It looks to be official that Lost will only have 48 more episodes over the next 3 seasons bringing the total to 119 episodes according to
The Hollywood Reporter. Lost will air 16 uninterrupted episodes from February to May for the next 3 years. Executive Producer Damon Lindelof finds the end date, "incredibly liberating," he added, "Like we've been running a marathon and we actually know where the finish line is for the first time." Lindelof and co-EP Carlton Cuse have been working on "a road map for the series with all the major mythological milestones and the ending in place for a while. What we didn't know was how long we had to play the story out," Cuse said. "By defining the endpoint we can now really map out the rest of the series in confidence." Now the two and the writers have to plan out the rest of the show, "We sort of view 'Lost' as a mosaic," Cuse said. "Now there are only 48 more tiles that go into that mosaic, and we're figuring out, along with all the other writers, exactly where they all go."
It will be interesting to see if the show will still be able to do well when it comes back next February after being off the air for so long. And if does really bad in the ratings will ABC remain committed to all 48 episodes. I am still undecided how I feel about the show not coming back until next February, I am not sure I will be back for the final 48. Depends on what else is on.