Damon Lindelof on dealing with curses to make an updated take on ‘Watchmen’

The new HBO series ‘Watchmen’ is a sort-of sequel to the dark 1980s DC comic book series of the same name. As in the comics version, ‘Watchmen’ exists in an alternate America where the U.S. won the Vietnam War, making that country the 51st state. Nixon served several terms as president and, for a time, masked vigilantes took matters into their own hands.

HBO’s ‘Watchmen’ is mostly based in present day, and with Nixon finally deceased, the new president is...Robert Redford. Not that the real Robert Redford appears in or has anything to do with the series.

Regina King plays Angela, who introduces herself at her son’s school career day as a former cop turned bakery owner. Of course, Angela isn’t really a baker. She’s secretly still a cop who dresses in leather and goes by the name Sister Night.

She springs from the imagination of Damon Lindelof, who was also the showrunner for the HBO series ‘The Leftovers,’ and co-creator of the ABC mega-hit ‘Lost.’

Lindelof tells us why he finally said yes after he was asked--for the third time--to do his version of ‘Watchmen.’ He also explains the inner turmoil that comes with doing the series even though he knows it’s against the wishes of the original ‘Watchmen’ writer Alan Moore, who Lindelof believes may have put a curse on him.

He also discusses why he wanted to talk about race in his version of ‘Watchmen’ and the possibility, or not, of a second season.