In a highly unusual move for a broadcast series, ABC and the producers of “Lost” are in discussions to determine an end date for the show.

The date will set a limit to the number of “Lost” seasons to come and will be announced to fans. The show’s producers, speaking at ABC’s Television Critics Association press tour session, said having a conclusion date will bolster fan confidence in the series’ narrative. A timeline for making the decision was not announced.

“It’s time for us now to find an endpoint for the show,” said executive producer Carlton Cuse. “JK Rowling announced there were seven books in the Harry Potter series and it gives fans [a framework for understanding the arc of the show]. ‘The X-Files’ was a cautionary tale for us. It was a great show that ran two seasons too long. ‘Lost’ has a short-half life.”

“None of us want to be doing the stalling show,” added executive producer Damon Lindelof. “We don’t want them to be building sandcastles next week.”

Though the series ratings have dipped this fall, the show remains one of ABC’s top-rated programs. During the first season, Mr. Lindelof said the show could run nine seasons if necessary, noting the island has plenty of mysteries. Recently, fans and critics have grown frustrated, however, with the show’s continually expanding mythology that keeps piling on new mysteries and characters.

After the panel, Mr. Lindelof suggested the series might cap at 100 episodes, which would only result in two more seasons. But ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson sought to downplay the producers’ statements, noting that “we’ve had those discussions for the past two years.”

Earlier while on stage, Mr. McPherson said he agreed with critic complaints that the first six episodes this season pulled the story too far from the group dynamics that made the show popular.

“[The writers] made a clear choice that first installment would be about Jack, Kate, Sawyer and The Others,” he said. “For me, the show I really invest in is having everybody together. I thought it was a riveting six episodes, but I like it when they’re all together and they’re heading toward that again after the break.”

Though Mr. McPherson stood by his decision to schedule a four-month break in the “Lost” schedule this season, he reiterated his plan (first reported last month in TelevisionWeek) to try and run next season’s episodes without a break or repeats, launching either in the fall or spring.

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Jessica Simpson was told to stay away from a supermarket because she was distracting customers.

The sexy star can’t even go grocery shopping without being followed by paparazzi.

Now one frustrated store manager has had enough and asked Jessica not to come in during store hours.

Jessica told Britain’s Glamour magazine: “Two weeks ago, I was at Whole Foods and probably about 100 photographers were outside waiting for me.

“The manager gave me his card and said, ‘Jessica, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t come in during store hours. Give me a call and I’ll open up early or you can come in after we close. But this is very distracting for all my customers.

“I looked at him kind of shocked. Then I was just mad, not at him but at the situation. I couldn’t even live my normal life anymore.”

The ‘Employee of the Month’ actress is increasingly concerned by the level of attention she receives from the paparazzi, especially when they chase her while she is driving.

Jessica, 26, said: “Seriously, it does get dangerous. I don’t think I could deal with it, if something happened to somebody else because of my being chased by all these assholes running red lights.”

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Britney Spears and Isaac Cohen have taken their hookup to new heights: a Fantasy Tower suite at The Palms in Las Vegas.

Sources tell PEOPLE the couple stayed in the tower’s $40,000-a-night, two-story Hugh Hefner Sky Villa on Saturday, where a Jacuzzi pool, a glass elevator, an 8-ft. rotating bed and a full bar are among the amenities.

“They seem very happy together,” says a source who spotted the two, who started dating in the past month. Hotel officials had no comment.

The trip was Spears’s first appearance in Las Vegas since hosting a much-talked-about party at Pure nightclub on New Year’s Eve – where, her rep says, she fell asleep.

It was a different scene Saturday night. Spears and model-actor Cohen, both 25, danced and smoked cigarettes at 8½, a gay club off the Strip, before leaving after about an hour.

This is the second weekend in a row that the couple have been seen together. On Jan. 6 they hung out on a powerboat off Marina del Rey, outside L.A., and the next night met up at the W Hotel’s Whiskey Blue bar in Westwood.

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