ABC was struggling to find hits in 2004 when it introduced two of them: “Desperate Housewives,” a new take on a primetime soap opera, and “Lost,” a sci-fi-tinged mystery that quickly became a fan sensation, from its cryptic numbers to what happened to that crashed plane and its passengers.
Of the two, however, it was “Lost” that fundamentally changed television and the relationship between the creative talent behind TV shows and the networks that carried them, fueling what could be called the novelization of television – not in the way the series began, but in how it concluded in 2010.
The roots of this may be traced back several years, when the show’s chief producers, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, realized that the twisting, mysterious series’ ratings were beginning to suffer due to viewers’ open-ended commitment. Fans wanted to know when they would get some answers.
‘Lost’ Found The Path To An Equation That Changed The Future Of TV
At their request, in what Variety dubbed a “paradigm-shifting play,” ABC enabled them to establish a definitive end date for the series, ordering 48 episodes over three seasons to finish the story.
The declaration showed that the series was building toward something, that a payoff awaited those who had invested so much time – and graduate-school-level thought and analysis – in the show and its meaning.
Until then, the dominant wisdom in television was if it isn’t broken, don’t repair it. The series aired until the public stopped watching them, not when the creators said so, as if they were authors nearing the end of their story.
“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 stated at the time, spelling out the novel comparison by adding, “When J.K. Rowling announced there would be seven ‘Harry Potter’ books, it gave the readers a clear sense of exactly what their investment would be. We encourage our readers to do the same.”
Producer J.J. Abrams, who co-created the series with Lindelof and Jeffrey Lieber, described the move as “the right choice,” praising ABC for having “real foresight and guts to make a call like this.”
Since then, a new type of television has arisen and taken root, providing creative talent more freedom to determine the shelf life of their stories. This has included the rise of limited series that promise closure and finality, resulting in distinct beginning and finish arcs.
Others followed suit, including “Game of Thrones,” with its two-season finale, “Stranger Things,” and, most recently, “The Boys,” which revealed that the superhero satire’s fifth season will conclude the plot.
That equation has made television richer, more ambitious, and capable of dealing with various types of serialized storytelling.
In the immediate aftermath, the children of “Lost” profited from that thirst, as networks ordered additional programs with mysteries baked in, even if few of them lived up to their promise.
Tellingly, even “Lost” didn’t nail the landing, producing a finale that answered many of its issues yet felt unsatisfying in its conclusion. Knowing when to stop is different from knowing how.
‘Lost’ Found The Path To An Equation That Changed The Future Of TV
However, the show’s legacy was already assured by that point. Bringing things full circle, all 121 episodes of the show are now available on Netflix, where they may be rediscovered – and binged in a more concentrated manner – by people who don’t have to wait years to find out how it all ends. Welcome to the 2020s.
The “Lost” finale may not have delivered an ending worthy of all the anticipation. By then, however, it had served to steer television toward a new style of storytelling, which, regardless of the numbers (for the record, 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42), maybe the formula that is most important.
SOURCE – (CNN)
