I almost hesitate to call Damon Lindelof’s adaptation of Watchmen an adaptation because, as Lindelof has repeatedly said, his show will be wildly different from the comic book. The series, which debuts October 20th on HBO, will be set in the same universe and will obviously make plenty of references to the classic graphic novel. But it’s defiantly, proudly a completely different beast. The brand new trailer below reaffirms that. It also reaffirms that the show will be, pardon the pun, must watch.

There’s a lot going on in that trailer and I wouldn’t blame you if you are more than a bit confused, I know I am. But the series is obviously going to be a hard, unflinching look at police brutality, Americanism, vigilantism and race relations — all through the prism of what is essentially a superhero story. I’m sure there will be mystery and intrigue in the plot, it is Damon Lindelof after all. But I’m way more excited to see how he and his writing team satirize our country and citizens.

Lindelof has said that the modern world will greatly influence Watchmen and it seems like he means it. This will be a show with a lot on its mind. I’m very curious to see how the show tackles such major issues and how it ties it into this alternate universe where costumed heroes are outlawed all while police officers are wearing masks themselves. Who watches the watchmen indeed.

The trailer above doesn’t eliminate all the mystery around the show, you can expect that a lot will be kept under wraps until the series premiere. But based on what we DO see, Watchmen has a lot of promise. I’ve always been fond of adaptations that take risks so I am feeling pretty certain that I’ll be very, very fond of Watchmen.