User Reviews

The Leftovers is not only one of the most underrated TV shows of all-time but it's one of the best tv shows of all-time! It takes place three years after the disappearance of 2% of the world population and follows the lives of people in a small town near New York and how they cope with fall out of the event and try to figure out what happen to their loved ones. I have to admit that it's not for everyone, if your looking for a fast pace show with a lot of action the this isn't for you. This is one of the best written & acted shows of all-time. All you have to do is read through the reviews to see how loved this show really is. If you haven't seen this amazing show yet then do yourself a favor and go watch this as soon as possible!

The Leftovers is one of my favorite shows of all-time. Everything about this show is great but the writing and acting is what really makes this show so special. All you have to do is read through the reviews to see how loved this show really is. Every review has one thing in common and that's they almost all mention how underrated this show is. It doesn't get mentioned when people name the best show ever but it absolutely belongs among them. It may be a little slow for some people but it does pick up. This isn't a show where you can just have it on in the background while you do other things. You need to sit and pay attention and if you do that then I promise you'll enjoy it.

I watched the first two seasons and liked it, but I didn't really get it. I was intrigued, but very confused. And then my 35 year old husband dropped dead suddenly when I was pregnant with our 2nd daughter. I saw the 3rd season after that massive loss and suddenly it all made so much sense.

Profound grief is what you need to understand and appreciate this show. Those of us on this side will get it, but if you don't know what we do, if you've never lost someone suddenly long before you expect them to go, it probably won't make much sense to you.

I rarely watch a show again, but now I plan to watch it all again.

Love everything about The Leftovers the writing, soundtrack, acting, and the goosebumps vibe I get from it is sensational! Justin Theroux and Ann Dowd are riveting throughout, it's mind boggling Emmys weren't received more. The Leftovers will always remain in my top favorite shows and the creators really did something special. I really like the guilty remnants, everything with the Garvey family, and anyone else the story plays out so well!

When Lost was on, I wanted to like it, but the contrivances used to extend the mystery and conflict well past the point of tolerance were a turn off. In The Leftovers the aspects of Lost I didn't like are put to much better use because there's never any resolution promised for the events that transpire and it's more a character study of how broken people deal with extraordinary circumstances which they have no control over. Each season feels unique in how it gives us a view into a world that is shaken to its foundation. Not every aspect of the show works for me as I was never fond of the Guilty Remnant cult or Liv Tyler's character in relation to it, but given how they're a cult and they're not the focal point I was more forgiving of this plot point than The Others in Lost. At its core The Leftovers is a show about broken people trying to fix themselves in a world that is almost as broken as they are and it exceeds what it sets out to do.

The greatest drama series of all time, and I doubt anything I'm going to see down the line for the rest of my life will ever unseat "The Leftovers."

You go into this show, having read the brief description, thinking it's going to be just another, run-of-the-mill Twilight Zone-ish fantasy/sci-fi thing of which countless many have been churned out before. Then the actual story dawns on you like the apocalyptic thunderbolt it promises to deliver.

2% of the population anywhere on earth have vanished into thin air, and the remaining 98% are left behind to pick up the pieces. It doesn't sound like such a big deal, but the Sudden Departure touches everyone, even those who haven't lost anyone.

Cults, messianic figure leaders, delusional patients, inexplicable event after inexplicable event, absurd concepts - the absurdity sometimes reminds you of a Stephen King story, but here it's actually fun to watch.

The apocalypse. It's riveting.

It's a story about mental illness and suicide. Loss and grief. Pain and suffering. But above all, it's a story of love. Love, compassion, friendship and brotherhood - and faith.

Deeply felt, raw, unsullied faith.

It goes without saying that Justin Theroux (Chief Kevin Garvey) and Carrie Coon (Nora Durst) provided us with an absolutely divine performance, and a romance that was as complicated as it was seismically intense, that will be seared on everyone's mind for eternity. Just watching Justin cry those handsome eyes of his out, his sweet voice breaking with every tear - it's beyond words. I couldn't give him justice.

But my favorite episode was season 2, episode 5. Reverend Matt Jamison, magnificently played by Christopher Eccleston, leaves no stone unturned to protect his paralyzed, locked-in wife Mary, and the lengths he went to, that was just something else. I've never seen a performance so solid, so profoundly heartrending, of a love that is so strong, of a selfless heart that knows no bounds when it comes to sacrifice.

At the end of the day, closure is a luxury we can't afford, not even at the end of the world.

I started this show because of the interesting premise (and partly because of Damon Lindelof). I love to watch movies and series with complicated storylines. The plot synopsis made me think it's a similar kind of show. A story about the sudden departure of 2% of the world's population; a mystery drama. But I soon realized that it's not about The Departed, it's about The Leftovers, as the name suggests. It isn't about getting answers to the "why"s or "how"s, it's about the lives of the people who have to survive without knowing what happened to the people they love, losing their loved ones, but not getting any closure.

And I'm so glad that this is what the show is about. I have never been so emotionally invested in a show and it's characters like this, ever before. It's the compelling storytelling, and the great acting, that makes it so good. Yes, we do not get satisfactory answers to all the questions raised, a lot of things don't seem logical; but it's not the kind of show to logically nitpicked. It's a show whose magic needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated.

This show has made me immensely sad. But I've never felt so happy to experience grief. This show is a genuine masterpiece. Not perfect, but it's the imperfection that makes it one of the best things ever put in television.

Never before have I written a review on IMDb. Not a single one. Have been using this site since I was a young teenager (I am 25 now) and although I have been moved by and enthralled with television series and films in the past, never before has one compelled me this much to feel the need to formally post a review. That being said, The Leftovers made me write a review because it is one of the most criminally underrated, under watched and overlooked shows on television today (in America, at least). It is an absolute shame because this show is a true artistic and philosophical marvel. It forces you to truly think and truly feel while you are experiencing it, and that is something too few television shows and films do today. Nowadays, too many want a movie over a film; a show over a series. This masterpiece of a season, season 2, will be looked back upon one day as one of the greatest television seasons of any show all time. It is that rare new gem hidden amongst the knockoffs and hand me downs. Light years ahead of any competition.

Without giving any spoilers, I will tell you that this show is like absolutely none you've ever experienced before, even with any possible similarities it has to other shows one could possibly compare it to (maybe Twilight Zone, Lost, Twin Peaks or Black Mirrors). The Leftovers has completely its own style and tone through amazing production value and direction. Not to mention, the writing and acting are both phenomenal and mind blowing. The depth and range of the characters and the actors playing them are beyond remarkable. The way it is shot, edited and the way they incorporate both the show's AMAZING score (beautifully haunting beyond measure) and outside songs into it make it into one totally cohesive and extremely powerful piece of art. This show is special beyond any comparison and moves you upon its own merit.

The Leftovers deals with mystery, philosophy, spirituality, loss, pain, love, hate, truth and fiction and what it means to truly understand and deal with all of these things. Not to mention the supernatural and unexplainable elements of life, nature and humanity themselves. And it is a true marvel to watch.

Please watch this show and you will not be disappointed! ( Well, unless you have awful taste and don't know what art is or you just don't like things that make you think and feel and question ;P ) Great things ahead for this series! Love love love what Lindelof Perrotta Leder and co are doing. Truly special to see every Sunday! 10/10

I watched the first episode of The Leftovers when the series debuted and found it intriguing but not that engaging. So I gave up on it until, many years later, I read an article about how the series turned itself into one of the best series ever in season 2. After after finding this is the general consensus, I decided to check it out.

And yes, season 2 of this show about the aftereffects of a day where 2% of the population is riveting. It's this insane, intense, mysterious thing that keeps you off-balance. It was like a whole new series (be warned, you'll need to find a guide to the characters if you start on season 2; there's a lot you'll be wondering about).

Season 3 is also good, although in a different way. The series actually gets nuttier (telegraphed by the strange collection of opening-credits songs). It's a weird shift, since season 2 was pretty emotionally intense throughout, but it generally works.

Much of the power of the series is that it never lets you be sure of anything. There was one supernatural event years before that freaked people out, but the supernatural events in the series itself can be seen as fakes or hallucinations. Much of the series concerns what we believe and how we choose to believe.

There are some things I am not completely sold on. 2% of the population would mean a lot of people wouldn't have been directly effected, and people really do adapt pretty quickly to horrific disasters, but in the series everyone is traumatized for years and everyone's lives is centered around this single event. I don't find this entirely realistic. The third season centers on the belief that something big is coming that seems pretty random. And the ending ... well, it's consistent with the series, but it ultimately feels a little unsatisfying.

But overall well worth watching.

Well... Where do I start? I'm Cem, I live in a small town Babaeski, 200 miles west to Istanbul, Turkey. Forgive me for my english language, I'm still improving. I don't like writing reviews but I had to do it and it had to be this.

On a hot and sunny summer day, I started watching... this. Experience. Just like watching any other TV show, I grabbed my beer and chips, I leaned back and pressed the start button.

Then I couldn't stop. That beer was never finished. Chips gone stale. My mind just gone nuts, trying to comprehend the new reality, the new angle of vision of how I perceive life and death. The existence. Some episodes hit me so hard that I had to lock my room in case anyone enter and see me in tears. Never in my life have I cried with my chin trembling; even in most of the funerals I attended I ever gave a flinch.

I have made mistakes by recommending this masterpiece to everyone I know. Some of them hardly watched the first episode and got bored immediately.

Then I understood.

I understood that only those who can question their existence, their purpose; only those who seek a path to walk can apprehend what is going on in the story. So this show became my -sort of- bible, a sacred altar that hidden deep in my basement. I could only show this altar to those who are worthy. And not many people around me are worthy enough, I realized.

Surrounded by vast fields and lands, populated with a small-talk, small-do people, I felt alone. Got depressed about it. Got drunk, cried, started taking anti-depressants, recovered, found a dull job, watched TV again, went out with friends, got drunk, forgot all about it, forgot all about the show; at least I thought so.

Sometimes, when I'm happy, when everyone's happy and laughing and joking, I remember Nora. I remember Kevin. I remember Matt. My never-seen-in-my-life friends. Then that famous piano solo plays in my mind; like an echo coming from deep. I have an urge to reach them and hug them and tell them it's ok, you got this, everything will be all right. We are just specks of dust in this vast universe and we'll die as soon as we're born. We will not have all the answers we seek in this life. In this vast and scary universe, we only got each other. We only got who are still here. We only got who are left.

I have a beautiful girlfriend now; best imaginable. I'll marry her. She will always be with me till death. But that emptiness will always walk with me. I will not even mention this gap in my heart. This thought. This black stain that haunts me and keeps me up at night. We are in a scary universe and we are alone. Nobody will hold my hand when I die. Nobody will keep holding my hand when I walk the inevitable, cold, misty road. I'll be scared. God, what will I do when that time comes? A speck of dust like me, what importance I have anyway. I live and I die. I'll become a tombstone in this world, catching somebody's eyes in a year or so, for a moment, and forgotten eternally.

This is heavy. I don't know if this knowledge; this realisation, this "upper consciousness" is a blessing or a curse. Now that I'm "aware", I value every second of my life. Never I got bored since I realized how little time we got left. No matter how dull is my job, I have cared for everyone and everything that needed my attention and my help. I gave more than I take for myself granted. I 'll continue to help and bring joy to everyone I can reach.

But that black stain, that scary monster waiting in the shadows, the void stare in the mirror, the echoing solo coming from underground, two begging eyes, the hopeless me will be kept as a secret till I die.

I am from England and I just so happen to be visiting some friends in the USA where this show has just come out and is presently on episode 4.

I have just watched all four episodes and came to IMDb to see what people have to say about it. I am really surprised that the reviews are so negative by so many people!

This show will do really well in Britain (that's England, Scotland and Wales - the UK includes Northern Ireland too) because British drama is often gritty, solemn, and very very dark. And so is this show.

No one in 'The Leftovers' is happy. Everyone is mourning the loss of their loved ones in the aftermath of a a global event in which 2% of the world's population inexplicably disappeared. They are also dealing with the pain caused by the subsequent suffering of people around them, and its consequences.

This show has top notch acting by all concerned and is driven by the development of the characters, and the unfolding of events that now follow the rapture.

Nothing is explained in the beginning and the viewer is supposed to attempt to piece together what is going to unfold as the season goes on and the events slowly start to make sense to us.

It seems to me that here in the US, many people do not like thinking when watching the television. That might sound harsh, but it is truly beyond me how a show like this can get so many poor reviews when a show like 'Teen Wolf' (which I also saw for the first time a few days ago) is praised to the hilt.

The episode of 'Teen Wolf' I watched cut between 4 separate scenes like a Latin American soap opera that consisted of a guy pointing a gun at two Mexicans who were trying to get him to say some words out loud, and a lacrosse game with an angry werewolf and some very shocking acting.

'The Leftovers', on the other hand, is fantastic captivating storytelling; rather than a show whose purpose is to dumb down a nation, it requires people to use their brains and think about the darker side of the reality we actually live in today.

As a side note, the British actor Christopher Eccleston loves this kind of material. Check out the original British version of 'Cracker' or 'The Second Coming' (in which he plays the return of the son of God) to see what I mean. British cinema is no different. Christopher Eccleston stars in both 'Shallow Grave' and 'Jude' - two excellent dark and depressing films that show the depths of human suffering that the values of society perpetuate.

In episode 3 of 'The Leftovers', his character the priest attempts to save his church with an idea that seems to come from supernatural inspiration. The underlying question in the episode is whether or not he is on a path of good or evil in the way he chooses to do so.

'The Leftovers' is intelligent and it is thought-provoking. The writing is excellent, and the quality of this show, to my mind, is indisputable.

Nevertheless, I don't think that the content of this show is for everyone. Episode 3 in particular was so sinister that it was tough viewing. And not everyone wants to deliberately delve into a world of misery once a week. Just don't watch something like 'Teen Wolf' instead!

Just binged all 28 episodes and couldn't tell you what I just watched. This show gives little answers and frustrates the viewer to no end. The rave reviews here are amazing. Clearly, I'm not smart enough to understand that nothing is going on about nothing even though something happened and it goes nowhere into something fast, but slow.

Just wanted to briefly review. A few years after I have watched this. Although slow in parts and a little laggy in the first season, This is absolutely the best and most moving TV show and story I have ever watched or experienced. Please watch if you are considering. Don't want to spoil anything: but a masterful exploration of grief and the finale is easily the best of any TV show!

The Leftovers is undoubtedly the most underrated series of these last times, the HBO series was in danger of being canceled by its low audience, but fortunately it was not, the series that is based on a book by Tom Perrota, and has Damon Lindelof the same Lindelof creator of the controversial Lost, but I am happy to say that Damon Lindelof redeemed himself with The Leftovers, in season 3 with only 28 episodes, the series is a little lens at first but then begins to engage a lot, with great characters, Kevin, Nora Matt, Laurie, Jill, Tom, Patti and etc, are many well-built characters, my favorite character in the series is Matt played by the great Christopher Eccleston, the cast of the series is great, Justin Theroux evolves a lot in the series, and the last Carrie Coon is an impeccable actress, she was totally snobbish in the Emmy, she should not only have been nominated, but she could have won, the cast also has Liv Tyler, Amy Brenneman, Chris Zylka , Margaret Qualley, Ann Dowd, Regina King, Kevin Carrol, and all of the greats, especially Amy, Regina and Ann Dowd, the series is brilliant with a great story and the series does not bother to explain the mystery, it's about the Leftovers, the series is steered impeccably, and the series has clear reference in the classic Twin Peaks, The Leftovers has an excellent 1 season, a 2 excellent and a 3 perfect with At least 6 masterpieces of 8 episodes, Damon Lindelof, Directors and the cast are congratulations for this masterpiece, has very slow episodes, but I would say that season 3 has no error, the soundtrack is melancholy, it is incredible, a work of Max Richter, and has episodes focused on 1 character, and Matt has 3 episodes focused, 1 each season and the 3 are masterpieces, The Leftovers is a striking and unforgettable series with a 3 season perfect and a satisfactory ending, it's sad to know er that this series was totally snubbed in the Emmy, a series that has "only" 98 in the metacritic. Note 97

Season 1 - 95 Season 2 - 97 Season 3 - 100

Top best episode 1 - The Most Powerful Man in the World 2 - I Live Here Now 3 - G'Day Melbourne 4 - Certified 5 - The Garveys at Their Best 6 - It's a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World 7 - The Book of Nora 8 -No Room at the Inn 9 - Two Boats and a Helicopter 10 - International Assassin

I don't want to include any spoilers so I'll concentrate this review on convincing you that if you liked Lost and Fringe, you'll like this show too. Justin Thereaux is amazing, if I hadn't seen him in the Mosquito Coast, I would not have realized how good he is. I'm also a huge Carrie Coon fan, and she is absolutely terrific here. The event of literally biblical proportions that sets the premise for the show is so thought provoking. Don't expect all the answers at the end of the series run, that's not its intention. Rather its meant to display the drama of people wrestling with these questions. Its a very wild ride, but in the end we see the human spirit's ability to overcome and find happiness in a very emotional finale. Stick with it.

The first five episodes are pretty slow and don't really give an good inside into the what the show can really offer but after that, you can appreciate exactly why this is show is a 10/10. Just give a chance!

One day, just like any other day, suddenly 2% of the worlds populations disappears or rather departs. I'm going to tell you about my 3 season long journey that I took experiencing this show, which was an experience like nothing I've ever experienced before. The leftovers raised televisions standard of mediocrity to exceptional and was able to create a TV series that the viewer can engage in I.e; theorizing each week. There was a conversation between the writers and the audience with each episode. This show is like foreplay for your brain! I'm not confident in saying that another series will come along in my lifetime and fill the void that this show did. It's that special and prescious! Now I know how the 98% felt when this series ended. The first season is very intriguing but lays down a depressive dark tone but one that fits beautifully with what the show is about. There were a lot of moments that were amazing in the first season and overall I'd say it was an amazing first season but it didn't reach true masterpiece territory until season two. From the very start the them song is switched to a light hearted one and there's this feeling that the dark cloud has been lifted. Now, let me tell you how absolutely insane of an experience the second season is. Remember in the matrix when Neo is given a choice to take the blue pill or the red pill? Well the second season feels like...whoops you took both of them because it blows your mind! I never had so much fun spending an hour in front of a TV. Anything goes! You just know the writers had so much fun writing this brain porn. You're taken on journeys, where the main character gets to pick... ahh can't ruin it. You'll find yourself on forums all over the internet with fans as obsessed, and believe me you will become obsessed, guessing and theorizing over every subtle clue. Again, never has a show been made like this! Sure you can tell it's in the same family as Lost given the same Creator but this series is very very deep. It's extremely heavy stuff. The music score by Max Richter is the best I've ever heard and soon as a this music plays you know it's time to grab Kleenex. A lot has been made about whether this series would answer all the deep and meaningful questions. Having just finished the finale I'll add the quote from HBO "Nothing is answered. Everything is answered. Then it ends." This show is about the characters, how we relate to them, how we watch them grow and evolve through experiences. It's about grief and dealing with loss. It's about love and dealing with love. It's about faith but ultimately it's about fate! This show is incredibly interesting philosophically and spiritually. The honesty of the characters earnestness and imperfections reminds you what it is to be truly human. Thanks to the cast who do a brilliant incredible job, Carrie Coon, Justin Theroux and etc. this show has emmys written all over it!

This is a very special show. Even with its supernatural main theme there is something so very human and very real about the characters and their flaws. Their journey inspires sympathy, introspection and even frustration because their journey is our journey. Their pain is our pain. And like them we seek to understand our place, purpose and value in a strange and sometimes cruel world. It's the quest that drives us forward through our hurt and confusion between the path of two worlds. It's cinematic art at its finest. "Just let the mystery be"

I still want to find TV series that will impress me more than Leftovers, but nothing is closer to this show . I envy all of you who haven't watch it yet

Sometimes I wish my English vocabulary was developed enough to do this series right. I just want to say: this is how a drama series should be made. From now on, when there is a drama lessons at what school in the world, this should be the example on how to make it.

For years I held on to a list of best shows ever written (Carnivàle, The Shield, new Battlestar Galactica, Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who, ....), well, that list has a new number one, The Leftovers.

When I first read about this series I thought about series like "The 4400", but nothing can be further from it. The Leftovers is unique in every way, words can just not describe how well it's written, directed and played, it's just a master piece. Every episode is well balanced, always surprising and gives so much depth in all the characters. And let's not forget the perfect, beautiful music, so well placed, just perfect.

But with all the intelligent written series (like Rubicon), there is the danger the public won't pick it up, I read some negative reviews about this series witch I do not understand at all. I even read a review on The Wire, talking about deleting some of the characters in the show because some are not interesting. I guess they don't understand the delicate balance you need in a show of this magnitude. Let those reviewers watch "The Last Ship" or "The 100", also very entertaining, but not so stressful for the brain.

I will not tell 1 letter of the story, this you have to watch yourselves to be surprised.

People just want straight answers. They want everything to be explained to them. They want the mystery to have some sense of purpose and meaning.

I am - conveniently - talking about both the protagonists of the story AND the viewers of the Leftovers.

This is by far THE most profound, perplexed, underrated drama I have seen in the last decade.

It was ignored by the average audience and many people hated it because it didn't abide by the rules of the mainstream storytelling.

But for me, I was drawn into that world because it was the first show to reflect with so surgically the human need for answers.

Pure masterpiece.

I've often thought that "Lost" was an unparalleled masterpiece that comes only once in a lifetime, but then I watched "The Leftovers".

For me, the 3 seasons of this one, best the 6 seasons of Lost... And the ending of this one, bests the ending of any other TV series in all time (well, maybe except for the sublime finale of "Battlestar Galactica" 2004-2009)

The Leftovers will make you gush with emotions, while your thought ponders deeply, and while your imagination drifts unrestrained.

In short: This is not just a TV series, it's a spiritual experience.

I'll keep it short & sweet, this is one of the greatest series ever made! As with lost, it hooks you with mystery & intrigue but much more gritty. On top of the story it's beautifully shot.

If anyone hasn't seen it yet, give it a chance. The series has somewhat of a slow start.

I watched this series week-by-week as it was released from '14-'17 and found it to be a great show. But then I took the time to binge watch the show again after it had concluded in '18. I was absolutely blown away by the rich character development and exquisite storytelling, as well as the phenomenal acting by every character in the series. The way in which this series evokes emotion and empathy out of the viewer is simply astounding. It's almost difficult to explain this show to someone who hasn't seen it before due to the ambiguities and nuance that make it such a great show. This show has single-handedly made me a massive fan of both Justin Theroux and Carrie Coon, and that isn't to minimize the roles and performances of the rest of the cast, but those two were clear standouts. This series will go down as one of the greatest, and one of the most underrated (at least viewership wise) of the 2010's. I highly recommend giving this show a viewing and sticking with it because it only gets better and better as the series progresses.