The Leftovers, Tom Perrotta's dark tale, debuts on TV

Set three years after millions of people around the globe vanished into thin air, TV's new drama The Leftovers touches down on a small town grappling with the consequences of the mysterious event.

Executive produced by novelist and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tom Perrotta (Little Children, Election), based on his bestselling novel of the same name, The Leftovers explores how the Christian Rapture-like "Departure" affects the residents of the fictional town of Mapleton, N.Y.

The dark new cable series falls into a realm of a "dystopian, futuristic, post-apocalyptic [story], but with a twist," Perrotta told CBC News.

"There's a feeling that people don't like to go to dark places, but if you take a look at what shows people like, they're pretty dark places. I think people like to go to dark places."

The Leftovers, which debuts as a 10-episode series on HBO Canada Sunday evening, features an ensemble cast that includes Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Liv Tyler and Christopher Eccleston.

In the attached video, Perrotta talks to CBC's Ilana Banks about adapting his book into a dark new cable series.