HBO is making some serious changes to The Leftovers in its second season, according to Deadline. Though the network has yet to make any official announcement, it’s been reported that virtually the entire supporting cast will not be returning for season two, and that the setting will be relocated from season one’s turbulent hamlet of Mapleton, New York.
The main cast members are all supposedly returning, including Justin Theroux and his onscreen family (Amy Brenneman, Margaret Qualley, and Chris Zylka), Christopher Eccleston’s troubled reverend, and Carrie Coons’ Nora (you know, the one all the best episodes were about). Beyond that, things seem very uncertain, though apparently there is still the potential for both Liv Tyler and Ann Dowd to return as well. (Although those familiar with the show know that the latter could only return under very specific circumstances.) That means little chance of seeing more of other cast members like Emily Meade, Amanda Warren, Michael Gaston, Annie Q., and Max and Charlie Carver (a bummer if you enjoyed the show’s lighthearted moments, because let’s face it: The twins were pretty much it.)
It seems that, with the show using up all of Tom Perrotta’s source material in the first season, producers would like to explore story possibilities beyond the confines of the original small-town setting. That creative reboot suggests only those actors who occupy a central place in the story will soon be left behind, like some kind of Sudden Departure. The Leftovers is scheduled to return in summer 2015.