The Leftovers season 2: How the HBO series will go beyond the book

The Leftovers ran into a challenge most book adaptations strive to work against — season 1 ended just as Tom Perrotta’s book of the same name concluded. But with no material left, executive producer Damon Lindelof didn’t see this as an obstacle. It was an exciting opportunity to expand the world the book and then the TV show established.

“I don’t want to do any of the obvious,” Lindelof says in an exclusive clip from the season 1 Blu-ray for the HBO drama. Rather than work in ways viewers would expect for a show that ended with a couple getting together (Justin Theroux’s Kevin Garvey and Carrie Coon’s Nora Durst), Lindelof doesn’t want to take the easy route and have them split up.

Watch the exclusive clip above to hear how Lindelof, Perotta, and the actors approached this plot point and the other completely new ground the show plans to cover in its second season.

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Season 2 of The Leftovers premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, and you can purchase the Blu-ray when it becomes available on Oct. 6.