HBO’s ‘The Leftovers’ avoids a sudden departure, is renewed for a final season

There will be no “sudden departure” for HBO’s “The Leftovers.”

The network announced Thursday that it has renewed the series for a third and final season, just four days after the conclusion of a highly acclaimed second season.

Choosing to end after a third season appears to be a creative choice made by showrunner Damon Lindelof. In a statement released by the network, Lindelof said, “Tom [Perrotta], myself and our incredible team of writers and producers put tremendous care into designing those seasons as novels unto themselves ... with beginnings, middles and ends. As we finished our most recent season, it became clear to us that the series as a whole was following the same model ... and with our beginning and middle complete, the most exciting thing for us as storytellers would be to bring “The Leftovers” to a definitive end.

Lindelof added: “And by ‘definitive,’ we mean ‘wildly ambiguous but hopefully mega-emotional,’ as all things related to this show are destined to be.”

“The Leftovers,” an adaptation of Perrotta’s bestselling novel of the same name, expanded its universe far beyond the pages of Perrotta’s novel in Season 2, relocating from Mapleton, N.Y., to a small town in Texas that was untouched by “the rapture” that originally set the events of the universe in motion.

Michael Lombardo, president of HBO programming, reiterated the network’s support of the show in a statement, saying: “This show has proven to be one of the most distinctive HBO series and we are extremely proud of its unrivaled originality, which has resulted in such a passionate following by our HBO viewers. We admire and fully support Damon’s artistic vision and respect his decision to bring the show to its conclusion next season.”

There’s no indication as of yet whether or not the series will relocate a second time before the final season.

Twitter: @midwestspitfire