5 TV shows to watch if you love American Gods
By Mads Lennon
2. The Leftovers (2014 – 2017)
How to watch: Included with HBO on Amazon for $14.99/month after trial
Like American Gods, The Leftovers is also based on a novel. In this case, the book was written by Tom Perrotta who co-created the show alongside Lost alumni, Damon Lindelof.
Coming from the mind of someone who worked on LOST, you can imagine how profound and mysterious The Leftovers is. But I can promise you, The Leftovers is more cathartic with its mysteries and pay-off than Lost ever was.
The great thing about The Leftovers is the series is only three short seasons, with twenty-eight episodes in all. The show was somewhat underrated while it was on the air, although it developed a cult following and still garnered numerous award nominations during its run.
Three years before the series starts, 140 million people vanished suddenly. There is no explanation for how it happened, it just did, and it was simultaneous. On the show, the event becomes known by the characters in the universe as the “Sudden Departure.”
Following the departure, mainstream religions declined, and new religions and cults emerged. The most notable cult is known as the Guilty Remnant, a group that becomes the source of much conflict.
The first season of the show mostly follows the Garvey family in Mapleton, New York. The series starred Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Ann Dowd, and Regina King.