Word began to arrive in the last day or so about a potential next spin-off for action TV series 24, which famously saw Kiefer Sutherland tackling various terrorist threats as a real-time clock ticks down. Asked about the idea at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, Fox TV CEO and chairman Gary Newman revealed that not one, but two shows are in development.
The first is the prequel that has already been rumoured, one that would chart the earlier days of Sutherland's Jack Bauer, presumably focusing on him during his formative time at the Counter Terrorist Unit.
“We feel the 24 format still has a lot of power and a lot of legs,” Newman said. "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."
As for the second, that'll see much more of a swerve into different territory, entering the murky world of legal dramas. "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," Newman adds. "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."
The original show has already spawned two follow-ups, the Sutherland-starring 2014 miniseries 24: Live Another Day and the attempt to reboot the format in 2016 with 24: Legacy, which starred Corey Hawkins.
Both the new shows are still at an early stage, so there's no information yet on when either might hit screens.
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