Posted on 07/30/2018 4:49:00 PM PDT by EdnaMode
During Fox’s upfront press call in May, Fox TV Group chairman and CEO Dana Walden revealed that former 24 executive showrunner Howard Gordon is working with 24 co-creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran on a possible new incarnation of the real-time drama. Walden would not elaborate on what the new premise is, but noted that “we are very excited about where the show would go.”
I have learned that where the potential new installment would go is the past. I hear the new 24 series, now in active development at 20th TV and Imagine TV, will serve as a prequel to the original 2001 series. Written by Gordon, Cochran and Surnow, it is said to be in the vein of the original and will trace the origin story of CTU agent Jack Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland on 24 for eight seasons and on followup limited series 24: Live Another Day.
The Fox network and 24 producers 20th Century Fox, Imagine TV’s Brian Grazer and Gordon had been discussing new ideas for a 24 series since the end of 24: Legacy in 2017. The prequel is one of two 24 reboot ideas that are being developed, along with a legal thriller written by Gordon and Jeremy Doner.
Sutherland had indicated that he may be done playing the physically demanding role of Bauer who’s always on the run, putting his his life on the line to thwart another terrorist threat. Doing a prequel would allow Fox to bring back a beloved character without putting Sutherland through the grind of an action drama series again. (It’s worth noting that 24 produced 24 episodes in each of its eight seasons, plus a movie)
NBC and EuropaCorp recently did a TV series prequel to the Taken movie franchise with a younger version of the character played by Liam Neeson in the films, which was developed by a TV writer-producer. The 24 situation is different as the potential prequel series is being developed by the same creative brain trust, Gordon, Surnow and Cochran, that led the original series to a drama series Emmy award and all three of them know the Jack Bauer character inside and out. (The series also also earned Sutherland an Emmy.) This is somewhat reminiscent of CBS’ Young Sheldon prequel series, which hails from The Big Bang Theory team of Chuck Lorre and Steve Molaro.
24 was the first recent drama to get a revival treatment in the form of a limited series with the 2014 24: Live Another Day. It was followed by NBC’s Heroes Reborn and Fox’s Prison Break and The X-Files.
Hope they do better than the sequel, which was a real snoozer.
I wonder how they will deal with the fact that Bauer supposedly went to law school at Berkeley. (Although he got a non-existent Master of Criminology degree, not a law degree.) I always thought that was was ironic with Bauer, since he would even torture his own family members (and did). I always wondered if it was a sly hit on Professor John Yoo there, who wrote the Justice Department memo upholding enhanced interrogation.
Will “he” be a Black or Asian woman? Perhaps a Muslim man?
They don’t seem to be even vaguely aware that it’s Kiefer Sutherland who made the show - not just their “concept.” Without him, it’s not worth watching.
Plus, it really sucks they were dragging him off to some prison at the end - after all that, you at least want Jack to sit back the rest of his years and teach his grandchildren how to torture terrorists or something...
By the way, I DID enjoy the new season of “Prison Break” they did a couple of years ago. Totally captured the flavor of the original AND gave it the closure that the “movie” didn’t.
Just like “Young Sheldon”, they could milk the original show for sub-plot ideas, but “Young Jack Bauer” would eventually have to stand on it’s own. Maybe they could cast Roseanne Barr as a mentor to add some spice, and a fallback in case the series fails.
Could the sequel have been any worse?! I suffered through three episodes, couldn't take anymore.
The problem with the original 24 series was the last two years became so damn' politically correct it was unwatchable (to me anyway.)
It was so bad that when "Designated Survivor" came on ABC I watched one episode and thought to myself "that's what Jack Bauer became!" and turned it off.
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Jack Bauer is revealed to have originally been born as Jacqueline Bauer later undergoing gender reassignment surgery.
His wife Terri will be alive.
Make him Transgender/Transracial/Transhuman.
It’s a surefire winner!
“He was born to a family of poor black sharecroppers...”
Can we get Bill Buchanan back? James Morrison is the actior, I think.
He was born at a very young age....
...and Chloe. She was the only friend he had and in my opinion, made the series complete.
Freckles would have seen through that in a flash.
I got further into Designated Survivor than you and it got even worse, if you can believe that. They couldn’t resist injecting more politics into the show and when I quit they were headed in a West Wing direction.
Chloe was a keeper.
Is Bauer black or a trans?
... and Edgar!
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