The Leftovers showrunner Damon Lindelof has already planned out the final scene of the series.

The cast and crew of HBO's The Leftovers are hard at work creating the third and final season of the show. But before a second of filming could begin, Lindelof and company figured out how they wanted the series to end.

Lindelof spoke about this in a recent interview with Deadline, discussing the creative process of developing this final season.

"Well, we started with the very end. We eventually said, what do we want the last scene of the series to be, who's in that scene and what's happening in that scene, what do we want that scene to evoke emotionally?" Lindelof explained. "And then, on a storytelling level, what happens, what feels like finality in a show that has never been about resolving mystery and delivering conclusive endings, now that the show is actually going to end? And how do we want the audience to be feeling when it's all over? So, those conversations started in a very abstract way and as they developed became much more coherent and sort of formed themselves into 'OK, we know what that last scene is, now, how are we going to get there?'"

While season 1 of The Leftovers was mostly an adaptation of the Tom Perrotta book of the same name, season 2 was completely different, created entirely by the show's writers. Now the third season is being written in a different way as well, with an ending firmly in place.

"So, we just planted a very firm flag in the ground of what the destination was going to be and I think that's really well for us. Season 2, we had no map, but we drew it up before we got in our cars," Lindelof said. "So, Season 3, the show is ending and that's infusing it with a certain degree of energy that's different, perhaps, than the previous seasons."

Season 2 ended in bittersweet fashion, with the town of Miracle being overrun by the Guilty Remnant, led by Meg (Liv Tyler), but Kevin (Justin Theroux) ultimately finding a sense of family with Nora (Carrie Coon), Jill (Margaret Qualley), Laurie (Amy Brenneman), Matt (Christopher Eccleston), Mary (Janel Moloney), Tom (Chris Zylka) and baby Lily. It remains to be seen where the show will go next in season 3, but with filming taking place in Australia, we should probably expect a bold and beautiful ending.

The Leftovers season 3 is expected to premiere in 2017 on HBO.

Tags: The Leftovers television hbo