5 Things to Know about HBO's 'Watchmen'

Watchmen explores an alternate reality of the United States where actor Robert Redford has been president for 28 years, masked vigilantes have been banned and the Internet doesn’t exist.

The HBO limited series is set three decades after the events from the 1986 graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore. The story focuses on new character Angela Abar (Regina King), a Tulsa, Oklahoma, police detective with the secret superhero identity of Sister Night. Characters from the original story also make an appearance or are mentioned, including Ozymandias (Jeremy Irons). The series has received critical acclaim with 26 nominations at the 2020 Emmy Awards, including Limited Series.

Creator and showrunner Damon Lindelof told Entertainment Weekly in September 2019 that he considered the show a “remix” of the original story.

“Look, [the new series] certainly fits into the ‘sequel’ box, and definitely doesn’t fit into the ‘reboot’ box,” the Leftovers creator, 47, explained at the time. “We treat the original 12 issues as canon. They all happened. We haven’t done any revisionist history, but we can maneuver in between the cracks and crevices and find new stories there. We wanted to make sure our first episode felt like the beginning of a new story rather than a continuation of an old story. That’s what I think a sequel is — the continuation of an old story.”

Lindelof also praised the work of King, 49 — whom he previously worked with on The Leftovers — and Irons, 71.

“I can’t say enough amazing things about Regina King,” he said. “The opportunity to make her the star of the show is one of the reasons this was worth doing. It’s not that Regina hasn’t had opportunities to show the world what an incredible actor she is, but to be at the center of the show is a pretty big deal. She’s able to surprise me constantly with her choices as a performer even though I worked with her on The Leftovers for a season and I’ve seen everything she’s ever done going back to 227 and Southland. Yet she’s still able to make choices that make me go, ‘What?'”

The producer added, “I also want to say that I’m constantly delighted — and I’m not a person that experiences the emotion of delight in my life — by what Jeremy Irons is doing in this show. I’ve not only been a fan of his for decades, but I’m just delighted by the choices he’s making.”

Scroll down for five things to know about Watchmen.