Since writing and co-creating the landmark drama Lost Damon Lindelof has worked primarily in the feature film world, but he'll be returning to television with a new HBO series called The Leftovers. Variety reports that the company has ordered a 10-episode season of the hour-long drama. Based upon the novel by Tom Perrotta, it tells the story of the people left behind after The Rapture strikes. Lindelof will serve as the showrunner for the program, and co-wrote the pilot with Perrotta.
The Leftovers marks Lindelof's return to the medium that made him famous — or infamous, depending on what you thought of the ending of Lost. Since that show wrapped, the writer has worked on projects like Prometheus, Star Trek Into Darkness, and was one of the writers brought in to rethink the third act of World War Z. His most recent feature, the mysterious Disney film Tomorrowland, just began shooting with Brad Bird behind the camera.
Lindelof's ability to juggle multiple characters across an assortment of story lines is precisely what made Lost compelling in the first place, and with the broad set-up he'll be working from in The Leftovers it seems he'll have the opportunity to show off those skills yet again. It also gives HBO yet another high-profile show to add to its slate — something that's becoming increasingly vital as services like Netflix continue to take hold.