So it's official: Due to the Strike, LOST Season 4 will be 13 Episodes, not 16 as previously promised. Says Carlton Cuse, "the story will have to be compressed".
Source: Hollywood Reporter
YES!
Mother****er.
I mean... mother****er!
Okay. This could be not too bad. Maybe they'll have season 5 start a little earlier because of it.
Please?
Not a bad thing. Better than only 8, and will allow them to still tell the same story they need to, just in 3 less episodes. Not a big deal.
Exactly.
Seriously.
And at least they can wrap it up to some degree, which is better than the cliffhanger they mentioned previously.
Thats how I'm looking at it. Some stuff might be a bit rushed in response, but I have faith in the Lost writing team they'll be able to condense it down a bit without sacrificing story quality.
I also wonder if those 3 episodes will ever be made up. Will next season be 19 episodes instead of 16? I only ask because of the contracts signed with ABC comissioning 48 more episodes total, spread over 3 seasons of 16 episodes each for these last three seasons...will they just let those 3 episodes go, or will we see those numbers made up at some point?
On a side note, I hope since the season is only 13 episodes instead of 16, they'll include the Missing Pieces mobisodes with the Season 4 DVD set, to offset the shorter season.
EDIT:
Ok, so according to Carlton Cuse, they'll make up the 3 episodes in Seasons 5 and 6. They'll most likely incorporate two extra in Season 5, and 1 extra in Season 6, to still make up the 48 episode order.
Also, there will be at least a 4 week hiatus between episode 8 "Meet Kevin Johnson", the Michael episode that airs on March 20. So episode 9 will air sometime in late April, early May, and the series finale will air sometime in early or mid June.
You're welcome, my dainty little shroom-man.