When will Lost hit syndication?

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Last I heard you needed sixty-five episode for syndication, right? Lost has sixty nine so I'm a little puzzled as to why ABC Family or whoever has picked up the first three seasons.

[Space Cadet]

I don't know if syndication still has that 65 episode rule anymore. Chappelle Show is supposed to be coming to syndication, and that has less than 65 episodes.

I'm sure some cable network will pick it up soon.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

I don't know if syndication still has that 65 episode rule anymore. Chappelle Show is supposed to be coming to syndication, and that has less than 65 episodes.

I'm sure some cable network will pick it up soon.

Interesting, I know that when ABC Family picked up Smallville it had sixty-six episodes, or three seasons.

[Temple Fugate]

The episode limit has been raised and lowered several times over the years. At this point, I think the rule is different regarding certain series. (I mean, if you look at STTNG, STDS9, Hercules, Xena, B5, etc, they were all syndicated from their premiere episodes.) Network-exclusive shows like 24 and Alias have only started running in syndication when they reached X number of episodes. Last I heard the minimum was 100, but that seems awfully high.

Anyway, I don't see Lost being syndicated before fall 2008, but with a show this popular, you never know. Also keep in mind that serial shows such as Lost have considerably poorer syndication ratings compared to episodic shows like L&O. I hear 24 is doing terrible in syndication.

[dth1971]

When will Lost move to Sci-Fi Channel?

[Discloner]

I'm just kind of baffled as to why ABC doesn't rerun the series on the off season. The last season ended a bit less then a year before new episodes are slated to begin - that's plenty of time for them to air a season or the whole series and get new people into the mix. One of the issues with LOST is that people feel they can't jump in without having seen all the seasons (which is pretty true), rerunning the show on the off season would help alleviate that.

[Peter Paltridge]

Syndication in the true sense--selling a package of reruns to anyone that will buy it, including local stations--still has a preferred requirement hovering around 100 episodes.

For cable it appears to be a lot less.

[Conan-san]

It'll get Syndicatied when they leave the island...

...

Oh snape!

[The Weed Of Cri]

Series with tightly-plotted, serialized storylines are considered less attractive to syndicators than those with stand-alone episodes, for several reasons. The episodes must be shown in their proper order, or else there's no point in showing them at all. The station can't run "best of" marathons on holidays because the episodes would make no sense outside the serial framework. And the syndication market assumes that their audience has already seen the show and is watching it again in a casual fashion because they like it. Let's face it, it's takes a lot of effort to be a Lost fan. There's no casual veiwing for this show; you're either in for the long haul, or you just won't get it. If the episodes are stripped for Monday-through-Friday play, veiwers would have to tune in every night, or risk missing crucial plot points that would confuse the hell out of them when they watch again. It's likely the producers of Lost may not find a big syndication market waiting for the show, and will focus instead on DVD sales, where people can follow the show at their pace.

[Discloner]

It'll get Syndicatied when they leave the island...

...

Oh snape!
So....

The end of the third season? O_o

[Jacob T. Paschal]

So....

The end of the third season? O_o

Which IS sixty-nine episodes.


Besides, Smallville is serialed and it was picked up pretty fast...

[Draft]

Umm, 2 1/2 Men and Family Guy start syndication this fall, and i know FG's total is in the 90s, and i would assume the same for Men. I think Minimum ias around 100, which Lost should get soon. But don't fret, Sci-Fi will definatly try and get this show i bet..

[Master Moron]

I'm just kind of baffled as to why ABC doesn't rerun the series on the off season. The last season ended a bit less then a year before new episodes are slated to begin - that's plenty of time for them to air a season or the whole series and get new people into the mix. One of the issues with LOST is that people feel they can't jump in without having seen all the seasons (which is pretty true), rerunning the show on the off season would help alleviate that.

Because reruns of serialized shows don't do particularly well in the ratings. They do, however, show the episodes on their website.

[Lord Dalek]

So far the only truck opera to strike it big in syndication is 24. Largely because each season is by and large 100% self-contained, Lost on the other hand, is not.


But don't fret, Sci-Fi will definatly try and get this show i bet..Scifi only cares about shows ABC has CANCELLED, thank you very much.

[Discloner]

Because reruns of serialized shows don't do particularly well in the ratings. They do, however, show the episodes on their website.Yet, NBC is successfully rerunning Heros on the off-season...

[Lord Dalek]

Yet, NBC is successfully rerunning Heros on the off-season...Again its self-contained, which Lost isn't.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Again its self-contained, which Lost isn't.

Not really, Heroes is like a friggin' comic book universe having one of those huge cross-overs.

[Discloner]

Again its self-contained, which Lost isn't.I'll give you Heros being less involved then Lost; but it's hardly self-contained. To an outside viewer, episode 13 of Heros is just as unattractive a prospect as episode 13 of Lost - for exactly the same reasons.

[The Weed Of Cri]

There's a huge difference between the summer rerun season, where the episodes still only run about once a week (if that), and a syndication market, where they will usually run five times a week (or more). When Heroes goes into syndication, it will face all the same challenges as Lost.

[simpsonsfan]

If you want to get caught up with Lost just get it on dvd. But, it might end up on TNT or Scifi when it ends. :zoidberg:

[Jacob T. Paschal]

If you want to get caught up with Lost just get it on dvd. But, it might end up on TNT or Scifi when it ends. :zoidberg:

I rented the first two seasons and sat down to watch 'em with my mom earlier this summer, it was great considering how much of season one I had missed.

[Master Moron]

Yet, NBC is successfully rerunning Heros on the off-season...

Well, it's only the first season of Heroes. ABC used to show reruns of Lost during its first and second season because the show used to do well in reruns. But, things change. I doubt NBC will continue to show Heroes reruns after its second season.