Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen was awesome. Set 34 years after the events of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ groundbreaking comic series, the show extrapolated where this alternate world could have ended up, was ridiculously timely and forward-thinking, and became a critical and ratings smash. The industry paid attention, too, with Watchmen picking up 26 Emmy nominations and winning 11 of them.
One of the most richly deserved was Regina King’s Best Actress in a Limited Drama award for Angela Abar/Sister Night. Her masked cop crimefighter was at the core of the show and intricately woven into the universe’s mythology. We last saw her potentially reborn as the next incarnation of Dr. Manhattan, though the credits rolled before her godlike status was confirmed.
Lindelof has always said that Watchmen will remain just a single season series, but King has now revealed where she thinks a second run could go. When Variety asked whether she’d return to the role, she said:
“If Damon changed his mind? Yes. Because I know if he did it, that means something. Something happened. In all honesty, it would probably be something where, Angela dies in the first episode.”
The actress went on to discuss the themes of the first season, particularly how it explored the United States’ hidden history of racist massacres, saying:
“How Damon even decided to tackle this subject matter was very risky business. Being a white man. Speaking on inherited pain in the Black community. I said, “are you really ready for this?” Then he told me the writing team he disassembled and I was like, “Okay, you’re walking into this with rose colored glasses.” You are making an effort to understand a history that you never knew anything about, that we’re all connected to. So, I know that if he did go into it, it would be smart. It would be provocative, and he would be pushing people to think beyond themselves.”
Lindelof heading into this project with a lot to say is a big reason why it succeeded beyond everyone’s wildest dreams. Unlike previous Moore adaptations, Watchmen didn’t just regurgitate his characters and iconography, but used them to put forward something that was actually relevant. As a big plus, it also turned on a lot of TV viewers to the original story.
Alan Moore might be famously grumpy about adaptations of his comics, but with HBO’s Watchmen, I think someone finally did his world justice. At the very least, it’s a damn sight better than Geoff Johns’ embarrassing DC Universe crossover that everyone is trying their hardest to forget about.
