'Leftovers' Season 2 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Author Tom Perrotta Details New Characters, Episodes!

Last summer, HBO's psychological series The Leftovers, starring Justin Theroux, Liv Tyler and more, took over our lives, leaving us with some of the most incredible mysteries and questions on TV. On Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015, brand new episodes start with the season two premiere, inviting viewers to the town of Miracle, Texas. In our exclusive interview with series co-creator and author Tom Perrotta, we learn some details, teasers and possible spoilers for the upcoming story of the Garveys meeting the Murphys and relocating to this questionable town that wasn't affected by "The Sudden Departure."

Check out our conversation with Perrotta below!

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Though there were a number of differences from your book and the first season of the series, is the story of season two similar to how you thought a sequel of your book would be?

If there was no show I kind of doubt it because the whole idea for instance of the town of Miracle converged from discussions that we had in the writers room last season. We had spent about a week or two talking about the world and building on the book and going places the book hadn't gone so I think season two was a great sequel to season one but I don't think it would have happened if there had been no show.

Did you have this story in mind before the show or season two was even coming together?

What happened was, last year one of the things we were thinking about was where would Tom and Christine go when they were on the road trying to get from California to the east coast. We didn't realize how little time he actually had to tell that story its always so hard to gage that stuff once you get going and at some point we can up with this idea that maybe there's this town that disappeared and maybe that would be a place that was considered safe and maybe Tom would want to get Christine there or they would just stop through and they would have some kind of adventure and it just turned out that to set something like that up was going to take an entire episode. We just didn't have that kind of time to give but that idea was in our back pocket when we started to talk about season two and whether or not we wanted to stay in Mapleton or where could our characters go.

Season one, you had your book to work off of - in season two, was there more freedom for you and the other writers to create another story - was that a more difficult process?

One thing I'll say is that we had less time. When I'm writing a book I can construct a world over a couple years but when we are working on the show we got together in November and we talked for about a month then took some time off for the holidays and dove back in. we were building our world and figuring it out at the same time. Just had a much move improvisational feel which is how TV works anyway. It's fast. You have to do 10 hours in less than a year when a feature film can take that much time for 2 hours. So it was a kind of improvisational on the fly process.

What's the writing process like as an author coming into a collaborative effort with one of the most talked about TV showrunners, Damon Lindelof?

One thing I've learned in my career in TV and Film is that it's just crucial to have good collaborators because it's a collaborative enterprise. I was lucky enough in film to work with Alexander Payne and Todd Field and I'm really thrilled to work with someone like Damon whose one of the best at what he does. I feel like I can learn from Damon, he has ideas that I would never have, I think I have a kind of approach that's different from his and I don't think there's anything to gain from collaborating with someone who thinks exactly like you. There's a kind of tension that have be stressful sometimes but usually we end up in agreement about the stories we want to tell. We've got to a place that neither of us could have gotten to on our own. So it's been a really exciting collaboration especially because I do think we come from very different story telling traditions.

Is Justin Theroux's Kevin Garvey Jr. going to have more blackouts? Is he going to start hearing voices like his father? Will we find out who/what these voices are?

There's going to be quite a bit of Kevin Garvey this season. Kevin has left his job as chief of police in Mapleton and he's really focused on one hand on his private life and creating this new family with Norah, Jill and their new baby. And then on his inner turmoil. This is going to be a season about a guy asking the same question you did. Am I crazy? What is happening in my mind? So he goes from being a guy with a real outward focus from keeping control of the town to a real inward focus of just keeping control of himself.

What can you share about the new characters and the new setting?

So the family that we're mainly focusing on is called the Murphys. Kevin Carroll pays John Murphy who is a volunteer fireman and a kind of important figure in this town. He's not a law man he's a fireman and yet he seems to have some kind of law enforcement part to his job. He is somebody who is trying to keep order in a place that's always on the verge or falling into chaos. He's also a guy with a very complicated history that's going to unfold over the course of the season. His wife is Erica Murphy who is played by the amazing Regina King and she is a local doctor so she's a respected figure in the community. She seems like a very funny personality but I think again we'll find out that there's some deep stuff going on there. The kids are Michael played by Jovan Adepo whose is a very religious kid. He's the one sort of really religious person in the family and he's got a kind of real calm quiet demeanor. His sister is much more bubbly and interesting. Evie, played by Jasmin Savoy Brown. They're a really interesting loving family you get to meet them during the premiere so I won't have to say too much about them I think viewers will really get a close up glimpse of who they are Sunday night.

In season one, there was a ton of mystery, some of which was not explained... will we get more answers this season or more mounting questions?

I think you'll learn a lot more about Kevin, you'll learn a lot more about everybody in the show. I don't think it's a show that's going to explain the biggest questions but I think you'll continue to deepen your knowledge of our main players. And really deepen your knowledge of what's going on in the wider world post departure. I think season one was mainly focused on Mapleton and the Garveys and the Guilty Remnant. Season two will introduce some other big elements. Miracle is a National Park and there's a kind of energy around where it's kind of a new American Holy Land and then we decided to talk about what kind of questions scientist are researching post departure. We look at the scientific response to this event.

The theme of hope seems to be emphasized in the marketing for season two, but it clearly doesn't last too long - how long does it last?

I think for us the hope is really a motivating force for the Garveys. They're trying to start over and they do run into some challenges right away because Miracle turns out not to be the solution to all their problems. It would be a very boring story if it was. I will say it's The Leftovers and hope is doled out in very small doses.

What do you hope the audience takes away from the season premiere and then ultimately the entire season?

This season is really about place. The title of episode two is "A Matter of Geography" and you know to what extend to different places allow for different experiences and a different kind of family. Were kind of putting this question to the test: Can the Garveys find a new life in a new place or are they victims of that old wherever you go there you are quandary? I think what we want from the premiere is for people to learn about this new place and meet some people who live there and go along the journey with the Garveys.

For more information about Tom Perrotta, check out his official website right here!

Jon Niles is the Associate Editor for MStars News. He is a contributing features writer for Music Times as well. Follow Jon on Twitter right here!

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