HBO is Staying for 'Leftovers'

HBO is staying for leftovers.

The network has officially ordered the one-hour drama The Leftovers, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Tom Perotta, to series. Set to star in the series are Justin Theroux, Jennifer Aniston's husband-to-be, Private Practice's Amy Brenneman, Lord of the Rings' Liv Tyler, former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston and Teen Wolf's Max and Charlie Carver, among others.

Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof wrote the pilot script with Perotta and will serve as showrunner, while Perotta, Sarah Aubrey, Ron Yerxa, Alberg Berger and Friday Night Lights' Peter Berg, who directed the pilot, will also be executive producers.

Haven't read The Leftovers yet? You may want to check it out before the series debuts once you've learned what it's about: In the story, the Rapture occurs, but not exactly as people expected it to. The series will revolve around the people who didn't make the cut and a world that will never be the same.

Theroux will play Kevin Garvey, a police chief and father of two, who is trying to keep his life as normal as possible under the circumstances. Theroux, who wrote films such as Tropic Thunder and Iron Man 2, has guest-starred on HBO series Sex and the City and Six Feet Under. Brenneman will play his wife; The Secret Circle star Chris Zylka and Margaret Qualley will play his children. Also set to star in the series, which was picked up for ten episodes, are Amanda Warren, Carrie Coon, Emily Meade, Michael Gaston, Annie Q, Paterson Joseph and Brad Leland.

Lindelof isn't the first Lost creator to make the transition from network to cable as Carlton Cuse is experiencing success with Bates Motel on FX.

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