Watchmen: Regina King says Damon Lindelof is the only white person she trusted to write HBO show

Regina King has admitted she may not have starred in Watchmen if any other white writer had addressed the racial themes at the heart of the HBO sow.

Last week, Lost and The Leftovers creator Damon Lindelof's new series – based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' beloved graphic novel – premiered to rave reviews, with many writers praising the way he had updated the story to tackle white supremacy in America.

King, who leads the series, was asked if she would have had trepidation about signing up to the role of Angela Abar if any other white writer had written the script. "Absolutely – 100 per cent," she told Watching Watchmen, a podcast about the new series co-hosted by Jack Shepherd and The Independent writer Jacob Stolworthy  

"If it was another white writer – even other ones out there who I truly respect and I think are talented – I probably would have needed to know what the entire game plan [was]. I [would have needed] to know what all nine episodes consist of, where we land halfway through, and why. I would have had to ask so many more questions."

King continued: "Sure, I asked questions about it with Damon after reading the first episode, but I never had any doubt that I was going to do it, because I knew Damon was not going to tell the story irresponsibly. He's a collaborator – he told me very early on what the writing team was [and] the writers he was surrounding himself with, who were challenging him and would not allow him to irresponsibly tell a story like this."

She said that Lindelof has been "terrified" about the response to the series.

Check back here on Monday to see King's breakdown of episode two's biggest moments. Find a breakdown of all the graphic novel references in last week's season premiere here.

You can find a ranking of every single Lost episode – from worst to best – here.

Watchmen continues weekly every Sunday on HBO and airs in the UK the following evening at 9pm on Sky Atlantic. Listen to new weekly podcast "Watching Watchmen" for thoughts and analysis on every episode – you can subscribe here.