It’s been three long years that America has had to go without the watchful protection of Jack Bauer, but it looks like that might soon be about to change. Whilst the long-in-development 24 movie has failed to materialise as we had hoped, Fox are now reportedly looking to resurrect the real-time drama as a limited series.
Deadline report that Kiefer Sutherland is in talks to reprise his leading role as Jack Bauer. And whilst no deals are yet in place, the idea was hatched by Howard Gordon, the long-time showrunner for 24, who currently executive produces Homeland.
Gordon pitched the plan, which is set to start from scratch with a new story arc, to 20th Century Fox TV, Imagine TV, and Fox, and all are thought to have jumped on board. And you have to take that as a good sign, even though there aren’t deals in place.
Following the announcement, David Fury, who worked as both writer and executive producer on 24 (as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel), took to Twitter to confirm the new developments. He noted that the limited series is set to be twelve episodes in length – presumably, it would still unfold in real-time, just over half the usual period – and that he’s involved with the project too.
“@DeadlineTV: ‘24’ Eyes Return As Limited Series On Fox, http://dlvr.it/3Lnp2g”. Yep, I’m pulling double duty along w/ TYRANT. Whoo & Hoo!
Fury has been working more recently with Gordon on FX’s new programme, Tyrant, which will see Ang Lee take the helm for the pilot. And it makes sense for the two to reunite once more should this new iteration of 24 come to fruition, as I hope it does.
Since the close of its eighth season back in 2010, there has been a huge Jack Bauer-sized hole missing on television, and I can’t think of any suitable replacement beyond Bauer himself. Returning to the small screen with a limited series sounds like a brilliant move, and it will be interesting to see if there would be more in store for the iconic character further down the line, should the new series of 24 be as well-received as the original eight-season run.
