ABC Medianet/Lost to conclude in 2009-10 Television Season

05/07/2007

ABC GIVES VIEWERS 48 MORE ORIGINAL EPISODES OF THE HIT DRAMA "LOST," CULMINATING IN AN EXCITING SERIES CONCLUSION Episodes Will Air Uninterrupted Over Three Seasons Starting with the 2007-08 season, ABC will begin airing the 48 remaining original episodes of the hit drama "Lost," it was announced today by Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment. The episodes will air uninterrupted over three seasons (16 episodes each season), with the series concluding in 2009-10 with a highly anticipated and shocking finale.

"In considering the powerful storytelling of 'Lost,' we felt this was the only way to give it a proper creative conclusion," said McPherson. "I always said that we would allow the series to grow and give viewers the most compelling hour possible. 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. "

"Additionally," said McPherson, "having Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse signed on to complete the journey of this show was critical to me and the network. Damon and Carlton have tremendous talent, and we're thrilled that they'll be with the show throughout its run."

"This is a bold and unprecedented move for ABC," said Lindelof and Cuse, executive producers. "The show would not be what it is without the vision and support we've received from Steve McPherson, Mark Pedowitz and everyone at ABC and ABC TV Studios. We always envisioned 'Lost' as a show with a beginning, middle and end. 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."

"Lost" premiered September 22, 2004 and soon became the most talked-about new show of the season, with a never-before-seen storyline that spawned water-cooler talk and blogs galore. In its premiere season "Lost" was the No. 1 scripted series on Wednesday night with Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. On average "Lost" delivered the highest Adult 18-49 rating for any 8:00 p.m. drama on any network in seven years.

For the second season in a row, "Lost" stood as the No. 1 scripted TV program on Wednesday night during the season in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49. It also ranked No.1 in its hour among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 (tied w/Fox), regularly competing with Fox's "American Idol" results show during its first half-hour. Despite the "Idol" competition, "Lost" retained nearly all of its overall viewers from the same point the previous season, and actually grew 11% with Adults 18-49. The sophomore ABC drama was the No.1 scripted program on the evening among Adults 18-49 in all 22 of its original telecasts, and qualified as ABC's most-watched series in the time period in nine years.

"Lost" has ranked No. 1 in its time period with Adults 18-49 for the third season in a row, and is the No. 1 10:00 p.m. series on any network with Adults 18-49. It is the most recorded show on TV, gaining 18% more Total Viewers through "time-shifted" (TiVo/DVR) viewing. On average in its

10 o'clock time period, Nielsen reports 2.1 million additional viewers watch the show after its live broadcast. On top of Nielsen's reported numbers, millions more viewers watch "Lost" episodes through "place-shifted" viewing via streaming replays on ABC.com, iPod downloads and DVDs.

"Lost" has garnered numerous awards, including six Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, a Producers Guild Award, an NAACP Image Award, a Prism Award and two ALMA Awards, just to name a few.

About Lost - After Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, its survivors were forced to find inner strength they never knew they had in order to survive. But they discovered that the island holds many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, a strange French woman and another group of island residents known as "The Others." The survivors have also found signs of those who came to the island before them, including a 19th century sailing ship called The Black Rock, the remains of an ancient statue, as well as bunkers belonging to the Dharma Initiative -- a group of scientific researchers who inhabited the island in the recent past.

The band of friends, family, enemies and strangers must continue to work together against the cruel weather and harsh terrain if they want to stay alive. But as they have discovered during their 70-plus days on the island, danger and mystery loom behind every corner, and those they thought could be trusted may turn against them. Even heroes have secrets.

"Lost" stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet, Dominic Monaghan as Charlie and Terry O'Quinn as Locke.

"Lost" was created by Jeffrey Lieber and J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof. Abrams, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender, Jeff Pinkner and Carlton Cuse serve as executive producers. "Lost," which is filmed entirely on location in Hawaii, is from ABC Television Studio.