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.