Five Ways LOST Can Come Back To TV

Since going off the air in 2010, LOST has only gained popularity. The series is one of the most binged shows on Netflix with 121 episodes culminating for a controversial finish.

While speaking to ComicBook.com about his new USA series Colony, LOST executive producer Carlton Cuse admitted that he believes LOST will come back to TV despite him not having any personal interest in it.

Tthe series tied up its mythology pretty tightly for its finale but the doors were left open for additional stories to be told with some of the show’s most popular characters. Major spoilers for the show follow, so heads up if you haven’t gotten around to watching the show which revolutionized novelistic television.

As Sawyer, Kate, and Claire flew from the island and Jack took his last breaths, fans immediately cried out to know what would happen with Hurley and Ben in their time ruling the island. That, however, is only one of the ways LOST can come back.

On the following slides, we explore the stories that can bring LOST back to TV.

Hurley’s Rule

The show was left open-ended with Hugo “Hurley” Reyes having inherited the island from Jack Shephard. Staying behind when everyone left, Hurley’s immediate mission was to get Desmond home to his wife and son. 

Just before the show ended, Hurley stepped out of the church in the flash sideways and told Ben, “You were a really good number two, dude.”

To which Ben responded, “And you were a great number one.”

The adventures of Ben and Hurley on the island, the inevitable moments of betrayal from Ben, and encounters with enemies who come to island with intentions to harm it are all welcome additions to the world of LOST.

Walt’s Story

A bonus scene on the Season 6 box set of LOST included a little known clue about Walt’s future.

After the character bowed out of the show in Season 2, courtesy of actor David Michael Kelley’s rapid growth, he made a couple of sporadic appearances in the later years. But, it was the bonus scene that really teased an interesting future for the character.

Hurley and Ben showed up at Hurley’s old mental institution and went inside to find Walt — a patient there. They offered him a job fitting the description of the Richard Alpert we came to know and he accepted.

Let’s see how Walt’s future played out! Wasn’t he supposed to be “special”?

A Prequel

Prior to Oceanic 815’s crash on the island on September 22, 2004, waves and waves of people arrived on the island. We saw some of them during the time travel sequences — such as the people shooting their flaming arrows, the U.S. army, and an unexplained outrigger which fired shots at Sawyer and crew out in the ocean.

Exploring any of these groups or introducing an entirely new one opens many story telling techniques. Given everything the audience knows about the island having watched the original series, playing with our expectations with new characters and watching them learn things we already know (the hard way) could be a lot of fun.

Like a continuation, this also opens the door for off-island flashbacks, moments where the originals traveled through time and encountered this bunch, or other scenes which could include cameos with the original cast.

Cameos

A cameo heavy series with only a few of the surviving original characters would keep fans coming back in hopes of seeing the likes of Kate Austen, James “Sawyer” Ford, or Claire Littleton.

If the show were to follow a flashback formula, similar to the original, the opportunity for crossing new character paths with the original survivors of Oceanic 815 prior to their plane crash are endless. They would be fantastic Easter Eggs for the millions of people who endured the original six seasons, which is something the show was built on in the first place.

Of course, upgrading Kate, Saywer and Claire to regulars would be a more ideal situation, altogether.

All-New

An all new take on LOST. A whole new batch of characters on the same island.

The Dharma Initiative remnants are continually explored. The aftermath of the camp built on the beach is found. Hurley and Ben might be around somewhere, but we don’t know. 

Introduce and attach us to a slew of new faces who end up on the island in some way other than a place crash and build up to Hurley’s reveal as the protector of the island. Maybe the light on the island has gone out and we need to save the world? Maybe one of the people among the new arrivals has intentions of reaching it? Who is going to be the new black smoke monster? How will new character react to seeing it and not knowing what it is?

We have to go back!