HBO’s ‘The Leftovers’ Season 2 Reveals First Photos, New Mystery Intel

The Leftovers dialed back its existential mystery yesterday to reveal not only its Season 2 HBO premiere date, but also the full cast of characters and a small glimpse of the new story. Now, the mystery deepens with new tidbits from Damon Lindelof’s second round of rapture, along with new photos of the Garveys (and others) at their best,

First and foremost, yesterday’s news of The Leftovers Season 2 also came with several photos from the new season, including Justin Theroux’s Kevin and Carrie Coon’s Nora, firmly united in their new Texas home. We also see Jill (Margaret Qualley), Matt (Christopher Eccleston) preaching in his natural habitat, Regina King’s family, and even a notably still-in-white Meg (Liv Tyler).

Producers (and a trailer not yet available online) also previewed that Patti (Ann Dowd) would return, and potentially not as a ghost, while showrunner Lindelof teased that one of the cast may “depart” through mysterious means, even after Miracle, Texas’ fabled exemption. Said Lindelof of the twist:

[Miracle] has a population of over 9,000, and nobody departed. What would a place like that be? But I think that the second part of the idea is what would happen there if there was a departure? In the normal world, if somebody goes missing, we go, ‘Oh, they’re the victim of foul play,’ like somebody kidnapped them or hurt them, or they just ran away. But in this world, in the world that this concept exists, there is the third possibility.

So reads The Leftovers Season 2's latest press release:

More than three years ago, 2% of the world’s population inexplicably vanished. 140 million people, gone in an instant. No country, no state, no city was spared, except for one small town in eastern Texas. Population: 9261. Departures: Zero. This is the setting for a tale of two families: the Garveys, who have moved to this special place, and whose lives were forever changed by the Departure, and the Murphys, a local family, who seem to have been spared from an event that shook the rest of the world.

Cast regulars for season two include: Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Carrie Coon, Ann Dowd, Margaret Qualley, Chris Zylka, Regina King, Kevin Carroll, Jovan Adepo and Janel Moloney.

Created by Damon Lindelof, Emmy winner for “Lost,” and acclaimed novelist Tom Perrotta; executive produced by Lindelof, Perrotta, Mimi Leder, Tom Spezialy and Peter Berg; co-executive produced by Jacqueline Hoyt, Gene Kelly, Ron Yerxa & Albert Berger.

Also worth noting, Family Matters star Darius McCrary will recur as Isaac Rayney, a palm reader and childhood friend of John’s. You can check out the most recent teaser below, and stay tuned for The Leftovers’ next vanishing act on October 4.