This fall marks the 20th anniversary of a decisive moment in early aughts TV history: the night 18.7 million viewers tuned in to the premiere of “Lost” on ABC. That’s a fraction of the 54 million people who watched the “Friends” finale that same month, but “Lost” was a major coup for ABC, which hadn’t had a hit drama series since “The Practice” premiered seven years earlier.
And “Lost” became much more than a ratings hit. It was a phenomenon that influenced the next generation of television storytelling and helped give rise to the rabid fan groups (commonplace now) that came together in online forums to obsess over every last plot detail, hang on every single clue and eventually gripe about all the red herrings.