HBO's new series Lanterns has drawn comparisons to True Detective for its slow-burn mystery structure, and its connection to writer Damon Lindelof has prompted renewed appreciation for his earlier HBO show The Leftovers, still regarded as one of television's most accomplished sci-fi mysteries. Lindelof, known for reshaping straightforward premises into surreal, metaphysical stories on Lost, Watchmen and Mrs. Davis, brought the same approach to The Leftovers, which grows stranger and more ambitious with each season while remaining emotionally grounded.

The Leftovers begins with 140 million people vanishing without explanation and follows those left behind as they cope with unresolved grief, incorporating bizarre elements such as cults, resurrected characters and a purgatorial hotel. Its finale is singled out for its restraint: decades later, Kevin finds Nora, who recounts crossing into a parallel dimension to find her children, a story the show deliberately never confirms or denies, leaving its truth open to interpretation.