BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Fans of "Lost" won't be cheated out of any of their final 48 episodes, despite this year's writers' strike.

"Lost" really will get 48 episodes over a three-season span, as first announced. It had planned to start that with 17 this year, but the strike only gave time for 14.

Those extra episodes will be tacked on somewhere in the final two seasons, so the show still has 34 left.

One complication: "Lost" rushed some of its stories, so it could reach the points it wanted to for the season finale. Now it has a little more room to play.

A couple other ABC shows — "Private Practice" and "Pushing Daisies" — could have even more than the usual number of hours. For "Boston Legal," however, it will definitely be 13 and out.

That's information doled out Wednesday by Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC Entertainment, at the Television Critics Press Association tour in Los Angeles.

McPherson managed to duck the bigger question of whether ABC will snag Jay Leno when his NBC contract expires.

The network and Leno had agreed years ago that he would hand over his "Tonight" slot to Conan O'Brien. As that time nears, questions grow.

"I can't believe they're letting the guy go at the top of his game," McPherson told TV reporters. "If that happens, we'll see."

He has the news division's "Nightline" in that spot, followed by a Jimmy Kimmel show that McPherson said keeps getting better. The next step is uncertain.