MARIO PEREZ/ABC Forty-eight more episodes.
That's exactly how much more time we will be able to spend with our good friends Kate, Jack and Sawyer after this month's season finale, according to an official release from ABC this morning.
Lost will continue for three more seasons of 16 episodes each.
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.)
So, essentially, we are getting two more seasons' worth of episodes strewn out over three seasons. The remaining seasons will be just like this year—minus the first six-episode block. And they will be shot over three years to prevent spoilers from leaking out too early. (Um, err, who would do that?!)
I'm told that when we see the "game-changer," which the show's writing team is calling "the snake in the mailbox," at the end of the May 23 season finale, we will understand why the show cannot go longer than 48 more episodes.
Anybody else dying to know why?