Leftovers was created by Damon Lindelof (Emmy winner for Lost) and acclaimed novelist Tom Perrotta (Academy Award nominee for Little Children; Election). Lindelof and Perrotta executive produce the series along with Peter Berg and Sarah Aubrey; Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger co-executive produce; Lindelof serves as showrunner.
The series is produced for HBO by White Rabbit in association with Warner Bros. Television.