Author Tom Perrotta working on new HBO series
Tom Perrotta's latest book isn't even out yet. and it's already been optioned in an HBO series according to the LA Times.
Perrotta's new book, "The Leftovers," will be released on August 30th. Perfectly timed to come out after the end-of-the-world buzz earlier this year, "The Leftovers" asks the question, "What if the Rapture actually happened?'" But what if the people that were taken weren't the most devout or religious, but simply random? Chaos ensues.
Sounds like a good option for a TV series, huh? Small-town America shocked to the core by the "rapturing" of random citizens, trying to figure out how to cope with the sudden absence of loved ones – some withdraw from the world, some join cults. Well, HBO certainly saw potential.
Variety reports that HBO picked up the idea, with Perrotta both writing the pilot and executive producing it as well. Perotta is no stranger to Hollywood, having had his books "Election" and "Little Children" developed into critically acclaimed films of the same name, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kate Winslet respectively.
As the pilot is just being pulled together now, we probably won't see anything of this show for at least a year. But in the mean time you can satisfy your Perrotta cravings by pre-ordering the novel or watching other slightly creepy small town-based TV shows, starting with "Twin Peaks."
Megan Wasson is a Monitor contributor.
