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2014: The Leftovers

HBO definitely knows how to produce a great show. The Leftovers first premiered in 2014, and followed the Garvey family, three years after a strange global event wiped out 2% of the world’s population. The “Sudden Departure”, as it’s known, was an inexplicable occurrence that caused the simultaneous disappearance of 140 million people around the world.

The “Sudden Departure” left a huge mark on the world, which caused religions to decline and a number cults to come to power instead, like The Guilty Remnant, a cult that Kevin Garvey’s wife Laurie joins in the first season of the show.

While the show received generally positive reviews for its first season, the critical reviews only got better as the series continued on for its second and third seasons. Many critics called it “unpredictable” and “provocative”, but despite getting so much love from the critics, awards didn’t follow. After three seasons, The Leftovers received only one Emmy nomination — Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Ann Dowd — and no Golden Globe nominations. The show managed to scoop up a Peabody Award and two Critics’ Choice Television Awards, and that’s pretty much it.

Of course, awards aren’t everything. The show was still loved by fans and critics alike, despite never getting the proper recognition from the Emmy voters or the Hollywood Foreign Press.