Out of the 1,095 days in 2008, 2009 and 2010 you can now schedule 48 of them if you are a rabid “Lost” fan as ABC has agreed with “Lost” producers that the show will end in three years, made up of three shortened 16-episode seasons. The show’s finale will air in 2010 and be the show’s 119th episode.
Granted, only 4-percent of the days in the next three years will be dedicated to new episodes of “Lost” but ABC will aire the 16-episode arcs without repeats (a la “24”), allowing ABC to make the show more of an event.
To go along with the news “Lost” showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have inked hefty new multi-year overall deals with ABC Television Studio to continue with the series until the end. Duo had made setting a wrap date for the show a condition for staying.
In an email message to Variety show co-creator J.J. Abrams said, “It is the right choice for the series and its viewers… It takes real foresight and guts to make a call like this. I applaud ABC and Touchstone for making this happen.”
Personally I think any fan of the show can look at this as a good sign no matter how much you like it. “Lost” is like most cliffhanger-style television shows in that sooner or later audiences are going to get too frustrated and start to defect, such as what happened with “Alias”. However, by setting an end date viewers can now be assured things are going to build up until a crescendo.
Despite every episode having a cliffhanger, one of the great things about “24” is that you know come the end of the season you are going to get the full story, something “Lost” fans have been dying for. Knowing that the answer is coming will likely improve the show’s ratings as well, considering it now seems an investment in the show will be paid off.
The second season of “Lost” was far better than the first and I can’t wait to check out the third season once it hits DVD.
