Cue the beeps. Beeps that will surely result in cheering. One of the greatest action thriller TV shows of all time could be making its triumphant return more than a decade after it ended. While there have been rumors and reports of a comeback for the last few years, renowned producer Howard Gordon has now revealed that, yes, a new series is “absolutely in process.”
Starring Kiefer Sutherland, and created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, 24 first began way, way back in 2001 and introduced Sutherland as the now iconic Counter Terrorist Unit agent, Jack Bauer. A role that he has become synonymous with.
The action drama series followed Bauer and his team as they attempted to thwart all manner of escalating terrorist plots against the United States, the White House, and the world. The hook of the show came in the form of the aforementioned beeps, with each series of 24 happening in “real time” over 24 hours, the intensity of which was emphasized by a digital countdown that would appear on-screen throughout each episode. The intensity was heightened even further with the use of split screens, all of which led to 24 receiving multiple awards throughout its nine-season run and cementing it as one of the most iconic action shows of all time. And now…it’s coming back. Probably.
Howard Gordon Has Figured Out How to Bring ’24’ Back After All These Years
Speaking with Deadline, producer and showrunner Howard Gordon, who has made his streaming debut this year with the Netflix thriller The Beast in Me, revealed that a 24 revival is “something we are developing.”
“It’s absolutely in process, there’s something we are developing. They, meaning Disney [parent company of 20th TV] and such, have not committed to it, so it still is a process. Look, it’s actually no secret, and this is worth saying. I, over the years, and obviously various iterations, not just with Jack, but, trying to spin it off with Corey [Hawkins], and with different people. I’ve also sat through dozens of pitches from other writers. I’ve developed a few. I even did a spin-off.”
However, while Gordon excites with the admittance that they have found a way to continue 24 after all these years, he also admits that “it’s not done.”
“I have such a nostalgia for that show, and I think Kiefer does too. One thing we couldn’t figure out for a long time was a direction that ever held water, that sustained itself. This feels like it could be, but it’s not formal, it’s not done. And there’s a part of me that also feels like, particularly at this point in my career and in my life, what I really don’t want to happen is that it’s not good because I don’t think that’s fair to the show. It’s not fair to the fans, not fair to, frankly, to myself. So it has to be something that you connect to, or at least you tell yourself you’re connected to. It may not turn out very well, but you have to at least believe that it’s something.”
The last we saw of Jack Bauer was in 2014’s 24: Live Another Day, and no doubt audiences would love to see the old-school, no-nonsense action hero back in the modern era.
- Release Date
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2001 – 2014-00-00
- Showrunner
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Robert Cochran
- Directors
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Robert Cochran
- Writers
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Robert Cochran
