Trivia

While season 3 was on the air and the ratings were somewhat declining, ABC approached the writers and asked them to set an end date for the show, and how many more episodes they needed to conclude the series on their own terms. After thinking about it, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse said they needed two additional seasons of 24 episodes, so 48 episodes remaining. The studio preferred 3 more seasons, so as a compromise, they decided to split the remaining 48 episodes over three more shorter seasons. Lindelof and Cuse claim they always wanted the show to be no longer than five or six seasons. See more