The TV series avoids that issue entirely by existing in the world of Watchmen, but in a different time and place. The HBO show takes place 30 years after the original events and is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma. So far, it seems only three of the original Watchmen characters — Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Specter II, and Doctor Manhattan — appear in the new series. Instead of focusing on that group, it’s centered around a detective named Angela Abar (Regina King), who also goes by the name Sister Night. The show is focused on the relationship between police and citizens, with a focus on race relations as shown through a white supremacist terrorist group called the Seventh Cavalry. Their ideology is inspired by Rorschach, a character who died in the original Watchmen, even though he wasn’t a known white supremacist. Also, in the world of the TV show, Robert Redford (that Robert Redford) has been the president since 1992 and the internet and smart phones do not exist — the reasons for this will eventually be shared on the show.