USA TODAY International Edition
ABC tries again to find next ‘Lost’
Broadcast TV won’t be creating another Lost.
ABC teased a comparison to the iconic supernatural serial with promos touting its latest high-concept drama, The Crossing (Mondays, 10 ET/PT), as coming “from the network that brought you Lost.”
Nobody realistically expects The Crossing to achieve Lost’s ratings, but the connection underlines how much TV has changed since 2010, when Lost ended its six-season run, and how unlikely it is that the next complex sci-fi serial to become a pop-culture sensation will come from broadcast TV.
It’s nothing against The Crossing, which offers an intriguing hook, dozens of time-traveling refugees from 180 years in the future arriving en masse off the coast of a small Oregon town; an appealing cast; and relevant questions about immigration, eugenics and government secrecy.
But the most immediate question points to broadcast’s unique problem: Because poorly performing shows often are pulled after a few episodes, should viewers risk engaging with a promising serial that could be gone before they get answers to complex mysteries?
“It was something we heard a lot from prospective fans who were worried about premature cancellation, because that has been a pattern on broadcast,” says Crossing executive producer Dan Dworkin. “We went into this thinking we are fully capable of telling a compelling, openly serialized, sci-fi story, so it’s not daunting.”
Broadcast networks have tried to show more patience, especially as TV ratings and viewing habits have evolved, and use technology — ABC made The Crossing available online in advance of its premiere — to nurture a fan base.
But the episodic structure is more uncertain than cable or streaming, which can guarantee full seasons, or deliver them all at once, and don’t face the same pressure to deliver ratings.
The Crossing premiere performed decently, winning its time period (7.6 million viewers within three days), but fell far short of hit status, something even tougher to attain for a title that doesn’t come from an existing franchise such as The Walking Dead or Westworld.
Recent broadcast seasons have seen the quick demise of many high-concept shows, including The Event, Extant and Dollhouse. Short-term, serialized successes, such as Under the Dome and Revolution, have faded after strong starts. Problems can be self-inflicted, too, as some shows concentrate too much on shiny concepts instead of character relationships.
Sci-fi and fantasy hits of recent vintage have been on cable (AMC’s Dead, HBO’s Westworld), which has fewer content restrictions and, often, larger budgets, or a streaming service (Netflix’s Stranger Things), where bingeviewing can benefit a serialized show.
The complex, often technical plots of high-concept shows demand more attention than the average drama, which can reduce their appeal to casual viewers. Longer-running shows of recent years, including BBC America’s Orphan Black, have achieved success with niche fan bases and smaller ratings. Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a critical and cultural hit, but how would it have fared on a broadcast network?
Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse notes the advantages of cable and streaming services, home to his postLost shows (FX’s The Strain, USA’s Colony, A&E’s Bates Motel and Amazon’s upcoming Jack Ryan).
“Having more time, more money to make episodes and freedom from some of the (censors) of network television are real assets,” he says, adding that helps attract top writers and producers, including Ryan Murphy, Shonda Rhimes and his fellow Lost producer Damon Lindelof. “All of those things make it hard to be successful in network television in this sort of genre.”
Taking chances is how it ended up with Lost in the first place.