As the years march on, the importance of ABC’s “Lost” continues to shine through. This is a show that wasn’t the first of its kind—a serialized drama that captured the hearts and minds of viewers—but it was one of the most influential series of the past 30 years, full stop. The impact “Lost” had on the shows that came after it is immense, in terms of storytelling, structure, and style. However, it is’t until years later that we’re finally digging deep into what was only hinted at during its run— “Lost” was a mess behind the scenes.
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In an excerpt from the forthcoming book “BURN IT DOWN: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood” by Maureen Ryan, shared on Vanity Fair, the author goes deep into the history of “Lost,” but not in the way you might be expecting. This isn’t a deep dive into the mystery box storytelling or the lackluster finale. What Ryan does is speak with many cast and crew from the series (some of which remain anonymous) as they break down the alleged toxic, racist, and sexist behind-the-scenes drama that ran rampant throughout the creation of the series.
Again, to get the full picture, you really should read the Vanity Fair piece, but the gist is this: according to allegations from numerous people who worked on “Lost,” primarily those in the writers room, as well as certain actors (most notably Harold Perrineau), there were multiple instances where showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, as well as other writers and actors, made racist comments and jokes, bullied other crew, and generally were terrible people during the creation of the massively popular series.
In the case of Perrineau, he talked at length about feeling like he was fired from the show after the second season (when his character was quickly written off) because he mentioned a several times that he was concerned how his character, a Black father, was being portrayed in the show. He was worried that the showrunners were falling into stereotypical tropes in their usage of Perrineau’s character, Michael. And when he brought this up to Lindelof and Cuse, he was subsequently written off the series. Other writers would then confirm Perrineau’s assertions and claim Lindelof said that the actor “called me racist, so I fired his ass.”
In response to the litany of allegations, including Perrineau’s, Damon Lindelof seemed upset and flabbergasted by the news. However, he did take responsibility for being an inexperienced showrunner.
“My level of fundamental inexperience as a manager and a boss, my role as someone who was supposed to model a climate of creative danger and risk-taking but provide safety and comfort inside of the creative process—I failed in that endeavor,” Lindelof said.
As for the accusation that he and Cuse essentially fired Perrineau, the writer-producer replied, “What can I say? Other than it breaks my heart that that was Harold’s experience. And I’ll just cede that the events that you’re describing happened 17 years ago, and I don’t know why anybody would make that up about me.”
He added “It’s one of the things that I’ve had deep and profound regrets about in the two decades since. I do feel that Harold was legitimately and professionally conveying concerns about his character and how significant it was that Michael and Walt—with the exception of Rose—were really the only Black characters on the show.”
Though he admits that he was inexperienced and handled things badly while making “Lost,” Lindelof did point out that he has grown as a professional over the years since his time on the series. But he also admits that the growth came at the cost of others.
“The way that I conduct myself and the way that I treat other humans who I am responsible for and a manager of is a by-product of all the mistakes that were made,” he said. “I have significantly evolved and grown, and it shouldn’t have had to come at the cost and the trauma of people that I hurt on ‘Lost.’”
To really get in the nitty gritty regarding the many, many accusations from various folks who worked on the show, you can read the excerpt from the book on Vanity Fair. If you want to relive “Lost,” the series is available to binge now on Hulu.