ABC renews Hawaii’s
only current TV series, ‘Lost’

Word that ABC has renewed its Hawaii-based television series "Lost" is welcome -- if not unexpected -- news for the state.

The network said yesterday that it would renew the freshman hit along with three other shows for the 2005-06 season.

"We have been in conversations with the studio (Touchstone Television) all along, and we have been hearing all along that the show was doing very well and that they would get a second season," state film commissioner Donne Dawson said.

"Lost," the only TV series currently in production in Hawaii, is winning its Wednesday time slot and is the 14th-ranked program in prime time (eighth last week), according to Nielsen Media Research.

Dawson didn't know how much the show spent in the state this season, but said historically a TV production pumps between $20 million and $30 million into the islands a year. That's a conservative estimate, she said.

The drama about plane crash survivors stranded on a mysterious island is filmed at various sites around Oahu and features an ensemble cast including Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Naveen Andrews and Josh Holloway.

The series employs a crew of about 200 people, up to 140 of whom were hired locally, Dawson said.