Into Itwith Sam Sanders
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Do you think its harder than ever to say no?Damon Lindelof:Harder than ever.
Its always going to be hard because once youve got someones attention, you want to keep it.
From a slightly sort of more cynical standpoint, this is a business.
Youre better than me.People dont want things to end.
And then you even say, Were going to make fewer episodes per season than the norm.
That would be so hard to even ask for now.
How hard was it to do back then?Well, it seemed impossible at the time.
The shows calledLost, so they kind of have to stay that way.
Are you going to run into theGilligans Islandproblem where the audience starts to get frustrated?
And my response to that always was like, You are right.
So lets design a finite beginning, middle, and end.
ABC just didnt want to engage in that conversation.
The compromise ended up being six, but I personally wish that we could havedone it in four.
Because I compare it to a thing likeStranger Things.
And I like that show.Me too.
You know we want to design nine or ten episodes with the beginning, middle, and end.
And heres why we would do it that way.
Could there be another season of it?
Maybe, but thats not the plan here.
What do you think?
And then were going to be finished.
But then there was a play,Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
And then the prequel movies, which are still happening.For sure.
I dont begrudge them the right to keep it going.
Meanwhile, Im making twoStar Trekmovies andPrometheus.
So they tweet,Were going to go on strike.
A media blackout until Ryan Murphy gives us something.
And the next day, Ryan Murphyannounces the launch dateforAmerican Horror Storyseason 11.Wow.
And youre like,Whoa, fan service has gone to a new level.
But thefans do the same thing, and they have real relationships.
And the fans wanted the answer to that question to be Absolutely not.
We have a plan.
The second question that they asked most often was What input do we have as fans?
But we have a set list, so you cant win.
And I wouldnt trade it for the world.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
