24: Live Another Day

The TV industry’s gone revival-crazy, and we’ve got twenty (!) ranked examples of the last decade or so to prove it.

The very existence of FOX’s upcoming 24: Legacy serves as reminder that Jack Bauer’s time has passed, producers even having entertained the thought of killing off their beleaguered hero in 2014 revival Live Another Day. That said, it seems Kiefer Sutherland himself led the charge in killing off Jack, casting serious doubt the actor would ever agree to reprise the role.

Kiefer Sutherland made reasonably clear that 24 was behind him after FOX event series Live Another Day, a fact supported both by the franchise’s next Jack Bauer-free Legacy, and Sutherland’s own upcoming ABC drama. Now, producer Howard Gordon weights if they should have killed Jack Bauer off altogether, and what it might mean for a Legacy appearance.

A ways back, we’d heard that FOX had an eye toward another 24 revival, albeit without Kiefer Sutherland’s famous Jack Bauer at the helm. Consider that officially come to pass, as FOX orders a pilot for 24: Legacy, casting new leads with little chance of returning any of the past 24 favorites.

Aside from its current revival fervor, FOX hasn’t yet placed an official order for more 24, particularly after news that Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer wouldn’t take part. New 24 may prove even less familiar to fans however, eschewing any known characters for a “total reset.”

Revival-happy though TV has become, the middling success of 24: Live Another Day has cooled interest in an immediate followup, the latest rumors suggesting FOX might revive the franchise with a new male lead. That seems to be the case now, as Kiefer Sutherland says he wouldn’t return for another full-time 24 gig.

FOX’s 24 revival Live Another Day certainly did well enough to kickstart similar returns from The X-Files and Heroes Reborn (Zzz…), but hasn’t quite pushed the network to commit to a second round with Jack Bauer. In fact, they may not have to, as FOX has begun developing a new spinoff without Kiefer Sutherland at the helm.

FOX’s returning ‘24' as event series ‘Live Another Day’ proved a reasonably successful gamble, but fans of ‘The X-Files’ and ‘Prison Break’ may have much more reason to celebrate. The network has confirmed the possibility of returning either series (or both) for limited runs, even commenting on the fate of future ‘24.’

It's hard to believe that only a scant year or two ago, '24' fans continually had to wonder if Jack Bauer would ever return for the long-awaited movie rendition of Kiefer Sutherland's growling counter-terrorism agent. We've since seen Jack's grand return 'Live Another Day' on FOX, but has the rebooted series finally gotten the ball rolling on a movie development, or merely another round of TV?

The season finale (and possible series finale) of '24: Live Another Day' has a lot on its plate. A war with China. A lover in peril. A Russian who died before he could spill the necessary secrets. An old nemesis getting ready to escape the country...