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FOX Passes on Both Potential “24” Series

Fox had been developing two potential new 24 series: a real-time legal thriller written by 24 executive showrunner Howard Gordon and Jeremy Doner and a prequel that traces the origin story of CTU agent Jack Bauer, from Gordon and 24 co-creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran.

Of the two, the legal drama progressed beyond the initial script and went through further development and reworking. But in the end, neither project made it to a pilot order this season.

During the TCA executive session Wednesday, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier called it “a blessing” to have the 24 “legacy and a responsibility to bring it back.”

He acknowledged that the network is “not announcing anything.” He expressed admiration for the creative auspices behind 24, from Imagine TV and 20th TV, but he stressed that “when we get it right,” the network takes bringing the franchise back “very seriously.”

The 24 producers now are expected to go back to the drawing board.

“The power of these franchises is not to be toyed with, and 24 was an iconic moment in television, and when and if we bring it back, it will be because the creators and writers feel like they have the right story to tell, they can honor the franchise and the studio and the network feel the same way,” Collier told Deadline after the session. “I’d be very open to working with Howard and everyone else but nothing new to report.”

Source Deadline

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We’re all just better off rewatching the classic seasons.

If they want to honor the franchise then why to consider doing in the first place a legal drama and it’s doesn’t make much sense, because most of the people who watch 24 doen’t like shows like L&O and vice versa.
The 24 prequal show with a young Jack Bauer could work if it would have been writing well.
When Kiefer didn’t want to retun, they should have done a show with Kate, Tony and Chloe instead of the 24 Legacy, like a lot of fans wanted.
They have done 8 season of 24 year after year with 24 episodes and a short 9 season and it was more then amazing and now they can’t do or write a short season of 12 episodes in 2 years or even a pilot – What happened to them?
Fox is slowlly dying in the rating so if Kiefer won’t return soon to 24 then maybe we will never see another season that will end his story. Fox has axes good TV series in the past few years and after after they will end the great TV show Gotham they won’t have any good TV drama show. Even Trump can’t make Fox great again.

“What happened to them?”

That’s the question I asked after a couple of bizarre episodes of Legacy. It definitely does not look the same team of writers. Never figure it out how that was even possible.

Completely agree. I think they should make finale Season, or movie, where Jack and Tony reunite in the fight against not so much terrorists, who are as we see just the tools in the hands of the powerful people of this world, but against the powers and their intelligence, like the US, China and Russia. And this season should be reverse of Season 1, the completing cycle: this time Jack saves his daughter Kim and Terry, not wife, but teenage granddaughter, and to end show in epic way we could see the death of jack and Tony. How all began in same way all ends.

Just do a season 10 with Kiefer and have Jack Bauer go out in a blaze of glory and end the franchise permanently.

Yes! Yes! Yes! I’ve been saying this forever!!! In order for fans to move on from Jack, he MUST die. And it would have to be something epic. Save the world one last time. DONE! 24 is over. Until then, we will clamor for Jack and nothing else will ever work!

After everything Jack has survived, how you could ever make his death feel natural and believable? Hell, he’s already died twice! Jack’s death would be an obvious contrivance to place a full stop on his story at this point and I don’t think it would work under any circumstance.

He together with Tony must die in epic and saddest way, saving Kim and Terry (granddaughter), this time he should save Terry, season 10 mirrors season 1

They probably won’t do another season without Kiefer, which could be a couple of years since Netflix picked up Designated Survivor.

All hope lost.

Just stick with the re-runs people.

It’s all over.

As most of us fans have said before, a season to rescue Jack, could be easily done with very limited use of Kiefer, and even flashbacks, using previously filmed scenes of him. And using Chloe, Tony, Kate, and others that would give continuity. From there, it would be possible to develop a new hero with his/ her own sense of purpose, if Kiefer didn’t want to continue anymore, or he could be in a different capacity, like overall Director with foreign as well as domestic CTU’s, while new heros are developing. It could be very exciting!

I and I’ll bet many others, had no faith that a totally new story would bear any resemblance to 24, and be able to draw the fans in. It’s not surprising they didn’t go with it!

24 had its time – a glorious 13 years – but that time has passed. I think the series ended as definitely as could be hoped with Live Another Day. I’m happy for the show – and for Jack – to rest in peace.

Agreed wholeheartedly.

24 without Jack Bauer/Kiefer Sutherland is a non-starter, one would think the suits would get that by now, but even if Le Kief agreed tentatively in principle to return to his signature role one last time, I’m not sure what else they can do with that character…

I had a thought recently that it would be cool if FOX teamed up with a streaming service – like Hulu (both of whom are now owned by Disney) – and financed a 24 movie for streaming; give Jack one last hurrah, outside of the pressures of box-office commercial expectations, and for a pretty modest budget too (around $35-40m would do it)… but again, even if they agreed in principle to it, I don’t see what else they can do with Jack they haven’t already; it just feels very much like his story is over.

Admit it folks, this could really be it… if it is, it’s sure been a great ride while it lasted.

As Captain Kirk so memorably quipped “it’s been… fun”.

Good post, Gerry dude.

I reckon there was a brief period of time, in the year or two after Live Another Day, when 24 had a promising future ahead of it without Kiefer. The Solitary featurette with Tony breaking out of prison hinted at what could have been a Carlos Bernard-led iteration of the show. I would have watched the shit out of that – Jack or no Jack.

Something must have happened though. Tony as a lead never eventuated, instead relegated to a few minutes of screentime in each of the last six episodes of Legacy – a season which most of us will agree was a failure best left forgotten when looking at the series as a whole. Who knows. Admittedly, I’m swimming in the deep waters of speculation here.

Gerry Mander
They can remake story of season 1, together with conspiracies and terrorists, Jack and Tony reunite and save his daughter Kim and granddaughter Terry . This Jack saves his family but heroically dies himself together with his only friend who also has nothing in this life after Michelle death. So last hurrah is really demanded.

’24’ perhaps went on too long for its own good. Redemption, Days 7 and 8, and Live Another Day all had great moments but as a whole lacked that alchemical spark that made Days 1-5 so extraordinary.

Was Joel Surnow stepping down as showrunner and handing it over to Howard Gordon one of their mistakes? Certainly ’24’s heyday, both creatively and commercially, was when Surnow ran the series and it seems the problems began when Gordon took over for Day 6 as sole showrunner.

I think the writers still had enough creative gas in the tank after Day 5 for one last great season had they chose the right premise… but another tired jihadis-with-nukes storyline was most certainly not it!!! Tony should have got a silent clock in Day 5 and remained dead. The last we should have seen of Cheng Zhi was a cameo at the beginning of Day 6 when Jack is returned to the U.S. instead of him becoming a cartoon villain as he became in later seasons. We should never have seen Jack’s wider family other than Terri and Kim. And Graem should never, NEVER have been made Jack’s brother… what the hell were they thinking???

In my humble opinion, Surnow should have stayed on as showrunner throughout the show’s tenure, the series should have ended after a great sixth season, and then a three-hour theatrical movie would follow two years later to end the franchise on a high note.

The ’24’ franchise is dead, over, finished… don’t try to revive it, we don’t want a zombie version of what was once a truly extraordinary series… it ended as gracefully as could be expected.

Let it (and Jack) rest.

‘Nuff said.

Definitively*

Wish we could edit comments, haha.

An addendum: it’s been a great ride following the show over the years with you guys here on 24Spoilers. If this is the end, it was a rich and memorable experience.

Triple post:

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate all the time and hard work our webmaster, Sean, has put into this site over the years? Virtually every other online 24 community from the show’s heyday has vanished, but 24Spoilers has remained. I’m very grateful for that and think he deserves a huge round of proverbial applause.

Agreed, 24Spoiler is great.

Even if 24 is back with Jack I think it’s not going to be what we expect. It might be good, but not memorable, meaning the best season ever.

And the movie…that never happened. What a shame.

Agree ive been on this website since 2009 checking updates for my favorite show

Agreed

Fox made a great decision not going forward with the legal thriller but there is a correction in this article by Nellie from deadline… apparently the prequel idea is not dead and there is an interest in developing the prequel which was put on the backbone while producers focused on the legal thriller…

https://deadline.com/2019/02/24-offshoot-deadl-franchise-may-return-1202551109/

This is what the article says now by Nellie…

The 24 producers now are expected to go back to the drawing board. I hear that there is interest in developing the prequel idea which had been put on the back burner as the network and producers focused on the legal thriller.

Howard Gordon has released this statement to me last week:

I’m not feeling great at the moment about our prospects – though Fox claims to be motivated to continue the franchise – and I’m motivated as well. We all miss the show and we will continue to try to make that happen.
H

Honestly, without Kiefer, who cares anymore at this point?

Justin Urciuoli
February 7, 2019 at 7:44 am
Maybe Kiefer will return for the shows 20th anniversary in 2021?

Justin Urciuoli
February 7, 2019 at 8:21 am
They could even somehow interweave the young Jack Bauer Origins with Jack’s current Situation in the Russian Prison…
Like the Past has a real dramatic Effect on the Present Time…
Something like in ‘Lost’ or ‘The Butterfly Effect’, but ofc absolutely realistic!! (Just an Idea anyways!)
I’m sure Joel, Bob and Howard will create something Mind Blowing!!

New update from Deadline with revised title of the article- Prequel is a possibility and is not dead!

No Kiefer No 24. No one will ever match Jack Bauer.

Without Jack they should just let it die. Tony lead one could have worked but they screwed him royally with that spinoff garbage.

They can just pretend legacy never happened (assuming you’re talking about that). it won’t be a big deal for them…

I’d be cool with that.

Charlie Collier at Fox was asked from Slash film if the two idea’s were officially dead and this is what he said:

https://www.slashfilm.com/24-spin-offs-update/

The two series in development last summer included a Jack Bauer prequel and a legal drama using the same real time concept. /Film followed up with Collier after the panel to see if those ideas were in fact dead.

I’m not going to comment on any specific version of 24 or the others except to say that these creators, the studio, obviously the network, we love these franchises,” Collier said. “What we want to do is honor them in ways that all those three parties and the fans who ask us so much about it, we want to honor it. So we will bring it back when everyone feels like it’s the best version of that franchise. What you don’t want to do is bring it back just to do it. You want to bring it back with class. When we’re ready, we’ll do that.”

we want jack bauer with keifer!no keifer no jack!no 24!

I just think it’s bizarre even the creators and writters be willing to try AGAIN another season of 24, without Jack. And this time, they went a step further – to make about something else completely; a legal drama. Can someone tell them this is not 24, not matter how you lie to yourself or call it?

Fox probably made the right decision. I think Legacy gave a lesson for FOX – they now are more skeptic of 24′ ideas than in the past. I never understood how somemone at FOX even approved Legacy.

Everyone wants Jack to come back. Me also.. but only Kiefer Jack, not young Jack or different actor Jack like it works w/ James Bond franchise.. however I am opened to 24 with a new antihero fighting terorism. But it would have to be a very charismatic actor who would be able to pull the entire show himself up, even if it was a complete shit. Someone like John Bernthal (Punisher) or Ryan Gosling ( I know this is a no go) or Michael Shannon (he would be a perfect fit)… but but but the creators should most of all realize that we live in 2019 and the stuff they pulled w/ Legacy was barely 2001 worthy. Comparing Legacy and Live another day to Got, True Detective, homeland, Bodyguard, Westworld, it is obvious that the approach of creators is obsolete and has no place on earth anymore. Fox does not know ho to to it anymore and Deep State with terrific Marc Strong is a proof of that. It would be probably for the best of Netflix picked up the show or some other streaming service

Shouldn’t they be dealing with some current issues similar to the issues the world was facing back when 24 originally started?

I bet if designated survivor was canceled, There would be a new season on 24. I also agree Netflix should try to pick up 24.. The punisher could be jacks bauers long lost brother!! :)

Nah, I think Kiefer has realized that the show was veering dangerously close to self-parody in his last couple of seasons. I’m not sure he’d return even if Designated Survivor was cancelled. Personally, I’m fine with that. I’ve made my peace with the show.

I think the only lingering issue for me was that the Tony and Jack relationship was left a bit unresolved. I still think there’s unfinished business there, but Legacy squandered its opportunity to do something with that.

Tony Almeida can still be in a season 10 with Kiefer, all they have to do is make Legacy a Whiskey-infused fever dream that Tony had on his sofa after polishing off a 5th of Jack Daniel’s with his trusty Cubs coffee mug.

My feeling about is season 9 needed those 12 more episodes they could still revive 24 but kiefer has to agree or it won’t fly. Under the eyes of the law he’s still a fugitive. So they could play with that plus tell a survival story line. He also said he’d be open to return if the story was right. But having those 24 episodes probably would of closed it out. If they wanna do a movie they should go to Netflix @ this point to get the best quality in story. So is possible i think so everyone who wants to make just as to be on the same plane feild. Clearly kiefer doesn’t wanna do it right now but that doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind later if they can all agree to a story that’s good enough for kiefer to come back.

This is the best news about 24 since the announcement of Live Another Day happening.

Unless 24
-returns with Kiefer as Jack Bauer,

-stars Tony Almeida,

or
-is remade as a seasonal anthology series,

it should just remain how it is (leave it be).

And when I say seasonal-anthology series, I mean something science-fiction or fantasy in real-time (in one day), not the same CTU, CIA, FBI bullshit or any of that cop/hospital/detective/legal crap either. Something like Die Hard would work, though (but no CTU! or agency crap), just stick to the person(s) trying to escape/survive. Or imagine a group of people in a zombie apocalypse (science-fiction/fantasy). Sky’s the limit.

Stephen Blum
May 5, 2019 at 5:55 pm
I feel that they are making all the right moves here however I would very much love to see a prequel TV movie, than again maybe the smart thing to do is just to end now as it is

thank god they won’t ruin Jack’s character by having some random idiot play him his journey began with season 1 it’s supposed to be the first super eventful day in his life if they did what they were planning with this young Jack Bauer trash it would’ve ruined the series I hope that idea is gone for good I’d rather have no 24 than them doing something so stupid to the series

In other news, I was going over co-creator Robert Cochran’s wikipedia page, and turns out his first novel got published earlier this year.

https://www.amazon.com/Sword-Dagger-Novel-Robert-Cochran-ebook/dp/B07CG7F3MW?SubscriptionId=AKIAJWNFJNNO7OPFABDQ&tag=speculativefic05&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B07CG7F3MW

24 remains alive at Fox. Fox Michael Thorn said there is a really strong desire to crack another 24! Discussions are ongoing and they are still talking about it. Fox is wide open to more 24! https://deadline.com/2019/08/24-talks-possible-new-incarnation-real-time-drama-fox-1202663978/amp/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&__twitter_impression=true

Kiefer is done with Designated Survivor, and in an interview 3 weeks ago said that he misses the physical aspects of 24. Thee is no doubt in my mind that, with the right script, he would return for at least one more season. Furthermore, if he expressed a desire to FOX to return, they would agree in a heartbeat.

Kiefer just landed a new gig, reuniting him with Season 1 director Stephen Hopkins.

https://deadline.com/2019/09/kiefer-sutherland-boyd-holbrook-to-star-in-the-fugitive-for-quibi-1202737022/