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24: Legacy ordered to pilot by FOX

THE CLOCK KEEPS TICKING AS FOX ORDERS “24: LEGACY,” THE PILOT FOR A NEW INSTALLMENT OF GROUNDBREAKING AND AWARD-WINNING ACTION DRAMA SERIES

Pilot Episode to Film This Winter

Produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Imagine Television and Howard Gordon’s Teakwood Lane Productions

FOX has ordered the pilot 24: LEGACY, a potential new series installment of the groundbreaking and Emmy Award-winning drama franchise most recently revived as the event series “24: Live Another Day,” it was announced today by Dana Walden and Gary Newman, Chairmen and CEOs, Fox Television Group.

Howard Gordon (“Homeland,” “24”), Manny Coto (“24”) and Evan Katz (“24”) will serve as executive producers. The project will be produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Imagine Television and Gordon’s Teakwood Lane Productions.

The pilot will feature an all-new cast of characters and retain the real-time, pulse-pounding, fast-paced format with split screens and complex interweaving storylines, with each episode representing one hour of an eventful day.

The project will revolve around a military hero’s return to the U.S. and the trouble that follows him back – compelling him to ask CTU for help in saving his life, and stopping what potentially could be one of the largest-scale terror attacks on American soil.

Originally premiering on November 6, 2001, “24” was nominated for a total of 73 Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Drama Series in 2006. Over eight seasons, Kiefer Sutherland garnered seven Emmy Award nominations and one win for Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama Series. While the series gained global recognition, Sutherland’s portrayal of the legendary character penetrated the American psyche like no other dramatic television character to become part of the cultural lexicon.

The most recent chapter in the franchise, “24: Live Another Day,” was a 12-episode event series that premiered in the summer of 2014 on FOX, reuniting series stars Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Raver and William Devane. The series was both a critical and ratings hit, garnering three Emmy Awards.

24: LEGACY is a production of 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television in association with Teakwood Lane Productions. Howard Gordon, Brian Grazer, Manny Coto, Evan Katz and Kiefer Sutherland are executive producers. The original series, which had its last American broadcast on May 24, 2010, was created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran.

So what do you think so far? Are you interested in the concept, or do you think 24 needs Jack Bauer to survive? Vote in the poll below.

Will you give 24: Legacy a chance?

206 Comments

Comments Closed
This should be the end for 24 without Kiefer.

Yp. Without his voice 24 will b just another series for me

Jack bauer is the fabric terrorists fear and is always a few steps ahead but without kiefer it just a series that might but not survive 5 out of 24 we need kiefer sutherland

Agreed! Call it something else. Jack Bauer WAS 24

But when you first started watching it, you didn’t know the character at all.

Plus, there’s no way Jack won’t cameo/guest star at some point along the way in Legacy. (And, yes, I know what Kiefer’s been saying lately and about Designated Survivor.) There’s no way they would have put this into motion if they didn’t have a plan for Jack down the line.

Plus? We all know that this completely new cast stuff is b.s.. There’s one character that’s obviously in it already. And when you have that character? You have eventual Jack Bauer, even if it’s the end of Legacy or the start of the season after it. But it’ll happen.

I’ve been a huge 24 fan since the show debuted and you should stop complaining about what you’ve said. Hope the new rebooted version of 24 is going to be something new depending on whether or not Legacy is going to have just a “limited series” order as in one season and done.

I’m not complaining?

Ok I am happy with this, it could be a good fresh start to the series. I know no returning characters is a shame but I have high hopes that if the show kicks off well we may see a few familiar faces after a while (maybe even Jack). So everyone please don’t lash out on this show (just yet), I think it has potential to be great if they do it right.

Yes I agree, jack should b there ,or at least his daughter. But I will give it a chance

You know when else they said “for right now, no returning characters”? *giggles* When they announced Day 9 and said “well, maybe Chloe” and, well… and that was the one set overseas. This is the one set in the U.S., where it’s a lot easier to come up with reasons why fan favorites are popping back up into the plot. Plus, the last time they used phrases like “total reset” and “fresh start” was Day 4. The day that begins with ProzacJack and Chloe and OhRightThatKeelerGuy populated by cool new characters that we would soon be calling old-school ones (that new guy, Heller, is it?)… and then turned into a reunion extravaganza that exceeded even obvious expectations of who we thought we’d see again eventually.

Bottom line = they want people to watch it. They want new people and they want old school 24 fans. That means giving people what they want. Even if there’s no Jack for awhile (which could actually work out to a better story for him down the road, keeping him mysterious for awhile and all that)… they have to give us something. Solitary makes it obvious who they benched for Day 9 so they could keep us happy in Legacy and that’s the biggest clue of eventual Bauer stuff down the road. What’s the sense of letting out the Soul Patch if his plot arc doesn’t eventually cross into that of Jack’s?

I think a 24 movie will also be made or a 24 two hour TV movie that will lead into the reboot series! Kiefer said he sees that happening where a 24 movie and series would feed off of each other

Interesting that they didn’t order this straight to series. FOX can pass if they don’t like the pilot.

Stephen Hopkins is back. That’s good enough for me.

Right?! If anyone knows the show, it’s the guy who created its visual language. 24 was weird and Lynch-ian and gloomy and a psychological thriller in the Hopkins era and I’d be down with more of that.

How long was Hopkins on 24? Was it just season 1?

Hopkins was only involved with the first season, he directed about half of the episodes including the pilot and the finale.

Evelyn R. Farkas
January 15, 2016 at 1:46 pm
It won’t be the same. It has to have Keifer & Mary Lynn in it. I won’t be watching it, because the previous actor/actors made it the great series it was.

They could come back, it is really an experiment that’s all. You might as well give it a shot. I think those characters will eventually come back, even if its not immediately!

24 was excellent for 2 years and a 2 hour movie without Mary Lynn. I love Chloe & want to see her again but the show for sure can be stellar without Chloe. Some of its finest moments also have nothing to do with Jack and everything to do with the amazing ensemble they build every year. Hell, they made a 7 minute movie without either of them in Solitary and it was one of the best parts of 24 canon ever. The show can exist without those two characters for awhile and maybe it would be even better if it did– give those characters some breathing room and set up other characters so that when they do return, the plot is even tighter.

The best thing they could ever do for the character of Jack Bauer is to go park him in Moscow for a season and then get us all excited when he comes back.

Not interested.

Not even if they show that Audrey left a note expressing regret for Edgar’s mom? :(

It’s like spin-off?

At this point I think is fair to say that a comic or a novel featuring Jack Bauer will be a safer bet than season 10 returning. Sorry but I have not faith that a movie will be good enough to put an end to this show.

Yh. Novel will b better.

Translations:

“We’re starting fresh.” = Roughly 50% of the characters will be new and maybe 2 of them will actually drive story. We have to replenish the crew because we are running out of characters to feed to sharks at climatic moments. But, bear in mind, that the last time we did a whole season of refresh, you all wound up with Charles Logan, Bill Buchanan, Paul Raines, Dina Araz, Heller and Audrey…. so everyone stop complaining about the damn new characters. We give them to you every year.

“Right now, no new characters.” = We can’t legally talk about them at this point but we plan to bring a bunch back. The last time we said there would be no new characters, we then said ‘wait, no, Chloe and Audrey and Heller’ over the next couple of months. Geez, give us something for future press releases and hype-building here.

“Never say never” on those returning characters. = Other things we’ve said “never say never” about in the past include… everything you’ve ever asked for, basically. Kim Bauer’s return after Day 3, Tony coming back, Chloe coming back, Live Another Day happening at all, and now more 24 post-Live Another Day. So, just chill, we’ll get there eventually. Plus, hell, we just told you we’re bringing back CTU. That’s one returning character for you. More to come.

When I said new characters above, I meant old characters… obviously… long day. :)

I’m happy at this news…especially that Stephen Hopkins is directing!

To clarify, when it says “this winter”, it means like jan-feb 2016 right? Not December time?

Yeah, they’ll probably start rolling cameras by March.

The pilot will be good and 24 legacy will be ordered to series for next season for the upfronts

A little perturbed 24 with out Jack seems anti climatic, at least have sum characters we identify

We don’t need new characters for 24. Without Jack 24 will not be same again. I just want to see what happened to Jack after he sends back to russia, and want to see that he’s reuniting with his friends. Tony almeida and cloy.. we need a better story with them pls

Howard Gordon, Manny Coto, Evan Katz and Kiefer Sutherland are executive producers – that’s enough for me. Hope that Milan Cheylov will be director in some episodes and Sean Callery remain as composer. Can’t wait :)

Must. Have. Callery. Must. *mantras*

I find it curious that Kiefer is staying on as a producer – if he were completely done with ’24’, I would have expected him to distance himself from the new incarnation. Him being involved in production will only feed the rumor mills that if the series suffers in the ratings, FOX may use his involvement for some cameos….

Estoy muy feliz por regreso de 24 legado seria una nueva experiencia lastima que no veremos a Jack y a Mary Lynn y ojala lleguen,pero es bueno el regreso de 24

Estoy de acuerdo. Estoy muy emocionado por más venti quatro ahoras, también. :)

I am willing to be optimistic about this new series- the 24 format is awesome and with proper casting, good writing, and good execution it could work well.

When they say “no returning characters” do they actually mean no returning main characters or no returning characters of any kind? This new female lead who is a former CTU head could be a familiar character if the meaning is the former. The only former female CTU heads from the old series is Cloe (season 8) and Alberta Green season 1. Did I miss any? (I don’t think Karen Hayes was ever the head of CTU.) If the meaning is the former, then we could see a Mandy return. The terrorist plot they have sounds big scale which could be worthy of the season 7 anonymous cabal conspirators.

I am still wanting to see justice done to Mandy, Logan, and the season 7 anonymous cabal. Justice could be delivered by the new cast. If the new series has a good start returning characters could be easily written into the plot during the latter episodes of the first season.

Thankfully someone else likes this idea. There could be returning characters. Walden said “Never say never” about that.

I love the idea, too. Very excited about Legacy. And there for sure is at least one returning character and where there’s one, there’s very likely more than one.

Plus, if you go with the idea of Legacy taking place not long after Solitary, then we already know the time jump. That, in combination with some logic, might suggest we already know the President, as well.

Sorry who is the President?

It’s not as clear-cut as Tony being in Legacy based off of Solitary but I think people deduced that Ethan Kanin is most likely the President after Day 9/following Heller’s resignation. There was talk before about how the fact that they keep talking about the Vice-President on Day 9 without saying his name coupled with Kanin and Heller together in Deadline and the fact that it’s the only government job in the 24 world Ethan has yet to hold indicate that it’s probably him.

The time jump in Solitary works out to Solitary taking place 2 years after Day 9. That actually is pretty cool because it means that Day 10 takes place in the fall in a Presidential election year in the 24 world. If they’re filming Legacy with the intent of airing it this upcoming fall? Then that makes it even more topical. We’ve seen a presidential primary, an inauguration day, and (twice over) a 25th amendment coup plot… now, we might get Election Day. Two political plotline characters– the guy who is the president and the person who is about to become the president. But yeah seems likely that it’s Kanin.

Ok thanks, hopefully down the road the writers will decide to continue the Solitary plot line and Bring Back Carlos!

Let’s hope.

24marathonman – you’ve missed Erin Driscoll as female CTU director character.. In previous seasons we’ve seen presidents in advanced age.. What about Tim Woods? Great character, great actor … fit the White House … and linked with Chloe O’Brian. Or even Tom Lenox.
I think I will buy box of the finest cigars and join creators

Could be Erin Driscoll IF they cast her part with a new actress because the actress that played Erin passed away recently.

It would be the end Jack made it what it is..

Just in case, I love 24 and Jack Bauer…
But with the same context of CTU, attacks, agents, etc…Do guys think they’ll be able to innovate? Even 24, fantastic as it was, has that kind of same narrative tricks over and over.. Moles, Override Devices, jack need to go back on cover so on…

The plot sounds very similar to season four. The real time format has endless possibilities. It doesn’t have to be about terrorism. I would have preferred a season about cops hunting for a serial killer. I don’t think this will do well if picked up to series.

Wicked! It’s all about the format

and possible returning characters

I’m happy

24Spoilers what is your opinion on this?

Cautiously optimistic.

I’ve mentioned before that the first season is my favorite and Stephen Hopkins played a large part in that. Season 1 had the lowest budget, yet it looked the most cinematic (with all of the aerial and establishing shots). Hopkins was able to do more with less, and I’m very excited that he’s back as a director.

Ultimately it will come down to the casting and writing though. Can they find a lead actor with the same gravitas as Kiefer Sutherland? Will the storylines feel original enough that it’s not just different actors repeating old plots? I’m not sure, but I’m certainly willing to give it a shot.

The Wise Owl of Truth
January 15, 2016 at 6:32 pm
Well said and agreed.

Thanks as well for maintaining the page, where I always come for my 24 fix.

Seconding that thank you– this place is the best.

WouldntYouLikeToKnow
January 15, 2016 at 4:00 pm
Stephen Hopkins = Excellent

Black/latino lead = Fantastic

“24 Legacy” = Bland and boring title

Description of the premise = Sounds just like the start of Day 6 (Jack returns to the US and slowly convinces CTU of a greater plot)

It could be great or it could just be a rehash of old stuff. Hard to tell.
I’m hoping somewhere down the line (future seasons?) they will address 24 Solitary.

I kind of like Legacy as a title. I thought Live Another Day fit really well thematically and everything but was kind of hokey as all . Legacy is a little more regal. Plus, I’m interested to find out how it fits into the story. If a legacy is what you leave behind, that that’s all over typical 24 stuff– that’s your public/work life, money, family… how that fits in with the themes of Legacy (are we calling this “Day 10” or what?) will be interesting to see.

If you want to call it 24, then Jack has to be out of Russian prison and retire.
Without him I think it’s better to simply call it The Legacy.

Can he be semi-retired? I’d be cool with an ending where he runs off with and marries Tony and they alternate between saving the day and sipping umbrella drinks on the beach. (Tony’s is in his mug, of course.) They go hang out with the grandkids at Christmas and school plays because as much as Jack loves his family, that’s probably about all he can take of his eerily intuitive (but adorable) granddaughter.

24 wil be boring witout jack

It needs Jack Bauer. Or call it something else. Keifer is 24.

Respectfully disagree that it always needs Jack Bauer. I think it could use him again, at some point, but a little break seems just the ticket for the character.

This new reboot of 24 is a great way to lead to Jack bauer, Chloe and Tony Almeida down the line!

jackneedstobeback
January 15, 2016 at 4:53 pm
if it ever gets past the pilot and ratings

jackneedstobeback
January 15, 2016 at 4:52 pm
Am not goin to watch 24 again until jack is back. altough they might kill the whole thing by doing this and blow up every chance of ever seeing jack again.

Hazel Batobalonos
January 15, 2016 at 4:54 pm
I will watch only if Kiefer is there and will act as CTU head and will participate or aid on chasing criminals . He will not do the stunts but will if necessary and guide the lead . Kiefer’s voice is important. Please let Kiefer be on that show with the new cast. Kiefer is Jack Bauer and he is “24” .

jackneedstobeback
January 15, 2016 at 5:01 pm
No kiefer, no returning characters, no nothing i even read they’re not goin to do 24 episodes, but wanna cover 12 hours within an episode.

It looks like it’s the same as Day 9 in format. They’re not giving up real time. And they hedged so much on the returning characters that you know a bunch are going to be in it and just announced later.

Fingers crossed for Tony, Chloe, Kate, and Belcheck!

*crosses fingers*
*adds to list Boudreau, Aaron Pierce, Allison Taylor, Mandy & Cubby*

Well, my interest levels have dropped to an all-new low.

Same here.

Horrible premise. It’s the same BS. I hate military people, so I already hate the lead. It sounds like it’ll be directed towards the FOX News crowd.

I’m hoping the new military lead is a diversion that dies early on and Tony steps in. Then he gets Chloe, then Jack comes back. Then Jack is in the Nina Myers role as a Russian mole. Then its like season 7 reversal where Jack is like Tony, undercover, but kinda bad, while Tony is the “do-gooder”.

Um, half the main characters on 24 were military people. Jack and Tony and Curtis were all military? So, if you hate them then I guess you’ll for sure hate the new lead…

The early part of the plot is always kind of just the intro anyway. Who remembered the guy with the flight key at the start of Day 9 by the time we got to, say, the sixth episode? It’s the what’s-going-on-while-we-set-these-characters-and-the-big-threat-up.

Your Jack and Tony continue their mirror-swapping lives and Jack getting all extra Nina-y, though? Hells yeah. Soul Patch ain’t gettin’ outta prison for anything less than that, man, even if it takes until Day 12 to get there. (If they then want to run off into the sunset together after that and leave all the hell to the new guy, I’d be cool with that.)

Well, Jack Bauer is the bad guy in Day 1. He’s getting his comeuppance for being a part of the military and taking orders. Many people don’t realize that and just refuse that concept. He killed innocent people.

When we are introduced to Jack Bauer though, he’s not your typical military guy. He works for a government agency similar to CIA and isn’t some typical faith-based war hungry military douche. It’s later we find out about his corrupt past.

It’s just the way they describe this “military hero” in this new 24 that sounds awful. I’m thinking he’s actually a splinter cell that went up the ranks in the military to gain access and leverage so that he could ask CTU for help and gain their trust and access so he could shut them down. A mole.

Oh, you hit a topic sweet spot with me and now you’re getting practically an essay, apologies in advance ;)

I agree with a lot of what you’re saying but I also don’t think I’d quite go so far as to call Jack the ultimate bad guy on Day 1. I totally agree, though, that Jack isn’t this infallible hero who always is correct in everything he says or does. The show argues that Jack is very, very human and has him make *a ton* of mistakes but agreed with you that sometimes it doesn’t feel that the audience always recognizes that he’s not a perfect saint of a character.

The ultimate bad guy on Day 1 for me is Victor Drazen because the guy was a genocidal wacko responsible for the torture and deaths of thousands of people. But look at how relative this is– 24 never exactly argues that Jack is a hero on Day 1. The story argues (on Day 1 and really for the whole run of the show) that Jack is *just like the antagonists and everyone else on 24* because he believes that what he is doing is right and what someone else is doing is not right. Where Jack crosses lines is when he imposes those beliefs on others, just like the antagonists on the show do.

One of the big themes of the show is how the definition of a “bad guy” is relative to the characters. The audience quickly determines who is a hero and who is a “bad guy” based on what actions they’re taking and how those actions will affect other people. Margot Al-Harazi is a perfect example of this. She’s our “bad guy” on Day 9 because she is threatening to harm/kill a ton of people if she doesn’t get what she wants and what she wants is to kill our favorite salty old dog, President Heller. But what makes Margot interesting is that she’s principled about her approach. She’s sitting on a device that could do a lot more harm than she actually does with it– and she doesn’t do that harm. She doesn’t actually want to harm the people of London, if she can avoid it. The best and biggest twist on Day 9 is that the one who keeps their word is *Margot*– the bad guy is actually the more honorable than Jack and Heller, our apparent “heroes”.

Jack is every bit as much of an extremist as any antagonist on 24. Just as much as Dina Araz believed that attacking America would benefit the greater good based on her ideas of the world, Jack believed that stopping Marwan from doing that would benefit the greater good based on his ideas of the world. Jack is our kinda-sorta hero for that because of how he values human life and works to stop those who don’t. But it doesn’t mean he’s not complex, as you pointed out. But it gets back to intent– Jack didn’t mean to kill Mrs. Drazen and Martina. He didn’t mean to kill civilians, so the idea of the eye-for-an-eye plot on Day 1 is ironic because it wasn’t like that had been Jack’s goal. Jack’s goal had been to assassinate Victor Drazen. Is it murder? Yes. Is murder wrong? Yes. Is murdering a man who has murdered many other people, in order to save more lives of innocent people, wrong? Now, the questions are getting complicated.

And that’s Jack Bauer– he’s our complicated guy, who does terrible terrible TERRIBLE things like murder and torture and deception in order to protect innocent people and uphold the greater good. Only it’s *his* version of the greater good and that’s Jack’s biggest flaw– that, sometimes, he decides he’s the law. He decides that his law is above the actual, legal law of the very country whose laws and principles he’s working to uphold. Day 1 Jack especially is a self-righteous SOB at times, lecturing others about moral corruption when he’s a man who had an affair, who cheats on his wife and only sometimes in the name of upholding that greater good. You root for Day 1 Jack, though, because of the impossibleness of his situation and because he’s agreed to take it all on– he’s that guy who is going through hell to keep people like you safe and look at the nothing it’s getting him in exchange. It’s why he’s tolerable in personality– you cut him some slack when he’s brusque and dismissive, cold and isolated– because you can empathize. But the point is that every character on 24 is, in their own minds, trying to uphold their own version of principles and are the heroes of their own stories, and that’s where the conflict lies.

Yeah, karma came back around for Day 1 Jack (as it always does in the series) but that doesn’t make him the bad guy, IMO. It just makes him complicated and something of an anti-hero. You are totally right that Jack isn’t a stereotypical military guy portrayed in literature, totally. What’s so endearing about Jack is that conflict he has where, on the one hand, he thrives on this life– he’s “comfortable in hell”, as Tony put it– and the guy wearing the suit going to the budget meetings on Day 4 is just not who he is. On the other hand, though, you feel like he always wishes he were somewhere else. He always begs antagonists to just break already, so he doesn’t have to go through this again. He’s a case study in dichotomy– he’s a growling expert in torture techniques who knows how to surf. He’s a soldier who married an artist. He grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth but shunned that life and worked his way through the ranks like anybody else. He’s a government agent who went to Berkeley. He’s a spy who majored in English literature, who only really unpacked his books ahead of Day 2. He’ll holler at someone at the top of his lungs to find out where the bomb is, yet he’s quiet and shy in his personal relationships. He’s man enough to cry over his male best friend in a parking lot full of fellow agents, despite any macho posturing he puts on at other times. That’s what makes Jack so endearing and appealing and too complex to really be a “bad guy”, IMO, no matter what totally terrible things he’s done in the course of the series. Did he always make the right decisions? Absolutely not. Is he a bad guy? IMO, no, but it’s relative. No one would call Bill Buchanan a bad guy but what about the time when he sanctioned the killing of a bunch of people, including kids, in the shopping mall? No one would call Michelle Dessler an antagonist but did she make the right call in handing a 17 year old kid over to terrorists in order to buy time that might not prove fruitful and get Jack back? Was Dina Araz a completely terrible person if, under all the murderous insanity, she would stop at nothing to protect her son? What you’re talking about is the essence of the show and what makes it engaging, I think.

re: Eric Carter– It would be really cool to have a mole as a main character. [I always wanted a Nina Myers spinoff lol.] I don’t think that necessarily describing Eric as “military” means that he’s going to be written as a brainless, war-mongering yes man. I’m sure he’ll be as complicated as Jack and maybe then some and he’ll almost definitely have a lot of the same conflicts, since those conflicts are the root of the show. I figure if these people have given us 9 seasons of compelling story, that’s a good enough track record to assume that a 10th won’t be godawful. :)

Do we know if this is an event series or full on back to 24 eps?

It’s 12 episodes again just like 24: Live Another Day.

Honestly, I don’t see this succeeding. Ratings for 24 peaked in January 2006, and declined throughout seasons 6-8. Even with all the Super Bowl hype, 24 Live Another Day averaged just over 6 million viewers. That was with Jack, Chloe, Heller and Audrey returning.

I don’t see how the show can do well without Kiefer Sutherland. The real-time format is no longer a novelty, and the landscape is completely different than it was in 2001. Heroes Reborn flopped despite a very aggressive social media campaign, some returning cast members, and having the star of Chuck in the cast. I don’t see Legacy doing much better.

The Wise Owl of Truth
January 15, 2016 at 6:38 pm
I agree that I can’t necessarily see Legacy doing much better especially if most people are comparing it to classic 24 with Kiefer.

I do however want to point out that 24 LAD actually did very well in the ratings comparatively speaking. You’re not wrong by any means in that the average viewership was around 6mm, but that I believe was live viewing – not counting same day and delayed viewed. Back in 2010 when 24 went off the air and even during it’s peak in Season 5, the television viewing landscape was different. I for example never watched 24 LAD live, I’d DVR it and watch it days later on my own schedule.

In fact according to some sources 24 LAD’s finale had more viewers than the original 24 Season 8 finale (http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/24-ratings-1201275203/).

The interest will be there – I just don’t know if the execution will.

24 Live Another Day did bring in decent ratings on the DVR. But with an entirely new cast, and without the buzz of “Jack is back” I don’t think the new series will do well. Heroes Reborn had serious hype behind it, and failed.

P.S. I meant to say the ratings for 24 peaked in January 2007, for the 4-part season premiere.

24 : LAD averaged 9.95 million viewers, according to entertainment weekly

Full disclosure– I’m not an expert by any means. My understanding, though, is that it makes them a lot of money in sales to international networks. Advertising is part of the equation but not all of it. The other thing is that when they made Day 9 into a limited event series, they got to negotiate all new contracts with networks around the world and streaming services (which is why 24 went off of Netflix and over to Amazon right before Live Another Day aired.) They can profit by bidding wars off of the rights to air or stream 24. If it’s a regular series, I don’t think they can do that every time– their contracts would be for multiple seasons. But a limited event series means that they renegotiated everything for Live Another Day and now they can do that all over again for Legacy. That makes the brand even more profitable for them, so ratings are really only half the picture.

Also, people are failing to mention and realize that Kiefer Sutherland took millions for the role of Jack Bauer. He was the highest paid drama actor on television. Without Kiefer, their budget just went way down. That means they don’t need super high ratings to profit.

24Fan1980, while you’re certainly correct that 24’s popularity peaked long ago, the ratings it gets these days are still better than the majority of FOX’s current lineup and that’s ultimately what matters to them.

Look at it this way: American Idol is ending this season, Bones and Sleepy Hollow are most likely ending this season, their new drama Second Chance just had an awful debut, all of their non-animated comedies are doing extremely poorly. The only truly successful series on FOX at the moment is Empire. They’re struggling big time right now which is why they’re bringing back all these established properties like 24, Prison Break, and The X-Files.

Even though 24: Legacy will most likely have worse ratings without Kiefer Sutherland as the lead, it’ll also probably be cheaper to produce, and could still be profitable with lower ratings.

Oh yeah, it totally makes sense from a business perspective to bring back proven series, when the network is struggling so badly. They even renewed Scream Queens, which had pretty mediocre (live) ratings.

We need kiefer sutherland….dammit Chloe!!!

“Do you know who I am?”
“Do you know what I’m capable of?”
It will be tough to comprehend without Jack.

But, once, we didn’t know who he was or what he was capable of. Now, we get those good time origin story feels all over again with a new guy. That’s pretty shiny.

New West Virginian
January 15, 2016 at 6:56 pm
I’m glad 24 is returning in some form but I don’t understand why Jack won’t be coming back. It’s not as if Kiefer’s retiring cause he’s starring in another show. I hated how Live Another Day didn’t give us the kind of closure we wanted. Unless Jack’s final fate really is being tortured to death by the Russians. Hopefully the new 24 will have happier endings though cause Jack did suffer way too much.

Jack’s final fate can’t be tortured to death by the Russians. Solitary seems to suggest that he’s now overseeing special delivery for LensCrafters.

They should cast Ramon Rodriguez for the lead role.

He’d be great. And not just because he’s hot.

I vote indécided because there is no 24 for me without Sutherland as Bauer. Hé is the show. Big mistakes if you change actor.
Im à huge fan of 24. Even more for Kiefer.

IF KEIFER SUTHERLAND IS’NT IN IT
THEN NOOO

No “24” without the real deal, Sutherland. Please don’t do it!

Just started to rewatch the entire series. Now to hear that it is a possible chance it will return but without Kiefer is crazy. No other actor can replace Jack!!!!!!!!!!! Please reconsider and tell Kiefer we all want him back.

According to the press release above, he’s producing it. So… maybe he can schedule himself back in when he wants? lol

This female former head of CTU other lead character they’re talking about. If they say she’s at CTU and used to run it and is a lady and have never described her as a new character and also haven’t publicly given her a name yet… is she Nadia Yassir?

Good thinking, Mary. That would seem logical. Here is a question for “24 Spoilers” or anyone for that matter: What if FOX does not like the pilot and therefore does not order a season? Can the producers shop it around to another network? If that happens and only the pilot episode is produced, will we ever be able to see it?

I would actually like that. It is a good callback. Bit someone too memorable but most fans would remember her. Rather than just bringing back the big names each season. It would be like the way they brought back Milo in S6 which I feel was a goood decision.

Sorry second sentence the first word should be *not instead of bit!

Bringing back Milo was a good decision, I agree with you there. I like when they bring back characters you wouldn’t normally expect, like how suddenly Sunny Macer was there in the middle of Day 7, which fit with the story on every level but wasn’t exactly something you could really see coming. I wouldn’t mind some returns kind of like that. Like, how about Alberta Green popping up as the National Security Director or something. Or, can we just have Division barging in again? I love a good Division barge in.

Will someone with a twitter account please tweet Marisol Nichols’ twitter acount and ask her if she is negotiation with 24:legacy.

I sent her a tweet saying we would like her back. I doubt the writers would have considered her yet!

Will favorite and other such Twitter stuff for you.

That’s what I was wondering. She did a good job in season 6.

She was really wonderful, agreed. I’d love to have that character back and she seems to have been kind of stuck out there somewhere for an eventual return.

I won’t work without Bauer’s experience

Well that is disappointing news but with any luck this female co-lead former head of CTU with a past is Chloe

Mary Lynn has a new series, Highston for Amazon. I don’t think she will be a regular on the new 24.

Don’t see it mentioned in the article posted here, but the article on TVLine includes the Dana Walden quote, “There are nods in the pilot to prior CTU agents, but no ongoing characters.” Are they really gonna namedrop some of the old folks and then NEVER show ANY of them? Shenanigans!

Even if the new story is technically Jack-less, and the new NotJack (BlackJack?) has his own story…by the sound of it his story, his mission, his Legacy, won’t be completely dissimilar to Jack’s, so the Bauer aura will still kind of hover over the new show, even if he’s not there and it’s not actually about him.

Dunno that I’m confident enough to say that the reboot will be a sure fire winner, but I’m definitely interested to see it, and hopeful that it will be great.

Shenanigans lol.

I’m interested in how they plan on referencing the old characters. Am I losing it or did they also say that there would be photos? I feel like the only conclusion we could draw off of photos is that at least one of the new characters has to be related to an old character somehow. It is called ‘Legacy’, after all…

On the other hand, maybe we already know… think they’ll continue the voice replicating tech from Solitary into Day 10?

I’d just be happy if Howard Gordon only has his name attached and does nothing with this at all. Hopkins is a great idea, taking it back to season 1 a bit without the need to stop World War 3. The double speak they try and pull off probably means there will be a returning character or two here and there, whether that me Mike Novick level or Tony level return, who knows.

My only gripe is they give us Solitary and give us a crap ending to the last season and then just write it all off, if they don’t use it here, which makes me think they may **ck us again. They need a clear cut plan, none of this other season BS. Beginning middle end. If the main guy has to die, he has to die. Do what the story demands and not dick us around again. Stupid things like using the cabal and then forgetting about them, 50,000 moles, giving us Solitary and never going anywhere with it, and the same old same old writing are what drag down my hopes for it.

But you never know.

They come back around to everything, though. Tony is only ever benched when they have to make Jack go bananas and they know he won’t if his other half is around but then Tony pops back up later on. They’ve temporarily stuck Charles Logan in a fridge with that totally faked suicide death until Jack and Tony are back around. Mike Novick sat out a season while they made David Palmer fall from grace a little, so they could have them get back together at the end of Day 4. They *could* have made Day 9 in such a way that Jack was already stuck working for the Russians as a result of Day 8, brought Tony back for that plot (since only Tony can really save Jack now) and had Chloe and Logan get caught up in that riptide. They didn’t. They ran in place for a season and used it to finish Audrey and Cheng in the story to strip it back to its original plot. Legacy then can set up new characters who will also factor into Jack’s story in the future and be able to continue on after they either kill off or really write out Jack’s character in the story. But they can’t pull the trigger on Jack without the space to set up the new people first and it also looks very, very likely that Solitary isn’t going to be an unresolved cliffhanger but essentially a prequel to Legacy. (Tony’s plot in Solitary ties directly into the plot they’re saying kicks off Legacy.)

A real bonus to Legacy that I can see is that when Jack does eventually reappear in the series, you’ll actually *worry* about him for the first time. The suspense factor will be dialed up to eleven because you won’t know what they’ll do. We’ve never actually thought they’d kill off Jack before but they could now. That alone makes his plot more interesting.

Definitely need Jack Bauer!

I agree that without Jack the show will not be as good. But that being said if they’re smart they will continue this show right after Jack was taken hostage bye the Russian keep the new lead women from the show and also keep Cloe. Then have mention of Jack off and on at min try looking for him as the show continues then perhaps we get a Jack sighting down the road like perhaps a rescue mission.

I really loved the women actress who played with Jack basically as his replacement going forward.

Dana Walden spoke about why Yvonne Strahovski (Kate Morgan) won’t be in the new series. But the reasoning is probably the same for the entire returning cast:

“Because that’s just not the story that the executive producers came in to pitch us,” Walden said. “We didn’t go to them to say we want to a reboot. They came to us to say, ‘We have a fantastic idea.’ I think so much of what was exciting to them is is seeing the 12 episode event miniseries, seeing that the real time you could jump a little bit and do it over 12 hours. That’s something we discussed for years and years which is: ‘It’s 24. It has to be 24 episodes.’ I don’t think any of us believes that a 24 episode arc in this day and age with this type of competition would be a smart way to go. So seeing the 12 episodes, they came in to say, ‘Okay, we see that it lives successfully in that type of arc. Now we want to start from scratch.’ We really didn’t want to revisit characters we’ve already explored, but she did a fantastic job.”

Now personally, I don’t see why they have to start from scratch. Chloe, Kate, and Nadia could all fill that veteran female agent role and it might be nice to have a returning character star alongside the new male character. Had they not killed them off, Michelle or Renee could have worked.

Most spinoffs at the very least include some returning characters. Heroes Reborn had a handful of returning favorites, with fan favorite Masi Oka appearing in a recurring role. There’s no reason why they can’t have some returning characters at least recurring.

Kate’s a very specific returning character, though. Because she’s already appeared, she’s tied into the plot of the old school characters. Her story now has more weight if she comes back when they do. If they wait on that for a bit while they bring in new characters who will eventually interact with the old characters, then that kind of seems like it means waiting on Kate for awhile now, too.

No no no no no!!! You can’t have 24 without Jack Baur…. He can’t just be left in Russia to rot!
Have the story line but don’t call it 24!

Should have just asked Carlos, he could have filled one season until Kiefers next show crashes in the ratings then he can return! Too many open things to resolve to leave it as is.

Without Kiefer S. is not the same, i don’t know if i’ll watch it, but I’ll think about it. Jack Bauer is 24.

New West Virginian
January 16, 2016 at 4:41 pm
The most disappointing thing is how they ended Jack’s storyline. Open ended but pessimistic.

Well… Jack was the last person seen with the Day 2 voice tech and it’s very unlikely that he handed it over to the government, considering that it was crazy dangerous and nearly started a war. So, there’s pretty much no one else who could be “George Mason” in Solitary. Even if all hints and indicators are not legit and it’s a totally new cast forevermore, the end of Day 9 is made less depressing by the fact that it almost has to be Jack getting Tony out of prison in Solitary.

SPOILERS!!!

The new agency will be the Central Unit for the Neutralisation of Terrorist Situations. Confirmation from Manny Coto himself.

So you’re telling me that this Republican / Conservative military hero is going to ask C.U.N.T.S. for help? That’s character development right there.

I’m completely hooked already.

Plus. Recall when they were making season 7, they wanted it to start off with no Jack for a while? Then they wanted it to start with Jack appearing as the bad guy and everyone (including audience) were to think he’d turned evil, only to eventually be revealed as undercover (they didn’t do it because they knew people would see through it).
Reason I mention this, they can now, genuinely surprise us with Jack’s return. Better yet, they can set up a Jack return for a later season and have supporting characters already exist for a potential 11th season. Because honestly, every supporting character is now dead.

Every season, they’ve introduced new characters. Some good some bad, but there were some good ones in there. No reason that trend won’t continue.

hi guys!no kiefer no 24!

As I’ve said in the past, I’m not thrilled by the idea of a Jack-less story. Some will argue otherwise, but the character is an indelible part of the show’s very DNA and if you’re going to remove him entirely while continuing the show then it has to be done with time and care. The end of LAD did neither of those things. I don’t see Legacy being a success whatsoever without Jack’s presence being felt.

If the story involves Jack without Kiefer having to appear, I’d be interested in that. I think it’d be real careless and stupid not to follow up on ‘Solitary’ either, but I’m not getting my hopes up. I’ll follow the news and hope for the best.

This is purely a theory but it taps into what you were saying about Jack appearing without Kiefer.

I sorta think that Jack might actually be a character in Legacy all along, before Kiefer might ever return. If you go with the idea that “George Mason”/The Handler in Solitary is Jack, then Xander Berkeley was technically playing Jack Bauer. It means that Solitary– the first piece of canon ever to not have Jack in or mentioned in it at all– really did have Jack in it, just covertly. (One of the arguments for Jack-as-FauxMason is the very fact of how Jack-less Solitary was, which was especially noticeable since it centered around Tony, not any new characters.)

If Tony is in Legacy, then he could periodically phone up the new Deep Sky Hotline and chat with this mysterious character who boosted him from his jail cell, getting either FauxMason or, if Jack’s feeling a little playful and the producers can swing it, a series of old school characters every time he calls. (So, Tony is talking to “Bill” and “Chappelle”, etc.. ) Later on, when Kiefer comes back, they reveal that Jack’s the guy on the phone and he’s been here all along.

First person who writes fanfic about Tony eyerolling through his monthly prison phone call with “Edgar Stiles” trying to have phone sex with him will get fresh-baked cookies. ;)

No Jack Bauer? Bauer is “24”. Dont you dare to call it “24” without him. Hell NO.

Everyone watch the last 10 minutes of this interview! This is from yesterday in Toronto ON Canada! Kiefer said he is not officially done with Jack Bauer! Also they can still use his voiceover for the opening as that never changes! https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=dAiPlTQuE9c

Intresting interview. I hope FOX dont rival Legacy with Kiefers new show on ABC.

At least Kiefer is open to doing more 24!

I know, and he will chat with HG tomorrow about posibially coming back!

Kiefer’s new show could air at 10:00PM, where it wouldn’t have to compete against 24.

Thanks for the video. I’m glad Kiefer knows people are unhappy with the unresolved cliffhanger from 24LAD.

Listening to this video you can see that KS is definitely open to returning as JB. So I expect it at some point in time and in some measure. I would love to be a fly on the wall at the lunch he is having with Howard Gordon tomorrow (Monday).

Remember that scene from 24 season 4 where Jack and Audrey are trapped and Jack calls “the only person I trust” and then a few minutes later when they were hopelessly trapped in a shootout and Tony shows up to save their lives. That type of entrance for a JB return would be great.

Felipe Nogueira
January 17, 2016 at 9:45 pm
Yeah, would be great, but Jack is supposed to be in Russia. They need to resolve that first.
I was happy with what Kiefer have said on that interview, because surprised me. Last time he talked about it, he didn’t look like that open. He had said that, for him, LAD was the last season.

And, in fact,when this idea of reboot started to appear last year, it said they went to Kiefer first, but it wasn’t something he want to do it…
I honestly think they want to do more 24 as a limited event-series, because LAD was considered a success (for FOX’s point of view, I guess is a huge deal because they sign just one contract, see how that plays out first – without the need to follow others contracts – but if plays out well, they can sign another in the next year. Maybe it’s good for the writers too. First it’s just 12 episodes and they don’t need to write every year…)

Supposed to be in Russia but the Russians didn’t kill him and, instead, made a deal where Jack works for them. So, if you were the Russians? You’d want to get the most out of exploiting Jack Bauer. Wouldn’t you, say, send him back to the U.S. and have him get a high-ranking government job again, reporting back to you or otherwise risking the lives of his family? If Jack comes back, he’s a mole and we already know it.

Brilliant! That’s great to hear from Kiefer. Nice validation for the unsatisfying conclusion in Live Another Day. I hope he does indeed “find his way into an episode one day”.

I think 24 Legacy will be good, especially since Jack Bauer might be back! Kiefer talks about future of Jack Bauer last 8 minutes of the show! https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=dAiPlTQuE9c

Can anyone transcribe all Kiefer’s exact comments on this video about 24 for the people from other countries (like me, LOL) that can’t understand them exactly? thanks!!

Nah, no problem, I’ve heard him speaking and with the wonderful voice and speaking of this man, I’ve could understand everything :)

I would tend to agree with the Forbes article; even if the new rebooted series is good in it’s own right, Jack Bauer is still going to be the proverbial elephant in the room, unspoken or not, it’s simply a reality you cannot avoid and which The X Files sadly didn’t in it’s final season in 2001-02 despite some very good episodes throughout that respective year. 24 was largely an ensemble in it’s first year, whilst the real-time aspect was still a refreshing novelty, but from the second season onward, it was clearly and overtly Jack’s story and that is what kept people coming back week-on-week, year-on-year, and if you don’t understand or grasp that fundamental, you don’t understand why 24 was so immensely popular or why it continues to be so; the format was not the star, Jack was, period.

I wish them luck in their new venture however, but it’s unlikely I’ll be watching unless the reviews are stellar, I could be proved wrong… I certainly was for Creed so anything’s possible.

Even a full-fledged return for a certain former CTU agent (hopefully in a movie)…

I agree entirely, Gerry dude. The thing is, of course the show shouldn’t stop entirely without Kiefer. There are many storytelling possibilities using the show’s format and Kiefer’s absence shouldn’t instantly negate those. But I think Jack needs to be eased out with some degree of care and thoughtfulness. As it stands, LAD ended it all very abruptly and unsatisfactorily. I hope that Kiefer returns so that a real ‘passing of the torch’ can happen and we can see Jack’s story come to a more definitive and satisfying conclusion.

THO glad the new guy ith black? I mean… ith 20-thixteen! Huwhite peepahl are like… THO lame?!

I got confirmation from Howard Gordon that Tony Almeida’s story will be addressed in 24 Legacy! I once did an interview with Howard on the phone as I work in the TV industry, so I have his email.

Great news! Thanks for the update!

I’m sorry for any doubt man- but anything g you can do to prove this?

“Addressed” can be as simple as Tony’s situation being discussed by the new cast in the context of whatever the current storylines are – it doesn’t mean that Carlos will be part of the reboot. I have no doubt that even Jack will be mentioned by name in the reboot – it’s easy to reference former characters without actually having them appear as a way to tie the past to the present.

I have a feeling that the only links to any former characters, be it Jack, Tony, Chloe, etc. from the first 9 seasons will be by having their names mentioned sporadically throughout the new storylines.

Except that they can’t just toss into their awkward exposition dialogue “hey, you guys, just FYI– the batteries on Tony’s glasses died and he’s still stuck in there, oh well, sucks to be him” and call it a day. They’ve left the entire story right now with Tony and made him effectively the ending of old-school 24, just sitting there, waiting for plot. You could theoretically leave Jack with the Russians forever and you could leave Chloe’s fate a frustrating question mark but you really can’t ignore that you left Tony a heartbeat away from a great action sequence, with an established plot for him that ties directly into what they’ve already told us about Legacy.

Tony’s in it. Between him, (inevitable) Cubby, and CTU, it’s only a matter of time before more old-school rolls in.

I hope the bring him back a not just slip a one line death kill somewhere. ”Oh remember Agent Almeida from CTU? He was given the Electric chair for attempting to escape Solitary!”

They say that and then he shows up alive again 2 episodes later lol The current was only strong enough to make him look dead lol

Lol

For me, it doens’t make any sense to address Tony Almeida’s story on Legacy because it supposed to be fresh – new characters, new group, new CTU. Unless 24:Legacy turn to be about Jack without Jack being onscreen. This is the only way would work, imo.

Just in case – bring Tony back (onscreen) in a season that there is no Jack is a total loss of opportunity.
Tony’s story is supposed to be ended – he was on federal prision by the end of season 7. Solitary suggested that he is trying to escape. But what’s the point of bringing him back without Jack’s involvement?

Easy to bring Tony back, he can do a whole lot of crap and then they need Jack to stop him. Or maybe he needs Jack for something, etc. can go 50 ways. That would open up a crossover between new 24 and old 24 or something.

Or maybe the whole home grown terrorist thing is run by the cabal and Tony escapes around the same time, poof, new guy tries to stop cabal and Tony gets in the way as he tries to kill them again.

Felipe Nogueira
January 20, 2016 at 8:23 pm
There are several ways to bring Tony, yes. But, in the second he escaped, everyone in the FBI/intelligence will want Jack’s help.

My point is that Dana Walden said they want to distance themselves a bit from Jack Bauer on this new installment. In my opnion, bringing Tony back is not doing that at all. Well, at least this is what’s on the news, such as this link: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/15/24-pilot-new

I think Jack’s story needs a closure, much more now after LAD’s finale comparing to season 8’s finale. If there is one more chapter about Jack’s life, it would be very great if Tony is in it. Would be more personal, and after season 7 ending, I think Jack and Tony deserve a face to face conversation.

I think ending Jack’s and Tony’s story together is really the only way to go now. Tony does bad crap again, but then something really bad happens that he won’t do, he helps jack prevent it and then somehow by preventing it they get stuck somewhere. Jack locks them in and there is no escape. The pair have a true face to face rant about the course of their life, etc. and then the place they are in explodes as they come to accept each other.

Role-reversal/mirror flip of their last plot. Tony’s secretly an agent working for the government while in prison, gets out and continues his undercover mission (because the escape is part of the mission, Day 3 Salazar Sting-style). Eventually crosses paths with Jack. Things are looking awesome for their reunion, until all evidence starts to suggest Jack’s a mole. Tony missed the end of Day 9 because they don’t allow DVDs in prison and Goth Chloe kept forgetting to send him a Christmas card, so he has no idea that Jack really *is* a mole… I mean, his Jack? Captain Righteous? WTF? Tony cannot compute. Someone reminds him that Audrey’s dead now too and stuff and maybe Jack could only take so much. Still, Tony says no way– especially when, on the surface, it seems like Kim is fine and not in any danger. Jack and Tony go at it (I mean, uh, interrogation/snarky fighting) and finally Tony gets at the truth somehow and realizes Jack is lying to him because of a big damn plot related to his family. How Day 7 of him. They fight, they make eyes at one another, they stop the faction of the Russians who have Jack by the balls and some inevitable Logan, and they hopefully don’t die long enough to go off into the sunset together like it’s Day 4 without lady friend interference. Make that, 24 Powers That Be, or else. :)

Few series have success because of the formula rather than the specific actors/cast – ‘Law and Order’ is one that comes to mind. Somehow, with a signature lead character that drove the series popularity for 9 seasons, I can’t see the ’24’ formula succeeding with an overhauled cast. The novelty of the ticking clock and real-time format wore off after the 2nd season and really was more background in the final 7 seasons of ’24’ IMO than focus, almost like a theme song or logo. Sure, they can construct a story around some terrorism task-force like CTU and bring more agents in but haven’t we all seen that before elsewhere. Kiefer brought an identity to ’24’ – without him, the reboot is likely to look and feel like any of the other spy/action dramas we’ve seen in the movies and come and go on TV.

Dunno that I’d go so far as to say that the real-time format wore off, at least IMO, I kinda feel like the ticking clock is a character all its own. But it’s definitely true that the show quickly became about much more than the novelty of its format. It wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has without a central character as strong as Jack.

I have to wonder if Legacy could potentially end up having a bit of a prequel air about it? If they’re casting a 20-something as NotJack, could he end up being someone who gives us some insight into what a younger, pre-24 Jack was like, in a round about way? Something like that would make it feel less like just another random action drama, it could keep a tie to that emotional investment we all have with Jack. Perhaps?

I think you’re right about prequel feel, since he’s so young, especially because the next novel they’re releasing is about Baby Jack and is set in 1994. (Timeline and setting-wise, it could potentially also feature Baby Tony.)

I wonder if the female veteran lead is Tamara Tunie who played Alberta Green?

For me, it doens’t make any sense to address Tony Almeida’s story on Legacy because it supposed to be fresh – new characters, new group, new CTU. Unless 24:Legacy turn to be about Jack without Jack being onscreen. This is the only way would work, imo.

Just in case – bring Tony back (onscreen) in a season that there is no Jack is a total loss of opportunity.
Tony’s story is supposed to be ended – he was on federal prision by the end of season 7. Solitary suggested that he is trying to escape. But what’s the point of bringing him back without Jack’s involvement?

I think Tony returning is one of the things suggestive of an eventual Jack return.

What do you think Kiefer EXACTLY means on that video when he says he has no fault on that closing-less Jack Bauer story at the end on LAD? any thoughts?

jackneedstobeback
January 18, 2016 at 7:11 am
It’s true.. because of the succes the series was having, they changed the ending like last-minute.

So do you think that the real scenario for Kiefer was like: well, I make this LAD but only for clossing my character’s plot (I guess killing him) and therefore you can make whatever you want with the franchise; but ratigs was higher than what they expected, so in the last minute, they decided NOT killing Jack and make that completely open-ending for Jack (and in the end, for LAD), just in case what future would bring (maybe Kiefer long-wanted movie?).

If this could be the real scenario, where do you think came really the decision of changing Jack’s final plot, from Kiefer, from producers, from Fox, or maybe for all of them?

Howard Gordon said they gave serious consideration to killing Jack in the Live Another Day finale but it just didn’t feel right or earned, and I concur with that, there was no real reason to kill Jack as the circumstances didn’t warrant it, he wasn’t confronting the Russians, he was giving himself up in exchange for Chloe. That finale was the correct one for that season, but man was it bleak… no-one came out of that day well.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; the only way I think Kiefer may be enticed back to play Jack would be in a movie; I don’t think he’s ever let go of that possibility and if FOX approached him with that project, he’d sign up in a heartbeat. Bringing Jack back on television would be pushing it and have an air of “here we go again”, but a two-hour feature film without the real-time format but still playing out over a single 24-hour period would be enough of a different canvas to feel fresh and new. If they shot entirely inside the U.S. in a tax-friendly state like Louisiana or wherever, they could pull off a pretty badass 24 movie for about $35m with Jon Cassar directing (he did a really good job on Kiefer’s upcoming western Forsaken as his first feature), and give Jack a final, proper, grace-note exit.

It probably won’t happen but it would be nice if it did, Jack’s days on television are over… probably.

The problem with the show at this point is that you can’t kill Jack or give him a happy ending without either feeling hollow at best. In retrospect, the best time to end Jack’s story was the end of Season 4. But the show continued and so did Jack. Season 8 did the best it could (by loosely mimicking Season 4’s ending) but then the show and the character came back *again*. Now, it might just be impossible to end the character’s story in a way that’s satisfying and in keeping with the spirit of the show.

Felipe Nogueira
January 20, 2016 at 8:32 pm
Brad, how nice it was to read your comments!
Since season 8’s ending, I thought that probably the best way to end is as season 4. However, I also understand why they bring Jack Back again: it’s a nice material to work with it. And, season 5 beginning was one of the best, because someone had figure it out Jack was alive and killed Palmer.

In my opinion, the way to end the show in a good way is to make Jack back at US. Make the country recognizes what he had done for them and hires him back. Not as a field agent, but as training new agents. Jack would never be free, he always would be back on the game, but in that way we would be in the game, but in a much more calm fashion.

Agreed! Season 4 was the best way to end his story. But now it would just be a repeat.

Go get Jack Bauer out of the Russian Prison or where ever the heck they took him!

If the new show never brings back Tony, Chloe, Aaron Pierce, Kim, Kate Morgan, James Heller, Wayne Palmer, or any other character who we think is dead, I can live with it. But not to have Kiefer in the lead role as Jack Bauer, forget about it. 24 was 206 broadcast hours (136 hours without commercials) of Jack Bauer.
Kiefer as Jack Bauer WAS, IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE 24. It is my favorite show ever. No Kiefer, no Jack, no Ronnie.

Have read all reaction to the big “Legacy” news. Not surprised to see the many, “No Jack, No 24” responses. I’ve consistently stated the 24 formula and storytelling are the greatest attractions to me, disagreeing a bit w/ TJ. However, I certainly accept a full season without Jack requires adjustment; more importantly, there should be continuity markers from the old series including a few recurring characters (anyone mention the return of Hastings from S8 as CTU director)? LAD needs a perfunctory conclusion, i.e. time dedicated to Jack’s status in Russia, and Tony’s role in Solitary. 24 fans deserve answers. Meanwhile, I keep an open mind on how Legacy pans out. Upcoming news on casting and story leaks should be fun to monitor!

Felipe Nogueira
January 20, 2016 at 8:35 pm
LAD needs conclusion and 24 deserves answers, but if you’re talking about Jack in Russia and Tony in solitary, you can’t just mention it on Legacy. It would have to be a season focusing on these things.

I don’t know what to think. In my opinion 2016 is a little late to spin off a show that premiered in 2001. They had 1.5 decades to come up with something and this is the best they can do? They had so many beloved characters over the years, the toughest part would have been picking which one to spin off. Imagine after season 5 if Logan or Tony got there own show to continue their season 5 story. That show could have survived until now. But FOX obviously couldn’t take a hint from the CSI and NCIS franchises and try to strike gold twice. The network only gave 24 another shot because even since way back into 24’s original run, the networks ratings are mostly terrible. So in 2013 they announce simultaneously that 24 AND Kiefer are coming back for a limited series. FOX gave themselves and Kiefer an out by calling it ‘limited’ and Kiefer took his. This spinoff is a FOX Hail Mary at recreating magic they already lost. This spinoff is too little and about 5 years too late. Now given the crap in TV will anybody watch? I bet by episode 5, it will be half of what LAD’s finale was. Good luck

I also think Legacy would have been more well received if LAD had never happened. Jack and the original are still fresh in our minds now. We want that back. FOX wanted that back. We all had to settle… too little too soon

Will24, I agree with you on this. If 24 ended after Season 8, we could have accepted Jack’s story ending the way it did. But to end Jack’s story as done in LAD is not acceptable. Furthermore, to me, LAD was a poorly conceived afterthought. I did not like a 12 hour story (but could live with that as opposed to nothing), I hated the London Location, and thought the story was very weak. I honestly believe that the way LAD ended for Jack was with the idea that Jack’s story would continue. I am convinced that we will never see Kiefer reprise the role of Jack Bauer, even for a brief guest appearance on Legacy or a 24 film. He is done, and so am I.

Kiefer vacillates between “never again” and “never say never” depending on his mood of the day. God bless the guy, but you need to take everything he says with a pinch of salt. He may very well never return to his iconic signature role, but I wouldn’t be so sure about that… see Matt Damon’s return to Jason Bourne or Harrison Ford’s return as Han Solo.

If the new reboot doesn’t catch on, I guarantee you he will be back, despite what he says now.

You cant compare an actor such as Damon or Ford reprising a movie role compared to Kiefer reprising his TV role as Jack. Kiefer played Jack for over 200 hours during 9 seasons covering a period of 13 years. How many hours does an actor play the same role in films? No comparison. 24 is my all time favorite show and I would love to see Kiefer do one more season, be it in 2017 or anytime after that. However, I believe him when he adamantly says that he will never play the role again.

Except only a few days ago he said the opposite. Again.

Exactly when and where a few days ago did Kiefer say anything to the contrary that he was absolutely done with 24?

He changes his mind so many times it isn’t funny.

Amen. I don’t get it. He just said he’s done. Now he says he doesn’t know. Maybe now that the pressure is off to be the lead, he’s re-thinking the fact that it might not be that bad or that difficult to make at least one appearance every once in a while…Even a few scenes with Jack per season would give Legacy a lot of credibility

His ‘In Conversation’ interview, Ronnie.

I agree with a couple of things you said. I enjoyed London and like that LAD episodes was action-packed. The episodes weren’t the most action packed of 24, but they were good in terms of action. But there were some elements of LAD that was disapointed, specially if we’re considering 12 episodes rather than 24 and that alledgely writers had four years to discuss LAD (I know they didn’t use four years to prepare and write for LAD).
I honestly thought this 12 episodes would be straight and direct and “tight” as the Season 8 episodes 12-24, but they weren’t. You can see a couple of drawbacks in several episodes. For example Margot’s plotline with her daughter, with her daughter’s husband and the drones wasn’t that good – it looked like a “filler.” The mole plotline was also predictable in the minute Jordan said he was working with something about Kate’s husband (WHY he out of nowhere found something suspicious about Kate’s husband?)

And what the hell were those CGI effects? Wembley’s bombing was so fake that it didn’t look like a scene of 24 and in some sense I’m embarassed that it’s.

Yes, the cheapness of the CGI was very noticeable in LAD but nothing looked as bad as those so called drones in Season 6 that were carrying the suitcase size nukes. The cruise missiles in season 4 also didn’t looked that good but nothing was worse than the season 6 drones. The LAD CGI that looked the worse was the attack on the hospital or the attack on Jack driving the car away from the hospital. The Wembley attack did not look that bad if you ask me.

Felipe Nogueira
January 20, 2016 at 8:42 pm
The CGI aspect of Wembley was the worst of LAD, imo. But about Jack driving the car/hospital what was bad for me, it was the unrealistic drone’s missiles don’t hitting Jack’s car. How is that possible? The missiles are guided!

The worst visuals in the whole season were London itself. One of the worlds most beautiful major cities, they made it look as if they were in a bad area of Buffalo or Detroit. Until the CGI from Wembley I really felt the only time they used the city was in the brief scenes of The Tube. They went a long way to make their signature London moment a CGI missile strike. Jack should have shot the location manager

Felipe Nogueira
January 22, 2016 at 2:24 pm
Have you wacthed the 20-min LAD special? I think they say some explanation for this…they said 24 isn’t so much a series of “main streets”, rather it was know to be filmed (or to show) alleys and “tiny-streets”. They go on saying they want to keep this “Identity”.

I watched and I heard something like that, I think they said they didn’t want to go to all the places a tourist would. It makes no sense. Why go to London to shoot alleys? 24 always had a warm, sunny feel to it in LA. In Washington they shot at places like the capitol reflecting pool and used a bunch of establishing shots when they weren’t on location for well known landmarks especially The Washington Monument. In Season 8 every time they showed a street in New York there was a green screen with the skyline behind it even if they were in Midtown Manhattan. Aside from the dark, windowless CIA station that was like CTU, I just thought LAD not only misused London visually, but It could have been set anywhere and still be the same. I’ve been to every city that 24 filmed in. Season 1-6 felt like LA, 7 felt for the most part like DC/NOVA and 8… I must say I was not impressed with the green screens but at least it always reminded you where you were seeing a digital New York. London , which has as much charm as any of those other three cities looked old, dark and cold. That’s not the way I ever saw 24. Of I lived in London I would not be happy my city was portrayed that way. I hated the way they used London. I don’t buy its what they intended. Budget was a big deal in LAD and when you don’t go to New York to shoot skylines in S8, you don’t then go to Europe to shoot alley’s in S9.

Felipe Nogueira
January 20, 2016 at 8:45 pm
Jack piloted one drone in season 6, but something very similar happened in LAD, when he piloted the missile…

No Jack…..NO watch! Sorry.

This as already reported by TV LINE and others on this forum.
KIEFER SAID MONDAY ABOUT LEGACY:

“Whether we end up working together on it or not, I’ll be one of the first people who can’t wait to see it,” Sutherland said. “I have every faith they’ll do something cool and clever.”

That said, the actor does hope to some day, some way offer closure for Jack Bauer, who at the end of Live Another Day surrendered himself to a Russian prison.

“I have no idea if the [24] movie will ever happen, or Jack Bauer might end up finding his way into an episode one day and clarifying all of that, or ending all of that,” he says at the 1:21:30 mark. Sutherland was recently tapped to play POTUS in the ABC pilot Designated Survivor.

A few months ago never… now he has no idea but maybe. Please stop talking out of both sides of your mouth Kief… What you’re saying is that you’re out until your in…amazing its like he’s hedging if DS fails.

SOURCE: http://tvline.com/2016/01/18/24-kiefer-sutherland-revival-without-jack/

Noooooooi
Jack bauer

24 is jack baure. The way LAD end you cant bring new series without finishing jack story because jack is 24,you have to find a way for jack to get out of russian hands so that he can come home to be with his family and happy ending after all he lost everything for 24 starting wife,the fling with renee walker and another love he finds in audrey. Here is how you can make another season or some epsodes for ending jack character. There has to be a covert operation wich the president in LAD knows it you have Tony who has to get out of prison so that he can lead the operation even though jack put him there they are still friends and soldiers so for that he will go to the mission then chloe who is the only person jack trust and true friend,jack gave up his life for her so she will do anything to free jack then you have Kate morgan who jack believes she is a good agent and she sees jack as a hero so she will go too and last that quite men in LAD which jack save his life so he has to return the favour,this covert operation its mission is to free jack from the russian but they have to be told that if they get caught they are on their on that will make the operation interesting,where by in the mission the quite guy dies and jack kill all the russian for that.
Then they back hom safe and sound Tony is cleared with all the charges and became new head of CTU,chloe head of her things in CTU you know what I mean and kate the female agent you wanted in the new series who will work with your new male character as for Jack Baure he retires and get hero medals from the president and get back with his familly.
For your new series it has to start with jack baure as he hand over heroism to another character this is how, that hero who come back to us and find him self in cinspirancy for terrorism attack get hint on that and he finds out there is conspirancy in the goverment so he dont know who to trust then he came to realise there is one man he can trust which is Jack Baure he goes to Jack and tell him jack takes him to Tony,Chloe and Kate he tells him you can trust them then the series start there jack will be coming time to time to help due to his experience on the matter and there the 24 continues.
I say this because people loved 24 because of Jack. 24 is about Jack baure and his loyalt to the country and the people he loves. Also to those who do bad jack delas with them and especially his voice for introdusing the time format.
Many people will watch the pilot including me so that to see what we expect but the series will not be accepted as it was with 24 with jack and due to competition now from Blindspot,Mr robot,The blacklist etc without finishing jack story and relate him with the new series it will be hard to get high rates.
24 number ine fun from Tanzania Africa.

Bring jack back,he was more interesting to see

Bring jack back,he was more interesting to see.

This might be a tad contraversial but I won’t miss Jack Bauer that much. Most of his story was told (okay his fate is left a little too open), it got to the point where he was practically superman, immortal. I wanted to see where Tony’s story was going after solitary. I think Carlos could’ve carried 24 onwards, his redemption, possibly working with Kate, who was also a great character.

I would like to think these characters are not gone forever, maybe they will pop up. I guess I will be tuning in to find out.

Well, I agree with you. The main reasons I want Jack back right now is because they left him just when his plot was getting enormously interesting and because he and Tony are soulmates. The end games for Jack and Tony both have to involve one another, so Jack needs to come back, but Tony is the old-school character I’d miss the most. Luckily for us? He’s apparently immortal lol.

24 was a great show I and millions of people couldn’t wait until the next show aired to say your bringing back 24 with some new super star instead of jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland ) is wrong and I andbi know I speak for millions I refuse to watch it unless Kiefer Sutherland isn’t in the New show ……….period …..the fans of jack Bauer have spoken

How come they didn’t replace jack …with Kevin bacon. Perect fit. From fbi the follower to a promotion to Head of CTU. Jack will be hard to replace or even compare

I’m really late to thisee party, but I’ve gone through every emotional phase. Sadness, disbelief, hope, worry, disbelief again… I could have left this on Reddit and gotten immediate feedback, but I’ve read this page a bunch over the last few months.

Everyone says 24 doesn’t exist without Kiefer. This is true. Yet someone made a good point- we didn’t know Jack when we gave Season 1 a shot. And it was fantastic.

24 Spoilers said Season 1 was the best because, despite the budget, it was thrilling and visually superb. Remember his shootout in the second episode? Remember him removing the guys fingers with a knife? Holy #&! that was episode 2.

My fear is the number one problem 24 has – escalating plots. Each season goes double on the threat, makes the “mole” more dramatic, makes the recurring characters more bizarre, more annoying or more important to the fans. It’s a tough road… the half-season was greatfully more subdued and still powerful. Still Jack. Still Chloe.

This new season will have “the greatest threat to the nation yet”. What!? How can that be possible. We’ve literally had nuclear detonation. We’ve had CTU wiped out more than once. We’ve had WILD JUNGLE CATS attacking Kim.

A plot, as someone suggested, with the 24 format but a lighter plot – a serial killer, for instance, is a great idea. May not have gotten greenlight from Fox, but it was a good idea.

Things can change – characters can still return. We can get a clean, action oriented return and drop some of the “stumbling blocks” 24 had during its long run. (Even Season 1 had AMNESIA)

Anyways this may never be read by anyone, but I had to give back. This comment string has had some good discussion.