On October 14, 2011, a shocking event that saw 2% of the world’s population vanish suddenly and without a trace. Planes fell out of the sky, beloved family members were never heard from again, and the world simply stopped making sense for so many among the survivors.
One of the best, most thought-provoking, and saddest TV shows in history, The Leftovers may be about the mysterious event known as the Sudden Departure, but the HBO series is far more interested in the humans who were left behind than what happened to those who vanished on that infamous day. Odd cults, hugging “healers,” and folks claiming divine answers pervade the post-Departure world, providing a complex ground to analyze issues of grief and trauma, and attempting to comprehend the incomprehensible.
