Earlier this week it was announced that 24 showrunner Howard Gordon and co-creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran are working on a prequel series for Fox, which will explore the early, pre-CTU days of Jack Bauer.
The network had previously revealed that it also had a “reinvention” of 24 in development – a legal drama following a female prosecutor who uncovers a conspiracy during the countdown to the execution of a death row inmate who she helped to convict.
The status of the latter was left in question following the Jack Bauer prequel announcement, but now we have confirmation from Fox CEO and Chairman Gary Newman that both projects remain on the cards.
“We feel [the 24 format] still has a lot of power and a lot of legs,” said Newman (via EW). “Times are fraught now, these are emotional times. Security continues to be a big issue. In terms of the prequel, people love Jack Bauer and [we] would tell a story that I think the audience would very much connect with — of how he became that character. It would be set in the same world of security.”
“The idea of moving the franchise from terrorism and security into the legal world is something we talked about as far back as season 3 or 4 of 24 where, from time to time, there would be discussions of spinoffs. You have to look for an arena where the stakes are high and time matters. [The legal version of 24] deals with an execution of a prisoner and there are just 24 hours left until the execution is supposed to take place. So the stakes are high and it potentially has a lot of the same values of the original 24. Regardless of the political climate, the time’s always right for a show of that type.”
Are you excited about the future of the 24 franchise? Which of the two shows sounds most appealing to you, if either? Let us know in the comments below…
