Minor spoilers for the TV series Lost.
We have to go back, Kate! As of Monday, July 1, all six seasons of Lost are back on Netflix after leaving the platform in 2018. I was a big fan of Lost when it first aired, as were a lot of my friends. When the news was first announced a few months ago, all of the Losties on my social media feeds were super pumped about this. (Lost is already available for streaming on Hulu, but apparently no one really does Hulu on the regular anymore?) The series, which reinvented the “Watercooler TV” genre and spawned a million wannabe shows, will be on Netflix for 18 months, so subscribers have until January 1, 2026 to get their “Man of Science vs. Man of Faith” on. If you’ve never watched Lost and are curious to check it out, here’s a brief explainer and case as to why you should:
What is ‘Lost’ about?
The original “Watercooler TV”, and a precursor to our current binge-watch culture, “Lost” is a television titan that continues to influence the industry even now. The sci-fi drama opens with an intense plane crash as Oceanic Flight 815 spins 1,000 miles off course and lands in the blue waters below. The survivors of the crash wash up on a lush tropical island, but this is no deserted paradise. This island is home to numerous threats including a mysterious, shadowy smoke monster, and a group of violent inhabitants known as “The Others”, and even a polar bear (spoiler alert: that last mystery is never fully explained).Survivors of the crash include Jack Shepard (Matthew Fox), a troubled surgeon, Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly), a fugitive on the run, James “Sawyer” Ford (Josh Holloway), a brash con man, and John Locke (Terry O’Quinn); a survivalist with a big secret. And those are just the big four, “Lost” is crammed to bursting with more memorable characters than I can name, including one of the best villains in television history.
Another critical element of “Lost” is its clever use of flashbacks. Each episode is interspersed with flashback segments that explore what a particular character was doing before the crash. This technique was groundbreaking at the time, and it allowed viewers to get a stronger insight into each of the main cast. Plus, these backstories often add to the bigger puzzle.
‘Lost’ is binge-watching perfection
If you want a TV show that will have you clicking the “play next episode” button as soon as the credits start to roll then you can’t get much better than “Lost”. The show’s ability to craft mystery, suspense and intrigue is second to none, and there are so many stunning cliffhangers in just the first season alone, that you’ll consume it all in mere weeks. Speaking of its early days, I have to give a special mention to seasons 1-3. I would strongly argue that “Lost”’s first half is the most consistently excellent run of television ever made (with only HBO’s “Succession” challenging it). And while some viewers felt the back half of the show stumbled — and I’d acknowledge a few too many mysteries go unanswered — even the weaker episodes of “Lost” trump the best of many modern series (apart from season 3 episode 9, “Stranger in a Strange Land”, which is infamous for being complete filler, and I’ll admit it’s a real stinker).However, what sets “Lost” apart from its peers is its incredibly compelling characters. Yes, cliffhangers and twists are exciting, but they can only hold your interest for so long without an emotional core driving the momentum forward, and “Lost” has that in spades. You will come to love its massive ensemble cast with the likes of Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) worming their way into your hearts. And I dare anybody to not get misty-eyed during that scene in season 4’s critically acclaimed fourth episode, The Constant, or get chills during the third season’s gut-punch of a finale.
As noted, I experienced “Lost” as it aired live. Discussing fan theories with my friends and family enriched my enjoyment tenfold. And while that aspect of the show is sadly not possible to replicate in the streaming era, the upside is you can consume all 121 episodes at your own pace. This is a serious boon because having to wait a whole week between episodes and months between seasons was pure torture. “Lost” has such a persistent reputation that I’m potentially preaching to the converted with this article. But if you happen to have missed this show up till now, I cannot implore you more to get started now that it’s returned to Netflix U.S. this week. I’ve watched, and rewatched, “Lost” several times already, but writing about it now has me itching to go back once again.
Like I said above, I was a huge Lost fan during its original run, which started when I was in college. And just like the Tom’s Guide mentions, a huge part for me was experiencing it with other people. My friends and I would have watch-parties and discuss theories, which was fun. I loved finding the different easter eggs in those early seasons, too. I went online to websites that would point them out, got into message boards, and listened to different podcasts to enhance my experience. And while I didn’t love the whole “flash sideways” thing in the final season, I loved the finale. I went to a finale watch-party and we had a blast cheering and crying together.
I know a lot of people who are planning to spend their summer doing a Lost rewatch ahead of the 20th anniversary of it premiering on September 22, which will be marked by a new documentary about the series that interviews most of the cast and crew. Is anyone planning on watching it? You know how you revisit something that you read or watched when you were younger and suddenly, you “get” it differently? If I can find the time to rewatch six seasons of television, I’d love to do a rewatch of the entire series to see if I view it any differently now that 20 years have passed.
RODEO DRIVE PRESS / Avalon, ABC / Avalon, Reisig and Taylor (C) ABC / Avalon
I didn’t watch it during the original run, and I probably won’t now, unless I’m bored and want to stare at Daniel Dae Kim. 😍
Yes to Daniel Dae Kim! He’s been the most “breakout” actor of the cast with regular workand so nice to look at. Most of the cast are flying under the radar these days (another exception is Evangeline Lilly, (but she’s kinda odd) when, at the time, they were Hollywood hot stuff.
Ha! Exactly my thought once I scrolled down through the photos! Daniel Dae Kim is in it? Heck yeah, I’m watching. And I’ve got Hulu! That’s my holiday weekend planned!
No! It got boring. IMO. The only series I can imagine ever rewatching is Mad Men. But then again I’m not a re doer in general. The only book I reread is Middlemarch.
I don’t ‘redo’ anything either. A long time ago, a co-worker was reading (rereading) The Guns of August, something he said he did every August. That got stuck in my head & I thought, OK, I’ll read A Christmas Carol every Christmas season. I did that once, twice, and that was that. There’s too many things out there to read/view for the first time, no need to re-visit the past. I may do that with movies, but I’ve found that with the passage of time my viewpoint changes & I’ll ask myself–what the heck was I thinking? This is terrible! So misogynistic! Or whatever (but usually that).
“Not Polly’s boat” one of the most heartbreaking moments ever in television
Not to be that guy, but Penny.
Not a problem. I thought Penny in my head but somehow it became Polly. I can very vividly see Charlie holding up his hand to the window with those words as Desmond frantically tries to open the door. I was sobbing and screaming
I listened to a lot of rewatch podcasts over the years. Interestingly, I usually stop listening on Season 5. It got worse towards the end. From the reporting on series, the writing room was hostile to black characters. A lot of characters with potentials got wasted for nothing because of that. Also, I still remember the writers / producers promised they were gonna explain everything with science. That was a lie too. It was still the first series I fell in love and followed in real time though.
I stopped watching after the first few episodes. I found the hyper groomed, superfit, gorgeous cast to be too dull. Obviously this is a feature of most Hollywood products, but for some reason, it just made it uninteresting to me. I might try again. It’s fun to have something to binge.
i love Lost! will def be doing a rewatch and there will be tears lol
I loved the original run of the show, and I too spent a lot of time discussing it with people IRL and online. I started a rewatch years ago, but got sidetracked around season 3. I might try again.
It’s a little harder now, knowing the racism that existed behind the scenes. and who certain cast members turned out to be in real life, but it was a helluva show. I didn’t mind the finale either, but I’d be curious to watch it now and see how I feel about a lot of it.
The surprises and twists in the show were what made it so unpredictable (until a few seasons in when we started suspecting the plot twist). I can’t imagine watching it again, knowing how it ends for it to be as enjoyable.
But the one thing I’ll never forget is watching live every week. Very distinctively, the premiere episode didn’t have a single commercial break until 25 minutes into the episode. I can’t remember any other show ever doing the same thing. (This was still before my household had TiVO/DVR’s)
I feel like the only person without Netflix. I just don’t agree with their business practices. Netflix’s content catalogue is pretty lousy too.
Honestly, I think most people don’t know better and pay for Netflix out of convenience, because there are so many gems to be found in free w/ ads streaming. imo all you need is Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Filmrise, and the Roku Channel.
Thank you for saying you loved the finale, so many people hated it, and I thought it was perfect. anybody who thought they would get all the answers did not know Lost at all.
I loved the first 3 maybe 4 seasons. Then it got so confusing and annoying. All of the plot twists and abandoning story lines and characters ruined the enjoyment.