Watch: ‘The Leftovers’ Season 2 Elevates the Mystery Behind the Miracle in New Trailer and Poster

TV teasers are a hard sell when you’re pushing a mystery that will never be solved. First, there’s the concern of spoiling what may be the best parts of an upcoming season. No one wants to know what will happen in a series based around multiple inexplicable phenomenons, so dropping hints is the best editors can do. Of course, those hints can’t be too revealing either, but also must drum up expectations for the new season.

READ MORE: Carrie Coon on ‘The Leftovers’ Season 2 and Playing the Opposite of a Wife and a Mother

For the fine cutters behind “The Leftovers” ad campaign, their job is even harder: convince a wary audience to reinvest in one of the most consistently dour series on television. Moreover, they’re trying to attract a new crowd (or the ones they lost along a spectacular but grueling Season 1) without alienating their core fandom. 

With two trailers out so far, I’d argue it’s mission accomplished. 

The above entry effectively outlines the allure of the new for both audiences and characters, as many of the established characters from Season 1 move to Texas in the hope of a real home; one where they can feel safe, but one that also is steeped in lies. Jarden, TX may be the one place in the world where no one disappeared on October 14, but it’s not the holy land many associate with a town nicknamed Miracle (thanks to the national park). Despite what Kevin (Justin Theroux) and Nora (Carrie Coon) may see in their new neighbors John (Kevin Carroll) and Erica (Regina King), it seems the long-term residents of Jarden have as many secrets as anyone else. 

I’d probably keep an eye on that dog.

Watch the new trailer above and check out the official poster below. “The Leftovers” returns for Season 2 Sunday, October 4 on HBO.

READ MORE: Ann Dowd on ‘The Leftovers’ Season 2 and Her Remarkable Year in Television