How to watch Lost in the US, UK and abroad
Here’s how to revisit everyone’s favourite disaster series, no matter where you are in the world
Lost made its debut in 2004, chronicling the lives of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 survivors as a plane crash leaves them forced to navigate life on a mysterious island in the South Pacific.
Thanks to an all-star ensemble cast (Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan and Naveen Andrews), compelling non-linear narrative (lives of past, present and future are charted) and an awesome setting (the show was filmed in Hawaii), Lost gained a cult following.
The show garnered 16 million views per episode in its first season and 11 million per episode during its last, but Lost didn’t just win popular acclaim. The show scooped up a host of awards, including an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Unlike Game of Thrones which took its time to capture people’s attention, Lost was an instant success despite the infancy of social media when it first aired. Within a few weeks of release in 2004, people were invested in the lives of Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sun, John Locke, The Smoke Monster, the hatch in the ground, and The Others.
Not surprisingly, online reviews aggregator website IMDB gave Lost the highest-average ranking for any TV show in the website’s first decade of operation.
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Whether you’re looking to relive the glory days of Lost or you’re a first-time viewer wondering whether the survivors of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 eventually found their way back home like Tom Hanks in Castaway, we’ve compiled a handy how-to guide for all of your Lost watching needs.
How to watch Lost in the UK: Amazon Prime
As of February 2019, Lost has been available on Amazon Prime Video, meaning lucky Prime members can stream episodes of Lost for free. While Amazon will often whet Prime viewers’ appetites with the first few seasons of a show before putting up a paywall for more recent seasons, all six seasons of Lost are available to Amazon Prime members.
Amazon Prime offers thousands of benefits, including one-day delivery on thousands of products, unlimited music streaming and photos storage and heavily-discounted products throughout the year, especially on days like the Prime Day and November’s Black Friday.
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You have three options when subscribing to Amazon Prime. The cheapest to avail of all the aforementioned benefits is to subscribe to Amazon Prime for an entire year upfront, which will cost you £79 a year.
The second option is a recurring monthly plan, which costs £7.99 a month. Finally, the Prime Video Monthly plan, which costs £5.99 a month only gives you access to Amazon Prime Video content.
Even better, all three options include a 30-day trial for new members, so you can test the service to heart’s content. If you choose to cancel any of the three options before your trial expires, then you won’t be charged a penny.
How to watch Lost in the US: Hulu
Lost was recently taken off US Netflix, only to find a new home on streaming platform Hulu. US subscribers can sign up for just $5.99 per month, with your first month free.
In theory, this means you can watch all six seasons of Lost for free if you’re quick. No questions asked. Except maybe: is it healthy to watch 4.3hrs of Lost every day for a month?
Once you’re a Hulu member, you’ll be able to watch the entire Lost catalogue to your heart’s content. If, once you’ve exhausted all 121 episodes and find that you’re not interested in the service anymore, you can just cancel your Hulu subscription on the spot.
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We doubt you’ll do that though because, like Netflix, Hulu has an enviable catalogue of movies (including The Devil Wears Prada, Mission Impossible, The Silence of the Lambs) and TV shows (The Handmaid’s Tale, The Mindy Project, and more).
How to watch Lost in the US: Amazon
Unfortunately, Lost isn’t available to stream on Amazon US Prime Video, which means Prime members will still have to cough up if they want to watch the travails of the unlucky bunch as they navigate the pitfalls of island life. No, we’re not talking about Love Island, though you can learn how to watch that here.
Individual episodes are available to purchase from $1.99 and Season One in its entirety costs $19.99 in standard definition (HD is available for $2.99 per episode and $24.99 per season).
How to watch Lost abroad: iTunes and Google Play
No matter where you are in the world, Lost is at your fingertips if you purchase it on iTunes. Once downloaded, you’ll be able to watch it wherever you are – battery life of your smartphone/laptop/tablet permitting, of course. All six seasons of Lost are available to purchase on iTunes, from Season One (£4.99) to Season Six (£9.99).
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Google Play users, meanwhile, will have a bit of a wait on their hands. The store warns that the show is “currently unavailable” to purchase on its platform, with no indication of when or even if it might be available in the future. In instances like this, we recommend diverting to iTunes or Amazon.
How to watch Lost abroad: Use a VPN
In instances where you’re travelling abroad and you still want to tune into the show that the New York Times called one of the best TV dramas since The Sopranos, using a VPN is a viable option.
VPNs – virtual private networks – are a handy way of securing access to your regular streaming platforms when you’re travelling abroad. We’ve rounded up the best VPN options for you, so you never have to go without your requisite episode(s) of Lost.
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ExpressVPN: ExpressVPN is the fastest of the three options, ensuring you have snag-free streaming. Plus, with a 24hr customer helpline and 30-day free return policy, you’ll never be caught short. The service recently increased its maximum simultaneous device usage from three to five, and completed an independent audit to prove that it doesn’t log or store any user data on its servers.
Surfshark VPN: A relative newcomer on the VPN scene (it launched in the spring of 2018), Surfshark is an excellent budget-friendly option. Although it fails to deliver the maximum speeds of Express VPN, it would make an excellent choice for students without oodles of cash to spend. Also, there’s no restriction on the number of devices that you can use it on simultaneously!
NordVPN: NordVPN is another great option, offering up a free seven-day trial and simultaneous usage on six devices. Compatible with Netflix, iPlayer and torrenting, it’s a quick, reliable and hassle-free VPN. Our one niggle in its full-length review here is that it can be expensive if you’re paying monthly, so we recommend it’s three-year plan because that works out to be much cheaper.