ABC set to announce end date [merged]

Sad Professor

Great news imo. Now the writers can start planning the end, it's just a matter of pacing.

ABC is set to announce that Lost will end production after two more seasons.

This is what my E! Online partner in crime Marc Malkin just announced in his column, Planet Gossip.

I know. Breathe, Lost fans. Breathe.

Here's what I can tell you. I just spoke to insiders at ABC and they tell me it's true: The network and producers have reached a decision on an end date and they are expected to announce it in the next two weeks. This is meant to be a good thing, because now the producers finally can start mapping out the remaining episodes and start rolling out some of the major reveals and answers we fans have been waiting for.

I'm also told there are more big changes in store for the show!

According to sources, ABC is planning to push back Lost's return date to January of next year in order to air new episodes back-to-back, and it is also "extremely likely" that Lost will change time slots next season.

If you're avoiding any and all spoilers best to not click on the source link as there's some minor discussion of the finale, nothing major though.

Source: http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=75ed77ee-1972-467a-8f4e-b11e4b6a1259

Haven't a Clue

Great news alright. If they could somehow keep the standard of eppys as high as they've been for the last while for the next two seasons, I'll be pretty pleased.

qwertplaywert

if they can highly raise the stanard of recent,which has been awful, it will be great.....this new will suirely help

doonothing

Still, the biggest change may be that massive, mind-blowing, cast-related "game-changer" I keep hinting about—to which I am sworn to secrecy, for it is that big—which is revealed in the season finale. (I cannot wait for you to see it.)

might it be a death? jack hopefully? or have they found a way to add lots of new cast members? or maybe loooooads will get nicked by the others! or dharma comes back... or someone gets home? agh!

any thoughts?

Haven't a Clue

qwertplaywert wrote:

if they can highly raise the stanard of recent,which has been awful, it will be great.....this new will suirely help

Ah, I think yer being a bit harsh there. Since 'Enter 77', Lost has definitely been on the up with most episodes, bar Expose (and that was just my opinion), being pretty good.

Basq

It's apparently been set for a 2009 end-date. I'd more than happy with that. Another 2 seasons is more than enough.

From Aint-It-Cool-News:

E! Online says ABC seems to be getting ready to announce these things:

* "Lost" will end in 2009.

* Following the “game-changing” May 23 season finale, there will be a seven-month hiatus before new episodes return in 2008.

* The series will be moving to an earlier timeslot.

Don’t be surprised if all of this is revealed at ABC’s upfront presentation on May 15.

Sad Professor

UPDATE:

2:00 p.m. update:

Since this story launched earlier today, I have been hearing from multiple sources inside ABC that the story is "more complex" than what was originally reported by my colleague Marc Malkin in E! Online's Planet Gossip.

According to these sources, ABC will be making an announcement declaring an end date for Lost very soon. However, the exact number of remaining episodes and seasons is still muddy—and might not be exactly two seasons.

The good news? You don't have to wait long. I'm told the announcement will be made within the next few days.

Source:http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=75ed77ee-1972-467a-8f4e-b11e4b6a1259

So we may not be getting a full 5th season, this would seem to match with Damon Lindelof's earlier talk about doing a shorter 5th season to tie everything up. Just enough to get to 108 episodes.

Agamemnon

qwertplaywert wrote:

if they can highly raise the stanard of recent,which has been awful, it will be great.....this new will suirely help

Are you watching the same season as the rest of us (Season 3)? The second half of it has been brilliant, Lost at its best.

Good news that there's a definite end date in sight. Now the writers can concentrate on the big reveals and we'll get even more arc and a diminishing amount of filler.

doonothing

hmmm... as far as im concerned, this means a 4th season, a short 5th, and a film.
not as promising as just 2 more seasons i think, but ill wait and see....

Sad Professor

doonothing wrote:

hmmm... as far as im concerned, this means a 4th season, a short 5th, and a film.

A film would never work imo. They'd be forced to save all the answers for it so everything would end up getting squashed into a two hour running time. The movie would also have to appeal to people who didn't watch the show so everything would have to be rehashed. And then there'd be the usual hour of explosions and cgi. It would be a disaster.

A shortened 5th season matches with what Daman Lindelof said not so long ago:

"We knew Season 1 was going to be the introduction, Season 2 was going to be into the hatch, Season 3 was going to be the Others....
I don't want to tell you what Season 4 is gonna be," he continues. "And then there was a shortened wrap-up season that would put you somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 episodes. At the end of Season 4, we will have produced 93 hours of the show, and I imagine that would be very close to where it would end ideally."

ZiabR

You guys thinks they will have enough for another 50 eps? I mean i love that they have said this, just hope that they have a good plan for the eps.

qwertplaywert

i agree with doonothing
a short 5th season,maybe wrapped up around end april, then, a blockbuster movie to end it all in may/june
and if ratings rise again, a spinoff series based on some of the plots in the show ie.hanso,darma,etc
although,at the moment,with sliding ratings, a franshise is unlikely,but i suspect this news will drive ratings up

johnny_ultimate

First time Ive been happy to hear about the end of a show I like.
But now ye've all got my intrigued about this game changer...

Haven't a Clue

logik wrote:

You guys thinks they will have enough for another 50 eps? I mean i love that they have said this, just hope that they have a good plan for the eps.

Of course they will. They're still asking more questions than answering, e.g. why was it said they're all dead, what's the black smoke thingy, how hasn't Hurley lost any weight, how can a scotsman's skin not burn to a crisp when exposed to the sun all the time etc...

ArmaniJeanss

Haven't a Clue wrote:

how can a scotsman's skin not burn to a crisp when exposed to the sun all the time etc...

LOL, the big question.

Basq

The confirmation was announced this morning in a lengthy article in Variety:

'Lost' set for three more years
ABC hit expires in 2010

'Lost'
ABC has set a 2010 end date for hit series 'Lost,' with the drama equally dividing its final 48 episodes into three seasons.

In a potentially paradigm-shifting play, ABC has agreed to let the producers of "Lost" set an expiration date for the series -- three years in the future.

Skein will now wrap after the production of 48 additional episodes that will be divided into three, shortened 16-episode seasons. Final episode -- the show's 119th -- will air during the 2009-10 season.

In conjunction with the advance order, "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.

Lindelof and Cuse had wanted "Lost" to end after two more seasons. They're essentially still getting their wish: The 48 episodes they'll produce over the next three years is the same number the show produced during its first two seasons.

ABC execs, however, came up with a way to keep "Lost" on its sked for three more seasons. What's more, the 16-episode arcs will run without repeats (a la "24"), allowing the Alphabet to make the show more of an event.

"In considering the powerful storytelling of 'Lost,' we felt this was the only way to give it a proper creative conclusion," ABC Entertainment prexy Steve McPherson said.

"I always said that we would allow the series to grow and give viewers the most compelling hour possible," he added. "And, due to the unique nature of the series, we knew it would require an end date to keep the integrity and strength of the show consistent throughout, and to give the audience the payoff they deserve. "

McPherson also acknowledged that getting Lindelof and Cuse to reup "was critical to me and the network."

ABC Television Studio prexy Mark Pedowitz shared that sentiment.

"We wanted to make sure we had the team responsible for its success in place for not only the run of the show, but so that each of their future series creations have a home at the studio after 'Lost,' " Pedowitz said.

J.J. Abrams, who co-created "Lost" with Lindelof, defected to Warner Bros. TV last year and has been focusing on a new slate of TV and film projects, including the revival of the "Star Trek" franchise for Paramount Pictures. He told Daily Variety that he fully supported the advance wrap decision.

"It is the right choice for the series and its viewers," he said via an email message. "It takes real foresight and guts to make a call like this. I applaud ABC and Touchstone for making this happen."

Lindelof and Cuse, who are putting the finishing touches on the third-season finale, released a joint statement praising what they termed "a bold and unprecedented move for ABC" and thanking McPherson and Pedowitz for making it.

Cuse added that he hoped more shows will be able to follow the "Lost" lead and declare an end date.

"I think for story-based shows like 'Lost,' as opposed to franchise-based shows like 'ER' or 'CSI,' the audience wants to know when the story is going to be over," Cuse wrote. "When J.K. Rowling announced that there would be seven 'Harry Potter' books, it gave the readers a clear sense of exactly what their investment would be. We want our audience to do the same."

Cuse confirmed that devising an exit strategy for "Lost" was key to reupping with ABC Television Studio.

"In making this deal, Damon and I had two priorities: defining an end point for the show and keeping the quality bar high," Cuse said. "To do that we are both fully committed to the day-to-day running of the show right up until the very end. It's also why the 16 episodes per year was key for us. Because our show is so mythological, and because, unlike '24,' we can't reset each season, we need the extra time fewer episodes affords us to really plan out the specifics of our storytelling."

Lindelof and Cuse made public their desire for an end date during the TV Critics Assn. press tour last winter (Daily Variety, Jan. 15).

Cuse and Lindelof also wanted an end date in order to mollify critics of the show who worried producers were simply spinning their wheels as they worked through the show's layer upon layer of mystery.

ABC execs had already been talking to the producers about the idea, but they seemed taken aback when Lindelof and Cuse made the conversations public.

Indeed, it would be understandable if ABC execs had been initially cool to the concept of an early end date.

After all, with major hits a rarity in the network game, the rule is to keep hits on the air until every last ounce of success has been squeezed from them (e.g., "ER" or "The X-Files").

And despite relentless media snarking this season -- and the fact that "Lost" has lost a chunk of its fall 2005 audience -- the series is still a top-15 hit that dominates its 10 p.m. Wednesday timeslot in key demos.

In its third season, it's still drawing as many young viewers as NBC's newer, more buzzed-about "Heroes" -- and that's not counting the roughly 2.1 million viewers who watch the show after its live broadcast or via free streaming on ABC.com.

ABC could be establishing a new formula by which nets find success through serving up skeins with more and more audacious concepts but shorter lifespans than the traditional network hit.

Already, the traditional syndie business model -- the one that required studios to produce 100 episodes of a show in order to recoup their investment -- seems to be fading away in an age of instant downloads and universal streaming.

That may be one reason, according to Lindelof, that McPherson and Pedowitz "never argued that the show should keep going and going. The issue has always been when it would end and how far out in front of that ending should we herald it."

Now that the end has been announced, Lindelof promised there would be no attempts to extend or continue the "Lost" mythology on air in some other way.

"There will be no extensions or enhancements. That number (48) is absolute," he said. And "once you begin to see where we're going, I think the idea of sequels and spinoffs will completely go away."

So if he, Cuse or Abrams suddenly come up with a killer plot thread that doesn't fit into the new timeline?

"We'll do it as a radio play," Lindelof quipped.

As for "Lost," show's end game is expected to kick into high gear later this month with the broadcast of the season finale. Details of the plot are under wraps, but a person who has read the script described it as a major shakeup to the plot.

"It changes everything," the person said.

Nothing's official yet, but ABC has all but said that the fourth season of "Lost" won't premiere until January or February of next year.

To paraphrase Aint-It-Cool-News:

* “Lost” will run three more seasons after the one that concludes this month.

* Each of the final three seasons will only contain 16 episodes, instead of the 23 or 24 produced for the first three seasons.

* The 16-episode seasons will run without repeats.

Faith

I think that's pretty stupid, to be honest. I'd way prefer 2 24-episode seasons than 3 16-episode seasons. We now have to wait another 3 years for everything to be answered. I'll be 23, fully qualified and probably traveling the world by the time it wraps up!

pokerwidow

I don't mind. I think showing 16 episodes next Jan, with no breaks is good.

I am happy that they will end the show and not drag it out for years.

SoSueMe

Faith wrote:

I think that's pretty stupid, to be honest. I'd way prefer 2 24-episode seasons than 3 16-episode seasons. We now have to wait another 3 years for everything to be answered. I'll be 23, fully qualified and probably traveling the world by the time it wraps up!

When did you become an expert in producing a US TV show? Having shortened seasons like The Sopranos will allow them to plan episodes more carefully as the producers have actually said in the article, if you actually read it before spouting your opinion. Again why are you watching Lost if all you want it to do is end. Enjoy the ride.

kaisersose77

?? wtf

she said she hoped it still be 24 episodes per season and then be over in 2 yrs and not 3 yrs liked planned. Whats wrong with that? Who wouldnt want that? Some Lost fans here are a bit ..... You'll be crying after the finale i suppose because they didnt drag it on as long as coronation street.

SoSueMe

kaisersose77 wrote:

?? wtf

she said she hoped it still be 24 episodes per season and then be over in 2 yrs and not 3 yrs liked planned. Whats wrong with that? Who wouldnt want that? Some Lost fans here are a bit .....

The point is it allows the producers to plan the episodes more carefully as we all know the can't have 24 consistently good episode e.g. Stranger in A Strange Land or season 2's SOS. I use The Sopranos again as a show with a limited number of episodes as a benchmark for quality TV. :rolleyes:

kaisersose77

SoSueMe wrote:

When did you become an expert in producing a US TV show? Having shortened seasons like The Sopranos will allow them to plan episodes more carefully as the producers have actually said in the article, if you actually read it before spouting your opinion. Again why are you watching Lost if all you want it to do is end. Enjoy the ride.

So could you have simply said that it'll give them more than to plan episodes? They have had long enough to know where it's going! ABC just want to milk it longer, and i doubt 7/8 episodes are really gonna make a huge difference on the quality of a season.

SoSueMe

kaisersose77 wrote:

So could you have simply said that it'll give them more than to plan episodes? They have had long enough to know where it's going! ABC just want to milk it longer, and i doubt 7/8 episodes are really gonna make a huge difference on the quality of a season.

You can't satisfy some people. :rolleyes:

Haven't a Clue

Yeah, not mad about this. It's a hell of a long wait from May until the next February until each season starts.

Sad Professor

This *is* great news, people. So what, there'll be longer hiatuses? I'm sure the finales will give us plenty to talk about.

The 24 episode season is the bane of a television writers life, it leaves them with about a week to write each episode. I can assure you, right now, guys like Ron Moore and Tim Kring are envying the Lost producers, this is an unprecedented deal.

Less episodes = more time to plan and write each ep = more quality. Why do you think HBO shows like The Sopranos and Deadwood are so good? Yes, we'll have to wait longer but it will be worth it in the end.

Anima

I'd rather they just did two seasons and finished it there. Three seasons of 16 episodes sounds pretty lame to me. Having to wait months on end for the beginning of the season, only to have to wait an even longer amount of time for the beginning of the next season. If its only 16 episodes week after week, then the season will end around April/May. That leaves 8 months to wait for the next season, if it starts in January again. **** sake

Season 1 was fantastic and that was 24 episodes, whats the problem with doing season 4 and 5 the same way? I thought they knew were the story was going, why do they need this extra time to write the remaining episodes?

Haven't a Clue

Anima wrote:

Season 1 was fantastic and that was 24 episodes, whats the problem with doing season 4 and 5 the same way? I thought they knew were the story was going, why do they need this extra time to write the remaining episodes?

Season one had some **** episodes in it too, just nobody bothered to complain. Like, "Born to Run" was awful, "Solitary" wasn't the best and there's a few others that were only ok. The Sun and Jin ones weren't mightly either.

ixoy

It's great news as far as I'm concerned. I was cursing when BSG got a longer fourth season because I know quality generally is far more sustainable over shorter seasons. It makes perfect sense.

Finally, some good news about the show! Let's hope though that, with a definitive end in sight, that the writers use this time to properly wrap up the ton of unanswered questions in a manner that will please us all.

Faith

SoSueMe wrote:

When did you become an expert in producing a US TV show? Having shortened seasons like The Sopranos will allow them to plan episodes more carefully as the producers have actually said in the article, if you actually read it before spouting your opinion. Again why are you watching Lost if all you want it to do is end. Enjoy the ride.

Seriously, what? I was offering my opinion, and that's all. Another 3 years is a hell of a long time. Lost's fan base has taken a nosedive recently. Even with the better episodes over the past few weeks, it's never going to get as popular as it was. Every week, more people stop watching it because they feel they're not getting answers quickly enough. I don't see why ABC or whoever thinks it's better to stretch it over 3 years than 2.

I've given out here before about people complaining they're not getting answers fast enough. It's not about racing to the end, it's about enjoying the ride. However, the producers have said that the smoke monster, one of the biggest mysteries on the show, won't be explained until the end. How many other huge mysteries are they planning to save until then? How many average followers will have the patience to keep waiting? It's not the shorter seasons that I object to, it's the 3 years.

Sad Professor

Faith, I understand where you're coming from but the TPTB don't have much choice in the matter. They obviously wanted to end after 5 seasons but ABC wanted 6, they compromised. ABC own the show and can do whatever they want. They didn't have to make this agreement, they could have simply fired Damon and Carlton and replaced them with someone who would keep the show going for 10 seasons. They didn't, they agreed to an end date, lets be grateful. I've never heard of this happening before.

And I disagree that the Lost fan base has taken a nosedive. What's happened is the mainstream audience have started to lose interest, which was inevitable, the show has grown too complex for them. Lost was always a cult show at heart and the real fans have stuck with it. They moan and complain about everything of course but that's true of any large fan base.

Killaqueen!!!

Tis a sad day indeed...(dunno why I said indeed, seeing as I'm the only one who thinks this!) I know it's great that they're planning and ending - and it is a bad idea to drag it out but I'm gonna miss Lost so much!!!

And I also think the seasons should be conisistantly long. Even if it mean 3 full length seasons. 3 more seasons of 16 episodes each doesn't sound good to me...

cooker3

I think this is outstanding news, fair play to abc for allowing the producers to decide the end. Now they have an end-point, this makes such a huge differance.
I like the fact it is over 3 season purely because it gives more time to talk and think about what will happen which is half the fun imo.

ZiabR

Haven't a Clue wrote:

Yeah, not mad about this. It's a hell of a long wait from May until the next February until each season starts.

Agreed, way too long in my opinion.

Star Lord

Anima wrote:

I thought they knew were the story was going, why do they need this extra time to write the remaining episodes?

Just because they know where they are going with it doesn't mean they know what they want to happen in each episode yet!

ZiabR

Aye true, but going from 20 million viewers to 12 million viewers in the USA tells alot. I really feel that running until 2010 is too long for the show and will damage it.

Of course i hope i am wrong.

Check below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6633863.stm

Sad Professor

More from Kristin on the deal:

I'm told by multiple sources inside ABC that the initial plan was to do two more seasons of Lost, with 24 episodes each; however, because of international deals already in place, Lost's producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse agreed to divvy up those remaining 48 episodes over three seasons. (A TV season must be a minimum of 16 episodes.)

Source: http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=b6dce704-4199-4599-8dbc-8feb872132e0

User45701

3 more seasons is a fair bit, TBH i think i might wait till all 3 are fin then just watch it all back 2 back much more enjoyable

ZiabR

Wait till 2010 to watch the show again? Thats mental.

cooker3

I can bearly wait to Thuraday for the next episode, never mind to 2010, that is mad.
and you miss the excitement and anticpation for each episode. Each episode to me feels like an event but when you watch them together, they all blur into each other.

ZiabR

cooker3 wrote:

I can bearly wait to Thuraday for the next episode, never mind to 2010, that is mad.
and you miss the excitement and anticpation for each episode. Each episode to me feels like an event but when you watch them together, they all blur into each other.

Yeah my feelings exactly.

Sad Professor

Here's an interview Damon and Carlton just did with EW where they talk about the 3/16 deal. Warning, the 3rd page contains some minor spoilers about the finale.

Good interview and the guys explain their reasons:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20036782_20037403_20038202,00.html

ZiabR

Sad Professor wrote:

Here's an interview Damon and Carlton just did with EW where they talk about the 3/16 deal. Warning, the 3rd page contains some minor spoilers about the finale.

Good interview and the guys explain their reasons:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20036782_20037403_20038202,00.html

Very nice, thanks

arcade1

Anima wrote:

I'd rather they just did two seasons and finished it there. Three seasons of 16 episodes sounds pretty lame to me. Having to wait months on end for the beginning of the season, only to have to wait an even longer amount of time for the beginning of the next season. If its only 16 episodes week after week, then the season will end around April/May. That leaves 8 months to wait for the next season, if it starts in January again. **** sake

you are obviously not a sopranos fan:
1.5 years between seasons 4 and 5
2 years between 5 and 6 part1
1 year between 6 part1 and part2

hardcore lost fans have it much easier than hardcore sopranos fans, and we have to deal with it being over this year!!
Now thats unfair!

Anima

Ouch

Sad Professor

arcade1 wrote:

you are obviously not a sopranos fan:
1.5 years between seasons 4 and 5
2 years between 5 and 6 part1
1 year between 6 part1 and part2

hardcore lost fans have it much easier than hardcore sopranos fans, and we have to deal with it being over this year!!
Now thats unfair!

Yup, HBO love to drag things out as long as possible. Deadwood is still lying in limbo. Permanent from the looks of it.

Lost won't have any problems getting the viewers back after 9 months. They may not remember what happened in the first season anymore but that's already the case. As long as there's the same dramatic momentum they'll be drawn right in again.

ZiabR

Sad Professor wrote:

Lost won't have any problems getting the viewers back after 9 months. They may not remember what happened in the first season anymore but that's already the case.

Well put :P

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I like the sounds of 3:16 structure, especially since they said they need less episodes to deliver better quality, they obviously realised, fans weren't happy with a lot of episodes this season. 3 years, seems like a long time, but it really isn't. The break between each series will be a killer, but again that's the beauty of LOST.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

I like the sounds of 3:16 structure, especially since they said they need less episodes to deliver better quality, they obviously realised, fans weren't happy with a lot of episodes this season. 3 years, seems like a long time, but it really isn't. The break between each series will be a killer, but again that's the beauty of LOST.

the_syco

Lost will end in 48 episodes, 3 seasons

ABC has set an end date for "Lost."

The Emmy-winning adventure series will run for 48 more episodes over three seasons. Each season will consist of 16 episodes, which will air uninterrupted.

"Lost" executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, who have been vocal about setting up an endgame for the show, have signed on to stay for the remainder of the series' run. Their separate new eight-figure deals with "Lost" producer ABC TV Studio include their services on the show as well as multiyear development pacts set to kick in when "Lost" bows out during the 2009-10 season.

Gives you some idea of how long more it'll be dragged out...:rolleyes:

cooker3

lol, the thread literally below you has already discussed this in fair amount of detail

ZiabR

CaptainNegative wrote:

I like the sounds of 3:16 structure, especially since they said they need less episodes to deliver better quality, they obviously realised, fans weren't happy with a lot of episodes this season. 3 years, seems like a long time, but it really isn't. The break between each series will be a killer, but again that's the beauty of LOST.

The idea behind it is, not to have any "filler" eps in the new seasons