'Lost'? ABC Has An Exit Strategy

By Lisa de Moraes
Tuesday, May 8, 2007; C01

In a shocking development sure to consume the media for at least 12 hours (oh wait, Paris just filed notice she'll appeal her 45-day slammer sentence -- never mind), ABC has declared an expiration date on its serialized drama series "Lost."

The creative team behind the weedy tangle of a series will get exactly 48 more chances to explain away the airplane, the island, the hatch, the polar bears, the smoke monster and The Others.

That's two seasons' worth of episodes.

Only, to make sure the writers have plenty of time to try to figure out what their show is about, ABC will air only 16 episodes each season, so it will continue for three more seasons, ending in 2009-10 with what ABC reports will be a "highly anticipated and shocking finale."

Each season, the 16 episodes will be bundled together, airing without repeats in the spring, most likely from the February ratings sweeps to the May sweeps, in the manner of Fox's "24." Only, in this case "16."

ABC no doubt hopes the "potentially paradigm-shifting play" (Variety) will bring back some of those disenfranchised uber-fans who started complaining about midway through season No. 2 that the series seems to be winging it and making them feel like perfect fools.

Since returning from a break this season, "Lost" is averaging just under 14 million viewers. At its peak, the show clocked more than 20 million.

"We always envisioned 'Lost' as a show with a beginning, middle and end," exec producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof said in yesterday's announcement. "By officially announcing exactly when that ending will be, the audience will now have the security of knowing that the story will play out as we've intended."

The additional 48 episodes will bring the series total to 119.

Not coincidentally, the traditional recipe for happy TV series off-network syndication calls for 100 episodes, at which point the studio producing the series would have recovered its costs.

In the TV business, unless you're lucky enough to work on a major hit with a cast that can be culled from time to time to keep down costs, after 100 episodes it's pretty much time to dust off the old résumé.

Not coincidentally, 100 episodes is what the exec producers said they had envisioned back when "Lost" was the Next Big Thing, in its first season. It's what every executive producer envisions.

By the end of this season, about 70 episodes will have been shot. Which explains why the "Lost" executive producers, back in January at Winter TV Press Tour 2007, told TV critics an endgame for the series would be announced shortly. That seemed to take ABC Entertainment chief Steve McPherson by surprise back then. Yesterday, he said in the announcement: "[D]ue 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."

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More inexplicably, NBC has given an early order for a fourth season of its "Lost" time-slot competitor, "Medium," which stars Patricia Arquette as a woman who talks to dead people and who can see the future -- both skills that give her a leg up in her job as a consultant to the district attorney's office.

" 'Medium' is a quality show with an outstanding star that has always delivered a very loyal audience," said NBC Entertainment chief Kevin Reilly.

Um-hum, but it doesn't really do a very good number. "Medium" is averaging about 8.5 million viewers each week and about 3 percent of the nation's audience of 18-to-49-year-olds -- the demographic group NBC says it sells to advertisers. There are about 15 NBC prime-time series that clock better ratings -- though, in fairness, "Medium" is building by 37 percent on its "Crossing Jordan" lead-in. We think we can safely say "Crossing Jordan" will not be getting an early pickup for next season. So far that list includes, in addition to "Medium," "The Office," "30 Rock," "My Name Is Earl," "Heroes," "Law & Order: SVU" and "Las Vegas."

On the other hand, "Medium," which is just finishing its third season, is a kid compared with the other NBC dramas still sitting on the fence and, therefore, has more potential for growth. "Crossing Jordan" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" are both ending their sixth seasons, while "Law & Order" is in its 17th.