'Lost' fans are probably wondering what the strike means for their favorite show, which is set to return in early February.
Executive producer Carlton Cuse, who was walking the picket line Monday with fellow executive producer Damon Lindelof, says ABC will soon have the first eight episodes completed and ready to air by the end of the year.
However, if the strike is prolonged and the writers can't get back to work, fans may have to live with the season being split into two blocks, similar to the six episode pod we had to begin last season: "It will feel like buying a Harry Potter book, reading half of it, and then having to put it down for many months," explains Cuse.
"There is a cliffhanger at the end of the eighth episode. It will only be frustrating for viewers to have to step away from the show and not see the second half of the season."
"The first half of the season, like a good novel, sets all the events of the show in motion and the second half deals with the consequences," Cuse says. "We're very proud of the first eight but it feels weird to have to stop literally mid-stream."
Let's hope the parties get back to bargaining table and hash out a deal. Reruns have already begun for most daytime and late night talk shows. TV shows and movies have a number of scripts in place so they won't be immediately affected, but if any shows go into reruns, it will only mean more lost viewers and in the end -- revenue. It's estimated a strike of the same duration as the 1988 walkout, which lasted 22 weeks, would result in at least $1 billion in losses.
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