The Leftovers Is Making All Of These Changes For Season 2

The Leftovers will be making plenty of changes headed into Season 2. The Damon Lindelof drama will be totally switching things up this summer in terms of casting and location, and now we have some ideas regarding exactly where the HBO drama is headed. Namely, The Leftovers will be heading to Texas in Season 2.

The location change helps to explain the news that dropped a few months ago, which revealed that a lot of the characters who were present during Season 1 of The Leftovers will not be back for Season 2. “Many” of the show’s supporting cast, who played Mapleton, New York townsfolk in the first season, are expected to be cut from the lineup, potentially including Charlie and Max Carver, Michael Gaston, Annie Q and Amanda Warren. At the time, guest stints were still possibly in the cards for the supporting cast, but with a move to Texas, it seems way less likely that other Mapleton residents will play a role.

We do know that the main cast will be back for Season 2. That includes the entire Garvey family, played by Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Margaret Qualley and Chris Zylka. Carrie Coon, who plays Nora Durst on the series, is also set to appear, as is Christopher Eccleston, who plays Reverend Matt Jamison. Now, TV Line reports that the series is adding a brand new African-American family to the mix. The Murphy family will be made up of ex-convict John, his wife Erika and their two kids, Evie and Michael. So far, it doesn’t look as if those characters have been cast, and we don't know whether they will be foes or friendly, yet.

Spoilers in this paragraph, if you haven’t watched the Season 1 finale. When last we left The Leftovers, the Mapleton community had been torn apart by the Guilty Remnant cult, who had placed lifelike burial dummies in the homes of those who lost family members during the Sudden Departure.

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It’s tough to lose numerous people at once, and the town was already having trouble dealing with the fact that loved ones had vanished into thin air. The Guilty Remnant cult’s actions led to chaos, which is exactly what the cult wanted. People were rampaging on the streets. Moving is probably the best option for the main cast following the season finale, but why they will choose Texas is still a mystery.

Of course, life will never be normal for the characters in The Leftovers. A change of venue might spice things up a bit, but it can’t change the fact that the survivors witnessed people disappearing and were forever shaken and changed because of it. HBO hasn’t officially announced a premiere date, yet, but The Leftovers is expected to return to the schedule this summer. In the meantime, we’ll let you know if we learn anything more regarding which cast members will or won’t be returning.

You can catch HBO’s spring premiere lineup, featuring Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley and Veep, starting on April 12.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.