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The Leftovers (Season 2) (2015)

The Leftovers (Season 2)
Do you want to drop me in or do you want to push me in? Pushing is probably easier.
—Patti Levin
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It’s rare for a television series to completely reinvent itself between seasons, but that’s precisely what the showrunners of HBO’s The Leftovers did – and the show’s opening title sequence was a key part of that reinvention. Season two of The Leftovers uproots its characters from sleepy Mapleton, New York and transplants them to the enigmatic town of Jarden, Texas, a place seemingly untouched by the “Sudden Departure.”

Season two’s drastic change of scenery and tone necessitated a new introduction for the series. Charged with succeeding yu+Co’s weighty first season opener, Angus Wall and studio Elastic opted to forego the religious iconography and to reflect the new focus on family and personal realities. Guided by Iris DeMent’s folky “Let The Mystery Be,” the sequence is a montage of photographs depicting the private lives of Americans, from intimate moments to major milestones. The departed appear as silhouettes, outlines filled with natural phenomena – cloud formations, starfields, sunsets – empty spaces left in people’s hearts. Where did they go? What happens now? The opening titles, like the show itself, seem unwilling to offer an answer. And that’s okay.

  • Credits

Studio: Elastic

Director: Angus Wall
Art Director: Mara Smalley Midura
Design Support: Krystal Sojourner
Animators: Tony Kandalaft, Sam Cividanis
Editor: Austyn Daines 

Producer: Jamie McBriety
Executive Producer: Jennifer Sofio Hall
Head Of Production: Kim Christensen

Music: “Let The Mystery Be” by Iris Dement

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Title sequence

  • Production Studio

    Elastic
  • Director

    Angus Wall
  • Producer

    Jamie McBriety
  • Design Support

    Krystal Sojourner
  • Art Director

    Mara Smalley Midura
  • Category

    TV
  • Styles

    2010s, digital, main title, still photography, stock photography, typographic
The Leftovers (Season 2)
  • Creators

    Damon Lindelof
    Tom Perrotta
  • Release Date

    October 4, 2015
  • Aspect Ratio

    1.78:1
  • Network

    HBO
  • Country

    USA
  • Language

    English
  • IMDb has full details

Article

  • Writer

    Will Perkins
  • Published

    July 16, 2015

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