UPDATE: Variety has just announced that Lost season 5 will premiere on January 21, with the series moving back to Wednesdays at 9pm.  ABC will launch the season with a three-hour event, beginning with a recap show at 8pm, followed by a two-hour season premiere.

Lost news hasn't been easy to come by lately.  Radio silence has been instituted.  This is probably a good thing.  Spoilers are fine for some shows, but with Lost, the surprise is half the enjoyment.  No show changes the game as well as Lost, and having major story lines ruined far ahead of time isn't fun for anyone.  So, we have to cling to any and all Lost news we can get.  If you were watching ABC during Tuesday's election coverage, you may have seen the newest trailer for Lost.  It was only about fifteen seconds long, but besides any new footage glanced, there was another big announcement: Lost is coming back in January. 

ABC could decide otherwise over the next couple months but, for now, let's move forward under the assumption that Lost will indeed premiere sometime in January.  It will likely be late January, and again the premiere will be of the two-hour variety, with an hour recap show airing prior to the premiere.  Lost's fifth season will consist of 17 episodes (making for the one-short 15 episode fourth season).  If Lost really does get underway in January, it probably won't run uninterrupted.  If it did, the season would conclude in April.  ABC is going to want all of its big series to finish their run in May. 

Below you can watch the new trailer that ran on ABC Tuesday night.  The most interesting new footage involves John Locke. He's bloody, and he holds onto an antique looking compass.  What is he supposed to be looking for?  We also have Sayid strangling a guy (this is not very surprising) and Hurley brandishing a gun (which actually is surprising). Man, I cannot wait for January to come.  Lost, 24, American Idol, Dollhouse – there's going to be a lot of extra TV heaped onto an already busy schedule.  The more I think about it, I can't remember another show whose return I've looked forward to more than Lost.  It might not be the best TV show of all-time, but it might be the one most demanding of appointment viewing.  You have to watch every episode, and you have to watch on whichever night it airs.  We still don't know what day Lost will air on, by the way.  It's quite possible ABC doesn't know either.






-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: Variety
(Image Courtesy of ABC)