First 24, then Lost. I love ...

• May 29, 2006 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: First 24, then Lost. I love that we're going to see more of these high-end productions, but do you think the networks will cause viewer burnout since every major network will have new serialized dramas to tout in the fall? I'm sure that money has everything to do with their breaking into new platforms for these shows. Even Lost will have toy figures for its characters!
Answer: It's a fact that just about every network wants to have a show that commands as much media attention, viewer loyalty and branding possibilities as the best of the serial thrillers tend to generate. (It helps when you have breakout stars like Prison Break's Wentworth Miller; you should have heard the screams at the Fox upfront.) It's also a fact that there are going to be a few too many of these continuing mysteries on the fall schedule, more than most will be able to keep up with. Call it a glut. And they sound almost indistinguishable: Vanished. Kidnapped. Runaway. There may well be burnout, and I predict at least one of these will be axed before it gets to the end of its story arc (shades of Reunion last season). I'm just hoping a few turn out to be as provocative as the clips made them look. The key factor for any of them will be the strength and depth of the characters (and the actors who play them). That's the true genius of Lost. Not the mysteries as much as the characters, who are so promotable they're even, as Sandy notes, becoming action figures.