The Leftovers Leaves Behind A New Trailer And Behind-The-Scenes Video

By Brent McKnight | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

The premiere of HBO’s upcoming drama The Leftovers has been delayed by two weeks to make some tweaks and smooth over a few rough edges. That hasn’t dampened our curiosity, however, and this is still one of the shows we’re keeping our eyes on this summer. To tide us over until the June 29 debut, the premium cable giant has dropped a fresh trailer into our laps. Accompanying this video is also a short behind-the-scenes look at the production.

A maudlin cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence” is a good choice to set the subdued tone for this video and really drive home the despair that most of these people feel. Based on Tom Perrotta’s novel, the story of The Leftovers picks up three years after two percent of the Earth’s population mysteriously disappears. While that may not sound like much, in actual numbers that is more than 140 million people that just up and vanished.

In the wake of this mass vanishing, those who remain have to figure out how to move forward without their loved ones and are left to wonder and search for answers. Some people the event was the Rapture, others have their own theories, but one thing is certain: everyone deals with this in a different way, and life moving forward will be indelibly changed. You see that right away in the small alterations to the Pledge of Allegiance, and in the ways that the town’s daily existence has shifted, even if it outwardly looks similar to before.

The action focuses on one family in the small town of Mapleton, New York. Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) is the sheriff, and not only does he have to deal with emerging cults like the speechless, chain-smoking, white-clad members of a group called the Guilty Remnant, but he has his own disappearance drama to deal with. With so many competing theories, responses, and reactions, there is bound to be a fair amount of external conflict for Kevin to deal with, as well as his own internal drama to reconcile.

This quick behind-the-scenes video feels like an extra you’d find on a Blu-ray box set. There are interviews with polarizing creator and writer Damon Lindelof (Lost), as well as stars like Theroux, Liv Tyler, and more. You also get to see some shots of them filming what appears to be a big clash between members of the Guilty Remnant and the regular citizenry. Despite the overarching mystery of why these people disappeared, Lindelof and company hope to make that a secondary concern to your interest in the characters in this drama. We’ll have to find out how that works for them on June 29.