When A Cult Following Became An Actual Cult To Demand A Third Season Of “The Leftovers”
Story by Mitchell Friedman, photography by Keith Estiler
“It’s not like we’re causing a danger to anybody,” said web developer Tom MacLean, who for another hour would be acting head of a cult called “The Guilty Remnant.” Dressed in white from head to toe, smoking a cigarette outside HBO’s New York headquarters in frantic midtown at lunchtime, he and his clan drew eyes from the usually jaded New Yorkers. As well as the ire of a few elderly ladies who thought they were blocking the bus stop. The real Guilty Remnant would have stood still, staring. A living reminder. MacLean just apologizes and moves the group down a few feet.
“It’s the best show on TV that no one watches,” chimes another happy member of the imitation Remnant.
“Exactly. I was very gratified feeling like I was doing the right thing.”
In a climate where no shortage of causes demand social action, this is what one group chose to demonstrate for on Monday: A severely depressing hour of television about what happens to the people leftover in a world where two percent of their family and friends have just disappeared into the sky without a trace.
MacLean and about a dozen other steadfast fans showed up to make sure the same didn’t happen to their beloved HBO show, “The Leftovers.”
Dressed all in white, smoking cigarettes and doing their best impression of the cult featured prominently in the show, the Leftovers diehards stood outside the HBO headquarters and HBO store in NYC.
When MacLean gave a courtesy notification a few days before the fan meet up, the employee’s response was about as full of confusion as Justin Theroux’s face in 20 straight episodes.
“For Game of Thrones?’
“Oh… no, for The Leftovers.”
“Are you SERIOUS?!”
The HBO man’s incredulity that people actually watch (and love) “The Leftovers” is the exact reason MacLean needed to organize the “IRL MEET UP,” as he billed it, using the show’s page on Reddit.
Thanks to a time slot with tough competition (Sunday Night Football, “The Walking Dead”) and without a strong lead in, “The Leftovers” unimpressive season one numbers have only gotten worse in season two. We’re still waiting for the ratings on last night’s season finale, but the penultimate episode was watched by only some 800,000 viewers. Compare that to the latest episode nine from Game Of Thrones… watched by over seven million.
The fans may be few, but they are passionate. And they want a third season.
Some who showed up Monday had discovered the show thanks to creator Damn Lindelof’s previous effort, “Lost.” Most had made a habit of visiting the vibrant Reddit community for theories and post-show clarification.
All had agreed, the show is unlike anything else on TV.
“I think it’s one of the best shows I’ve ever seen,” said an IT consultant named Victor, currently using his lunch break to briefly become a religious fanatic. “I’ve been trying to get other people into it and it’s just a real hard sell for some reason.”
That reason might have something to do with the show’s basic emotional core. John Oliver (a fan of the show) once went on Seth Meyers and called it, “A one hour voyage into the heart of human darkness.” And, again, that’s from a fan.
And it’s a sentiment that the “Guilty Remnant” on 6th avenue understood. One fan told me he liked how “there’s no comic relief whatsoever,” in the show. No comic relief, that is, “between the tears.”
That’s definitely a hard sell. But as one fan expressed to me, it’s something beautiful to watch fully human characters deal with real pain, the type of loss and longing rarely explored so honestly on television. As someone who recently lost his father, he told me he watches the show for a certain catharsis.
The show’s Guilty Remnant smoke, stay silent, and generally freak people out to remind them that their loved ones have disappeared, and that times have changed. Their message: never forget.
Today’s “Guilty Remnant” were a collection of smiling, upbeat, friendly people. For a show that leaves everyone depressed, you might expect a more dour group of fans.
But if you read way too much into it (and this is a blog post on Medium, so we’re doing it), their spirit was not so unlike that of the cult they impersonated. They were there to send the same message: Times have changed. Thanks to Reddit, a rabid fanbase can generate a portion of the chatter and prestige usually associated with a more traditional hit.
Show creator Damon Lindelof himself has explained his recent press barrage as a play for buzz: “We live in a media climate where buzz is a very real thing, and if me giving an interview creates clicks or press or buzz in any way,” then he owes it to the show to talk more.
Towards the end of the hour demonstration, a few HBO employees emerged from their offices, laughing and clapping for the passionate fans.
MacLean noticed.
“Even something as silly as this could be the difference,” he said. “Who knows?”
