Though its resemblances toLostwere hardly on-the-nose,Person of Interestwas a more than fitting replacement forthe ABC series. With all its compelling mysteries and nuanced characters,Lostchanged TV. WhenLostended in 2010, it left a void that various network shows struggled to fill.
Just one year afterLost’sconclusion,Person of Interestpremiered on CBS. It didn’t last quite as long asLost, nor did it reach the extreme level of success achieved byLost, butPerson of Interest’sfive-season runwas remarkable regardless, as well as a worthy replacement forLost.
Person Of Interest Was Lost’s Spiritual Successor
Person Of Interest Wasn’t Obvious In Its Lost Connections
Person of Interestoriginated as a show about two people working together to investigate “numbers” provided by a highly advanced AI referred to in the series as “The Machine.” Designed by Michael Emerson’s Finch for the government, the Machine’s purpose was to identify potential murder victims. Believing that the government was ignoring its ability to help everyday people, Finch worked with Jim Caviezel’s Reese - a disgraced government agent - to prevent a different potential murder from episode to episode, naturally providing the characters with plenty of mysteries to solve.
While this basic premise isn’t reminiscent ofLost, there a few factors that make it sort of a stealth successor toLost. One of the biggest of which, of course, is the fact that J.J. Abrams (one of the co-creators ofLost) was an executive producer onPerson of Interest.But perhaps the most obvious reminder ofLostto be found inPerson of Interestwas its decision to cast Michael Emerson. The show notably flippedLost’suse of Emerson, having the actor go from one ofLost’smost morally dubious characters to a man of high ideals and a commitment to following his conscience inPerson of Interest.
How Person Of Interest Compares To Lost
Person of Interestdidn’t thrive off an ensemble cast or strand its characters on an island, but at its heart, it truly is a lot likeLost.What connectedall ofLost’scharacterswas the island, a place so unique that people like Locke and Ben would often speak of it as if it was a conscious entity that had wants and plans of its own. By also serving as the origin point for several key mysteries, the Machine played a similar role inPerson of Interest, with even Finch, its creator, often being perplexed by its choices. What the Machine wanted was regularly subjected to speculation in the series.
The personal crises and journeys of the principal characters also call back to a major part ofLost’sstorytelling strategy. Using flashbacks,Lostgradually fleshed out the backstories of each character, often revealing that many were connected in ways they never suspected, such as the reveal that Sawyer met Jack’s father at a bar shortly before his death.Person of Interestused the same trick, eventually revealinghidden personal connections between Reese and Finch, including the fact that the latter tried to prevent the death of Reese’s ex-girlfriend, Jessica.
Person Of Interest Was One Of Many Shows Inspired By Lost
Several Shows Tried To Become The New Lost
Person of Interestwas far from the only show to take cues fromLost.In fact, most were less subtle intheir efforts to become the newLost.In the aftermath of its success, networks worked to capitalizeon interest in the series by producing shows driven by similar concepts. Multiple shows spotlighted ensemble casts and placed sprawling mysteries at the center of their stories. One example of this wasFlashforward, which added a time travel twist toLost’sflashback format.
Others took a more direct influence fromLostby making an airplane incident the basis of the mystery. One series to go this route was the one-season seriesThe Event.Manifestfollowed suit years later, to much better results, as it managed to last four seasons. Not unlikePerson of Interest’sinclusion of Michael Emerson, there were some that brought in familiar faces from Lost, which was the case withAlcatraz, which cast Jorge Garcia in a major role. Due to the vast number of shows it inspired, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to finding content with similarities to the hit series.
Lost
Cast
Lost is a mystery drama series created for TV that follows a group of survivors of a plane crash and tells its story between the past, present, and future via flashbacks. When Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crashes and lands on a mysterious island in the pacific ocean, the castaways discover their new temporary home may have a mind of its own, as strange supernatural events keep them locked to the island. From an unknown black smoke creature to dangerous islanders, the passengers must work together to survive the island’s seemingly deadly intentions.
