On May 7, 2007, ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson announced that "Lost" would end during the 2009–2010 season with a "highly anticipated and shocking finale". "We felt that this was the only way to give "Lost" a proper creative conclusion," McPherson said. Beginning with the 2007–2008 television season, the final 48 episodes would have been aired as three seasons with 16 episodes each, with "Lost" concluding in its sixth season. Due to the 2007-2008 writers' strike, the fourth season featured 14 episodes, and season 5 had 17 episodes. Season six was planned to have 17 episodes, too. However, on June 29 it was announced that the final season would feature an additional hour, making the number of episodes 18.