The Leftovers showrunner Damon Lindelof recently discussed the changes made from season 1 to season 2, speaking philosophically on audiences' desires.

In this era of increasing darkness on television, The Leftovers stands as one of the darkest series. The show was often knocked for its unrelenting sorrow in its first season, but reached near-universal praise from critics for its more relatable second season.

Lindelof spoke about this in a new Variety interview, explaining why some viewers may have tuned out after a few episodes of The Leftovers.

"We don't want darkness without relief. There has to be lightness and humor - a flicker of hope - or else audiences tune out if the show gets too dark," he said. "That was something we derived from the first season of The Leftovers. I think the themes of the second season are just as dark, but if you go into unrelenting darkness and despair, American audiences will reject that outright."

While Lindelof admitted that the modern audience likes "depth and darkness" in its TV shows, "this kind of internal darkness - deep, emotional darkness - doesn't settle with audiences," he said. "It's read as depression and despair. Audiences don't want to see characters wallowing in misery - they want to see characters trying to dig themselves out of holes. They want people who are vying for inner peace; trying to get out of the tunnel. They want to see a light at the end of the tunnel - not extinguishing a light."

While The Leftovers has had low viewership through most of its run, HBO did renew the show for a third season, though this will also be the final season. This final season is slated to take place in Australia, a bold move for the show, though not entirely unprecedented. After all, the series moved from New York to Texas in between the first two seasons and did so very successfully.

The Leftovers season 3 does not have a premiere date yet on HBO.

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