Twenty years ago, Ocean Flight 815 crashed on prime-time television and permanently altered viewers’ expectations of the medium. When Lost debuted on ABC on September 22, 2004, it was rare to see a serialized mystery on network TV. It was even more rare to see an episode made with as much ambition and cinematic scope as the pilot, which, at the time, was the most expensive first episode in television history at a cost of around $13 million.
More than 18 million people tuned in to that debut, and a pop-culture phenomenon was born. Fans picked apart each episode week by week, relishing the opportunity to solve the mysteries surrounding the island and the Dharma Initiative that once called it home. Throughout six seasons, Lost had its ups and downs in quality.
The publication of a chapter about the show in Maureen Ryan’s 2023 book Burn It Down revealed what a challenging, cutthroat workplace it had been for some of the writers and actors who felt bullied and demeaned because of their race or gender. It’s challenging to watch or rewatch the show now (something that can be done as of this week on Netflix) without reflecting on the behind-the-scenes baggage Lost carries with it. But the passage of time also liberates us from the expectations viewers had during the show’s original run when everyone was so rabid for answers to its most minor questions — “I still don’t know how or why Walt made that bird crash into a window in season one, episode 14, and I need closure!�.
