Fox has announced the hit series 24 will return to air in May 2014 under the title 24: Live Another Day. Kiefer Sutherland will continue to play Jack Bauer, a counter-terrorist agent, for a reduced season that will consist only of 12 episodes. According to Fox, this will be the first of two planned seasons for the series.
The original series aired from 2001-2010 on Fox, with each hour-long episode formatted in real time to make up an entire day over the course of one season. USA Today explains that the new seasons will not mimic that same format, and while some argue the series will not be the same given the changes, the series’ producer, Howard Gordon, says, “We can use the time deletions to account for some of the distances the story had to improbably travel.”
As reported by the Guardian, some talk about a possible movie occurred after the series ended in 2010; however, the time format was questioned according to Kevin Reilly, chairman of Fox Entertainment. He said, “They always had this idea of someday doing a feature film. I think they all agreed that 24 compressed into two hours is not 24.”
Sutherland has recently starred in the Fox show Touch, which was canceled after only two seasons, thus opening his availability for the return of agent Bauer. He has said, “The response to 24 is unlike anything I have ever experienced as an actor before.” In 2006, Sutherland won an Emmy for his role in 24.
Sutherland has also said, “The story ideas from Howard Gordon are exciting and fresh, and will not disappoint… Make no mistake, my goal is to knock your socks off. See you soon.” Producer Howard Gordon works on the Homeland series, also famous for edge-of-seat viewing and cliffhangers.