Quasi-supernatural series 'Lost' has been handed an expiration date by ABC, though not for three more years, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The final order is for forty-eight episodes, which will air sixteen per season without breaks.  That's a short order for a season, but still respectable for a series which could have easily been dropped after ratings sagged. Executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are excited; they've been pushing for a timetable so they can land he show properly. Both have signed on through the end of the series' run, giving them time and authority to tell the story, and giving hope to fans who may have suspected they were just being taken for a ride with no end.

This is "incredibly liberating," said Lindelof. "Like we've been running a marathon and we actually know where the finish line is for the first time." The duo claims they've always had "a road map for the series with all the major mythological milestones and the ending in place."

Cuse said, "What we didn't know was how long we had to play the story out. By defining the endpoint we can now really map out the rest of the series in confidence."

If it was the polar bear what done it, some people are going to be very displeased.