HBO hasfinallyannounced when the third and final season ofThe Leftoverspremieres, and it’s some seriously hot property. Show creatorsDamon LindelofandTom Perrottaannounced in a video today thatThe LeftoversSeason 3 will premiere in April 2017, after the show took 2016 off to write and shoot its swan song. You may recall that April is usually when the almightyGame of Thronesreturns to airwaves, but in order to capture the ideal weather conditions for shooting locations,Game of ThronesSeason 7 was delayed and won’t be debuting until either late summer or fall 2017, leaving a gap in HBO’s schedule. Now it appears that the pay cable network has chosenThe Leftoversto fill it.
Lindelof’s first TV series post-Lost, and after high-profile writing gigs on films likePrometheusandTomorrowland, debuted in 2014 to a rather mixed response. The show was highly unlike anything Lindelof had done before, as he crafted a dark and all-consuming meditation on grief and depression without any interest in explaining the show’s inciting event—2% of the world’s population suddenly disappears. I was intrigued by Season 1 but not entirely captivated, but for Season 2, Lindelof radically changed the series by dropping half the cast and moving the setting from New England to Texas, and it resulted inone of the best seasons of television I’ve ever witnessed.
The LeftoversSeason 3 once again shakes things up, moving the setting to Australia, and it’ll carry a reduced episode count of eight instead of the 10 episodes that filled out seasons 1 and 2. I’m beyond excited to see how Lindelof and Co. plan on wrapping this series up, as it’s been one of the most fascinating TV rides I can recall. They sure as hell stuck the landing of Season 2, so here’s hoping that continues with this third and final season next April.
As for what else HBO has on the docket, some high-profile (and costly) cancellations have lead to a dearth of original drama content. Shows fromDavid Fincher,Steve McQueen, and evenaLewis & Clarkserieswere scuttled before they even aired, andVinylwas a costly flop that was cancelled after Season 1. On the docket for 2017 aside fromThe Leftoversis the international co-productionThe Young Pope, airing in January, as well asDavid Simon’s 70s-set porn dramaThe Deuce. The network also has the star-studded miniseriesBig Little Liesdebuting in February, and is working on bolstering its lineup with a developing drama fromAlan Balland theAmy Adams-ledGillian FlynnadaptationSharp Objects, though airdates for those two are TBD.
For now, watch the video of Lindelof and Perotta revealing theLeftoversSeason 3 premiere date below.
