Talks are reportedly underway with series creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran as well as franchise executive producer Howard Gordon about the potential ongoing series.
- Jul 31, 2018
AceShowbiz - Jack Bauer may be back again on the small screen, and this time for another long run. Words are talks are currently underway about a possible "24" prequel series at FOX. Original series creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran are reportedly working on the idea, with franchise executive producer Howard Gordon attached to the project.
According to The Hollywood Reporter's sources, the possible prequel is eyed as an ongoing series rather than a close-ended limited series like the 2014 revival "24: Live Another Day", which brought back Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer following the original series' end in 2010.
Casting for the potential new series has not begun. The project has no premiere date just yet, but it could be ready for a midseason launch.
The last "24" installment, "24: Legacy", starred Corey Hawkins and Miranda Otto as the two lead characters. Sutherland did not return to star, but served as executive producer for the spin-off. The series premiere landed the coveted post-Super Bowl slot and drew massive 17.58 million viewers, but it soon cooled down when it aired in its regular slot. The 12-episode season ended with an average of 6.3 million viewers and a 1.7 in adults 18-49 demo. The show was canceled after just one season.
After that, there were talks about a new anthological take on the franchise. "Perhaps as an anthology storytelling franchise," FOX chairman and CEO Dana Walden told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour last August. "We felt really good about a lot of the last season. It was a hard decision to make, whether to bring it back or not. We let Corey out of his obligation so he could do his Broadway play. It felt like the right thing to do, to take the pressure off around upfronts."
She continued, "It felt like, where we left off, we can continue telling stories about those exact characters. It felt very close to the original. Our goal is to make something that generally extends the life of the franchise. Viewers got a taste of '24' again. It had the urgency of real time. It whetted their appetite."