This post is here to help provide a spoiler free explanation as to why you need to watch The Leftovers on HBO.

The Leftovers just completed their second season on HBO and to everyone outside of the committed viewership, it is an afterthought. If you were to ask anyone who has been following along with season 2 this Fall what they think it will almost always be the same answer- “Absolutely incredible.”

Season one of the leftovers is based off of Tom Perotta’s book of the same title. It takes place following a ‘sudden departure’ of 2% of the world’s population. For Show Runner, Damon Lindelof, he started this series with a statement that surprised some. They will never tell us what the departure actually was. This statement makes sense, though, because if that name sounds familiar, it is. Lindelof was also a co-show runner of the ever-mysterious and question raising show, LOST. Lindelof, and co-show runner Carlton Cuse, took a good amount of heat from not answering questions in LOST.

Instead, Lindelof wanted the show to be a testament of how there can be many different reactions and responses to a sudden loss and feeling of sorrow.

If you made it through season 1 and thought to yourself, “I don’t know exactly what I was watching,” then you probably aren’t alone. Season 1 comes at you with a lot of big twists and weird turns. Where this show gets incredible is the beginning of season 2.

In season 2, Lindelof does not have a script or pre-written story to follow like he did with the book in season 1. Season 2 takes place in a new town with some new feature characters. The thing that makes this season of television so special is why it keeps you coming back. Other great shows, such as Game of Thrones, will keep you on the edge of your seat with a death of a main character or a big plot twist every few episodes. The difference in this show is that every single scene gives you something to wonder about and want to look into. There are deep, meaningful story lines that could hold their own as the main plot of the show that are the 4th-5th side plot going on in a given episode.

The Leftovers flirts with the supernatural more than once, but will also give you a reason to think that what just happened has a reasonable explanation. You will be left wondering what happened was real, what does it signify, how does it connect back to another plot?

Perhaps what is the most impressive feat of the show is exact what Lindelof said is nearly impossible to achieve in this age. Television shows now face the huge challenge of keeping a secret or a big reveal unknown to the audience. In an internet world where the week between episodes you have thousands of views analyzing every single scene and crowdsourcing information on everything word, viewers are typically able to pick up on the big reveal within a few hours after an episode. We saw shows like the Walking Dead and Game of Thrones fall to this issue in recent memory. It also is a prime example of why releasing all episodes of a show at once, via Netflix, is growing in popularity. It makes it easier to keep a big reveal from being discovered if the show is binge-watched.

However, in season 2 of The Leftovers, Lindelof was able to keep every single episode fresh. All the way to their giant reveal at the end of the season. Achieving that feat, and satisfying all of the viewers in the process, is something to be marveled at.

If you are looking for a show to watch next, stop. You have found it. This is the best show you will watch this year.