Planning a TV show built around a central mystery without knowing how many episodes you’ll get to make can be frustrating for both creators and viewers. A show like Severance would be considered a huge disappointment if it ended after its Season 1 cliffhanger, but much of the behind-the-scenes drama of Lost centered on the writers not knowing how to pace their mysteries because there was no end date in sight.
The solution seems obvious: plan for a specific number of seasons and episodes from day one, and stick to that plan no matter what. The only way that can go wrong is if viewership nosedives and the show suffers a premature cancellation, disappointing hardcore fans. But this is how one of the most thrilling shows on TV planned out its mystery, and a newly announced renewal suggests that it might just reach its goal.
