# HBO’s Near-Perfect 9-Episode Miniseries Became the Critics’ Favorite When It Broke From the Formula

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/hbos-near-perfect-9-episode-miniseries-became-the-critics-favorite-when-it-broke-from-the-formula/
- Published: 2026-09-12T03:41:11+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-12T04:33:08+00:00
- Original publisher: Collider
- Original article: https://collider.com/hbo-watchmen-miniseries-broke-formula/
- Topics: Entertainment, TV

## Key points

- HBO's Watchmen reworked the comic as a "remix," not a retelling
- Set in 2019 Tulsa, led by Regina King's Angela Abar
- Critics praised it for breaking from typical adaptation formula

## Summary

HBO's Watchmen (2019) defied expectations for a beloved comics adaptation by refusing to simply retell Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' original graphic novel. Showrunner Damon Lindelof instead built a "remix" set decades later, using the source material's alternate-history world to comment on contemporary issues, an approach critics praised as elevating the nine-episode miniseries above a conventional sequel or adaptation.

The series is set primarily in Tulsa in 2019, unfolding non-linearly across multiple timelines with Doctor Manhattan (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) as a guiding presence. Its central figure is Angela Abar (Regina King), a detective-turned-vigilante drawn into a conspiracy involving the white supremacist group the 7th Kavalry after the death of police chief Judd Crawford (Don Johnson). The show preserves the graphic novel's alternate-history details, such as banned masked vigilantes and Robert Redford's presidency, while using them to explore fresh social tensions, cementing its reputation as a bold reinterpretation rather than a straightforward continuation.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.