Is a ’24’ Reboot Really Happening?
Jack Bauer might have been saving lives for nine years, but it seems he has a new mission, keeping the 24 franchise. Fox has been working on renewing the TV show and even scraped off two spinoff ideas. The action-packed thriller gave fans top-of-the-line action sequences and a bold premise that kept audiences coming back for more. Fox has been teasing a potential reboot for some time now. But is a 24 reboot really happening? Find out.
The premise of the show
24 was a thriller centered on a government agent called Jack Bauer, who worked with the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). Although Bauer is dedicated as a skilled interrogator and good agent, he is also shown as a ruthless killer if the situation seems fit. Throughout the show, Bauer gets into various adventures as he risks everything to protect the nation.
The show’s premise might sound obvious but what made it stand out was its memorable format. It portrayed events as they took place in real-time. In every episode, a clock would display on-screen to emphasize the natural world flow of events.
The series would also incorporate the split-screen technique to showcase multiple events simultaneously, unlike other shows that cut back and forth into different events. 24 also aired hour-long episodes, which allowed it to explore the events happening in that particular episode in a greater context.
24 was iconic because it helped bring in a new era of television. It also helped give exemplary actors like Kiefer Sutherland and Dennis Haysbert a chance to shine. Sutherland owned the role of Jack Bauer that he made it almost impossible to imagine 24 without his steely presence.
24′s ending saw Bauer getting sent to a prison in Moscow to help save Chloe, his best friend. As for the question of whether Bauer and his friend will ever return to help protect the nation’s security, Sutherland says we can never say never. The star mentioned that he always left the window open for the show “if someone comes up with a great idea.”
Previous ’24’ revivals
After 24 ended in 2010, its producer Brian Grazer reportedly worked on a movie with the same name for two years. The only problem was that they couldn’t find the necessary funding to make the big screen movie. According to Deadline, producers also failed to find the right location to film from and the right story to give the audience.
In 2013, rumors speculated that Fox was in talks to develop a limited revival of 24 with Sutherland and Howard Gordon at the show’s helm. The result of the reboot was 24: Live Another Day which aired in 2014. The series was met with great reviews and solid ratings. However, it was billed as an event series that only lasted 12 episodes, thus throwing the creative team behind the show back to the drawing board.
The subsequent duplication of the show’s concept was 24: Legacy featuring Corey Hawkins of the Walking Dead. The 12 episode seasons debuted to the franchise’s highest-ever ratings but received mixed reviews. The show’s rating ended up taking in the following weeks leading to its cancellation.
Is there a ’24’ reboot in the works?
In 2018, Fox announced that the series showrunners were floating ideas for another revival. Two months later, 24’s producers revealed that they were taking the show from a different angle involving Jack Bauer’s origin. However, Fox abandoned the projects.
So what’s next for the action-packed thriller? The future of the series seems unclear. TV Insider reports that the show’s production team and the brass of Fox want to land an idea that would do the original 24 justice especially considering that 24: Legacy didn’t do so well.
