Lost writers in talks over ending

From the BBC website.

Quote:

Producers of the cult television series Lost say they are discussing the end of the series with US network ABC.

Although the castaway drama is not set to finish in the near future, producers say they want an end date to help plan future episodes.

"Once we figure out when that will be, a lot of the questions will go away," said executive producer Carlton Cuse.

The third series of Lost, being shown on Sky in the UK, has seen viewing figures drop by more than a million.

In the US viewing figures have also fallen by around 14%, but the show's creators say the drop-off is deceptive because the programme was a "sensation" in its first two series.

However, they admit that they to finish on top, citing The X-Files as a comparable series which outstayed its welcome.

"That was a great show that probably ran two seasons too long," Cuse said. "That is a cautionary tale for us."

Lost has been a critical and commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic.

Set on a remote desert island, the show looks at how the survivors of a plane crash deal with their hostile and mysterious new surroundings.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Lost writers in talks over ending

I imagine every show would like a couple of years notice as to when it's ending, but that rarely happens. At least not in the US.

I would be happy for it to end Season 4 or 5. No more than that...

OK, now I think they're just trying to drum up some PR for when the show starts in February.

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Ausiello Report
by Michael Ausiello
Read Lost Shocker: The End is Near!
In what is sure to go down in television history as its most shocking twist, Lost is about to go somewhere that no still-hypersuccessful show ever has: away.

The time-tripping serial's producers announced at press tour today that they are in talks with ABC about establishing not a season but a series finale date — as they describe it, an "end game" — to ensure that their baby goes out on top. "From the word go, it always felt to me that [if we ran] somewhere in the neighborhood of between 90 and 100 episodes... we never [would have] to do a bad season," says cocreator Damon Lindelof. "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."

Ideally from a creative standpoint perhaps. But from a financial perspective, ABC had to have hit the roof over Lindelof and Co.'s decision. Well, maybe not had to. In fact, if anything is more surprising than the execs' desire to bring Lost to a close while it's still vital, it has to be the network's reaction. "As opposed to them saying, 'Fine we'll bring on new [producers],' they said, 'Well, when do you think it should end?'" Lindelof reveals. "Obviously, they want the show to go on as long as possible. But all that we can say is, 'There's a show with us running it and there's a show without us running it, and if you want the show with us running it, this is when we think it should end.' And like any negotiation, therein lies the rub.

"But," he adds, "I think [ABC president] Steve [McPherson] has begun to embrace the idea that the show needs to end, and now the question becomes when. I would anticipate that announcement would come sooner rather than later, because you don't want to make it in a way that seems like it's reactionary." In other words, he says he doesn't want Lost to come off like "The O.C. saying, 'We're going to end [the show!' No, you got cancelled."

If he and his colleagues hadn't taken action, Lindelof can well imagine what the long-long-term future of Lost would have resembled. "They could produce a sixth or seventh or eighth season, but would anybody be watching?" he asks, though he clearly has an answer in mind. "The show would be so miserable by that time. Was it really The X-Files anymore when David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson weren't on the show? For me, The X-Files wasn't about 'Have aliens invaded?' it was about Mulder and Scully, a skeptic and a believer. And once that element of the show was gone, the show was over. So we don't want to produce those episodes of Lost. And we're not going to produce those episodes of Lost."

Lindelof believes such a gutsy move will only boost the show's popularity. "I think it will bring a lot of the audience who left back. To say like, 'I was wrong. They are going to give me [answers]. Whether I like it or not is yet to be determined.' But I think the questions the audience is asking is not, 'Will the answers they give us be satisfying?' It's, 'Will they give us the answers at all.' And that's a very good question to be asking." — Additional reporting by Ben Katner

Hm, ive been informed that cast has signed contracts for 10 years.
We all knew (and some of us hoped) that it would end after 3 or 4 seasons..

Saw this one in EW...

The Endgame? | Lost | Television News | TV | Entertainment Weekly

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOST

Hm, ive been informed that cast has signed contracts for 10 years.
We all knew (and some of us hoped) that it would end after 3 or 4 seasons..

Ten Years?

That's wild, I cannot believe that.

There was a time when shows could get at least a 22-week (1 television season) contract, but any more, that doesn't seem to happen. It looks like the producers are trying to get the network to sign them on for at least 2 more years and commit to it now. That's an eternity in this day and age where shows are number 1 one month and number 43 five months later (not that Lost has made that kind of drop).

I guess I can undersand why they would want an idea of when they are going to end Lost so they know how much longer they need to draw out the questions we want answers to and what direction they need to take the show in and all.... I don't think it would be anything to worry about... Just planning

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOST

Hm, ive been informed that cast has signed contracts for 10 years.
We all knew (and some of us hoped) that it would end after 3 or 4 seasons..

10 year contract on the actors would basically translate into thier silence for 10 years as well as thier availability for possible future filmings... they hav already been filming this show since 2004.

On a lighter note. Only the simpsons can last... Lost will never be able to do what they do. Nor will any show. it is impossible. ON a similar note. Smallville stayed Big for 6 years... (still running and still amazing) The OC went big for 1.5 years and is now 6 shows until finishing, prematurely in its 3rd year. I bet LOST goes for 4 or 5.
The difference being,
For superman, theres always more to be done. For the peeps on the island. we are going to have to start getting answers soon... the island is only so big. and since no one can fly... finite amount of options.

Saturday Night Live has been on for over 25 years - I remember when people thought it would be cancelled when Chevy Chase left.

I guess every producer would like some advance notice of their show ending so they could wrap things up - most don't get the chance.