The Leftovers season 3 trailer: Justin Theroux returns in the swansong of Damon Lindelof's underrated gem

The acclaimed HBO series will draw to a close with this eight-episode season

If you're yet to see TV's most underrated series The Leftovers, now's the perfect time to catch up: the third and final season is less than a month away.

The first full trailer has been released providing a glimpse at what fans of the HBO cult hit can expect - and it seems everybody is back on board for what will be its final season.

Specific plot details remain unknown but it seems like the characters - led by Justin Theroux's long-suffering Kevin Garvey - are gearing up for yet another Departure Day (14 October) - only this one comes with warning of the apocalypse.

Created by Damon Lindelof (Lost), The Leftovers focuses on the aftermath of a fictional event which sees 2% of the world’s population disappear. Initially set in Mapleton, New York, Lindelof rejigged the formula for season two, relocating the characters to Jarden - a Texan town renamed 'Miracle' due to being the only town unaffected by the event.

Thanks to the show's cult fanbase, HBO granted the series a swansong which has relocated the action to Australia.

While the first series earned middling ratings and small critical chatter, its second was deemed a bona fide sensation.

Lindelof has teased the final run of episodes by declaring it to "...play by its own set of rules."

He said: "Though there are some big crazy ideas in the third-and-final season, we wanted to feel like we were building toward something conclusive. I wanted to take full advantage of the fact that when the audience watches the first episode of season three that they know it’s the beginning of the end. You don’t want to feel like an epilogue, but a climax.

"We’re constantly trying to modulate and fulfill the promises we’ve made. And it’s not enough to say that all we care about is the characters and not the mythology. But I do think with The Leftovers the word ‘mythology’ doesn’t necessarily apply the way it does to Lost or Westworld or Stranger Things or True Detective. Those shows have clearly defined mythologies. We don’t want to frustrate the audience but The Leftovers plays by its own set of rules and will continue to do so."

Justin Theroux will return as the long-suffering Kevin Garvey while on-screen siblings Christopher Eccleston and Carrie Coon will return as Reverend Matt Jamison and Nora Durst. Liv Tyler will also return as will original cast members Scott Glenn, Amy Brenneman, Margaret Qualley and Chris Zylka.

Season two additions Regina King and Kevin Carroll - who played the head of new family the Murphys - will also be back for more.

The Leftovers returns to HBO on 16 April. It'll air in the UK on Sky Atlantic but a premiere date is yet to be confirmed.