24 (TV series)

24
Genre	Serial drama Political thriller Action Thriller
Created by	Joel Surnow Robert Cochran
Starring	Kiefer Sutherland Mary Lynn Rajskub Carlos Bernard Elisha Cuthbert Dennis Haysbert James Morrison Reiko Aylesworth Kim Raver D. B. Woodside Penny Johnson Jerald Roger Cross Gregory Itzin Cherry Jones Louis Lombardi Annie Wersching Sarah Clarke and others
Composer	Sean Callery
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	192 + 24: Redemption (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Joel Surnow Robert Cochran Brian Grazer Howard Gordon Evan Katz Kiefer Sutherland Jon Cassar Manny Coto David Fury Brad Turner Brannon Braga Alex Gansa Chip Johannessen Tony Krantz
Production locations	Los Angeles (Seasons 1–6) South Africa (Redemption) Washington, D.C. (Season 7) New York City (Season 8)
Running time	43 minutes
Production companies	Imagine Entertainment 20th Century Fox Television Real Time Productions Teakwood Lane Productions
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	November 6, 2001 (2001-11-06) – May 24, 2010 (2010-05-24)
Related
24: Conspiracy The Rookie

24 is an American television series starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer, produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration.

First broadcast on November 6, 2001, the show ran for 192 episodes over eight seasons, with the series finale broadcast on May 24, 2010. In addition, the television movie 24: Redemption was broadcast between seasons six and seven, while a feature film is also planned.

Bauer is the only character to have appeared in all eight seasons, as well as appearing in every episode of the series. The series begins with him working for the Los Angeles based Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), for whom he is characterized as a highly proficient agent, but one taking an "ends justify the means" approach regardless of the perceived morality of some of his actions. Throughout the series most of the main plot elements unfold like a political thriller. A typical plot has Jack Bauer racing against the clock as he attempts to thwart multiple terrorist plots, including presidential assassination attempts, nuclear, biological and chemical threats, cyber attacks, as well as conspiracies dealing with government and corporate corruption.

The show has won numerous awards, including 20 Emmy Awards over its eight seasons. It won for Best Drama Series at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards and Outstanding Drama Series at the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards. Kiefer Sutherland has been awarded Best Actor – Television Series Drama at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards, and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards. At the conclusion of its eighth and final season, 24 became the longest-running espionage-themed television drama ever, surpassing both Mission: Impossible and The Avengers. The show is also popular for having the concept of featuring events in each episode that occurs in real-time; but the effect only works exactly with commercials when aired live on television.

Synopsis

Premise

An example of a 24 split-screen with the running clock, from the season 7 finale.

The show's real-time nature is emphasized by an on-screen digital clock which appears before and after commercial breaks. Smaller, silent, clock displays also appear at other points in the narrative, between commercial breaks. The time shown is the in-universe time of the story. The narrative will often place time windows on key story events. This will often be "within the hour", suggesting the event will occur within the episode.

24 uses the 12-hour clock rather than the 24-hour clock, although am and pm are not used for the on-screen clock, they are only seen during the opening narration.

Each episode duration without commercials is approximately 43 minutes, as is common for hour-long television shows on commercial networks. Time continues to elapse during the commercial breaks, with the exact amount denoted by the digital clock display at the beginning and end of each act. Mundane events, such as travel, sometimes occur during commercial breaks and thus these events are largely unseen. The season 2 and season 3 premiere episodes aired without commercial interruption and just contained advertisement from show sponsor Ford at the beginning and end. The total running time of the premiere episodes are 51 minutes, approximately 8 minutes longer than normal episodes.

The story time correlates with elapsed viewing time if episodes are broadcast with commercials inserted at the commercial break points prescribed by the episode, and commercials run for the correct duration. In line with the depiction of events in real time, 24 does not use slow motion techniques. The series also does not use flashbacks, except once during the first season finale. Watched continuously without advertisements, each season would run approximately 17 hours.

Where the clock is shown either side of a commercial break a distinct beeping noise for each second was usually heard, along with a steady pounding. These beeps alternate between C and D tones. However, after highly emotional moments, such as the death of a major character, the clock will run without the beeping, with ambient noise (if any) allowed to play instead. The producers and fans have dubbed this the "silent clock", and its use has become a hallmark of the show. The silent clock was used eleven times; six were following the death of a character, while five were not. At the end of the series finale, the clock counts down instead of up for the only time, from 00:00:03 to 00:00:00.

The first season began and ended at midnight, and during its ninth episode (8:00 – 9:00 am) Jack mentioned that he had already been awake for 24 hours. In most subsequent seasons the story starts in the morning. Seasons two and seven began at 8:00 am, seasons four and five began at 7:00 am, and season six began at 6:00 am. This was a more realistic period of time for the characters to have been continuously awake. Season three began at 1:00 pm and season eight began at 4:00 pm.

The action switches between different locations tracing parallel adventures of different characters involved in the same overarching plot. A secondary story will often take place outside of this plot, which is necessarily implemented because of the real-time constraint. As a result, there are long sections of unseen narrative for each character; any one character is only seen for a portion of an episode's overall running time.

Overview

Main article: List of 24 episodes

Season 1 begins and ends at 12:00 am on the day of the California presidential primary in Los Angeles. Jack Bauer's protocol is to protect Senator David Palmer from an assassination plot, and rescue his own family from those responsible for the plot, who seek retribution for Jack's and David Palmer's involvement with a covert U.S. mission in the Balkans.

Set 18 months after season 1, season 2 begins and ends at 8:00 am in Los Angeles. Jack must stop a nuclear bomb from detonating in Los Angeles, then assist President David Palmer in proving who is responsible for the threat. This is necessary to avoid an unfounded war between the United States and three Middle Eastern countries.

Set 3 years after season 2, season 3 begins and ends at 1:00 pm in Los Angeles. While struggling with a heroin addiction gained while undercover with a Mexican drug cartel, Jack must re-infiltrate the group in order to acquire a deadly virus being marketed underground. Meanwhile, President David Palmer is preparing for a live presidential debate in the run up to elections. Later, Jack and Palmer must cooperate with terrorist Stephen Saunders, who eventually gains possession of the virus, and then stop him from releasing it in several American cities.

Cast of Season 3

Set 18 months after season 3, season 4 begins and ends at 7:00 am in Los Angeles. Jack must save the lives of his new boss Secretary of Defense James Heller and Heller's daughter Audrey Raines (with whom Jack is romantically involved) when they are kidnapped by terrorists. The same terrorists then launch further attacks against America, and Jack is forced to use unorthodox methods to stop them, which will have long-term consequences for both Jack and the United States.

Set 18 months after season 4, season 5 begins and ends at 7:00 am in Los Angeles. Jack is believed to be dead by everyone except a few of his closest friends. He is forced to resurface when some of those friends are murdered and he is framed. Terrorists with connections to the U.S. government attempt to steal nerve gas in order to protect U.S. oil interests in Asia, and Jack discovers an insidious conspiracy while trying to stop them.

Cast of Season 5

Set 20 months after season 5, season 6 begins and ends at 6:00 am in Los Angeles. Jack is released after being detained in a Chinese prison for twenty months. Terrorists plot to set off suitcase nuclear devices in the United States and Jack must stop them. Later, Jack has to choose between his loved ones and national security when the Chinese set their sights on sensitive circuitry that could trigger a war between the U.S. and Russia.

Due to the 2007–2008 Writers' Strike, season 7 was delayed one year. To bridge the one-and-a-half-year gap between seasons, Redemption was produced. It was a television movie that aired on November 23, 2008. Set three and a half years after season 6, Jack finds himself caught up in a military coup in the fictional African nation of Sangala. Meanwhile, in the United States, it is Inauguration Day, where Allison Taylor is being sworn into office as president.

Cast of Season 8

Set 65 days after the events of Redemption, season 7 begins and ends at 8:00 am in Washington, D.C. Jack is assisted by the FBI and old colleagues when the firewall responsible for protecting America's government computer infrastructure is breached by the same people responsible for a conflict in Sangala. Jack must then secure evidence to begin their arrests, some of whom are within President Taylor's administration, but not before an attack on the White House ensues. Later, a private military contractor attempts to release biological weapons on U.S. soil, at which point their superiors are working with one of Jack's old colleagues, Tony Almeida.

Set 18 months after season 7, season 8 begins and ends at 4:00 pm in New York City. Jack is about to leave for Los Angeles with his daughter, Kim, her husband and her daughter Teri when he is brought in by CTU to uncover a Russian plot to assassinate Islamic leader Omar Hassan during peace negotiations with U.S. President Taylor. Russia fears such peace negotiations will threaten their power. This leads to Islamic extremists creating a dirty bomb, which they threaten to detonate unless Hassan is handed over. Later, Jack must seek retribution for lives lost amidst a governmental cover-up initiated by former president Charles Logan and approved by Taylor. In the end Jack is faced with both foreign and American governments hunting him down as they seek revenge for his actions against them.

Recurring elements

Episodes of the series often consist of many narrative twists and turns, always accompanied by a cliffhanger ending. Because of the serial nature of the show, viewers are expected not to miss anything in order to avoid any plot-related confusion. The cliffhanger ending helps to ensure minimal absence of viewers between episodes. Themes within these sudden narrative changes will normally include aspects of death, betrayal, espionage and war provocation.

Protagonist Jack Bauer will often serve the greater good at great personal expense. In the first season, he foils an assassination attempt against David Palmer but by putting his family in huge danger. In the second season he is willing to sacrifice himself in order to stop a nuclear bomb from killing innocent civilians, but in doing so would be leaving his family. Additionally, characters often depart and new ones are introduced as the series progresses.

Cast and characters

Cast appearances

See also: List of 24 characters, List of 24 cast members, Minor characters in 24, and Minor government agents in 24

24 is known for making major changes to its main cast every season. The only regular cast member of all seasons is Kiefer Sutherland. He is the only actor to appear in all of the show's 192 episodes and the television movie, 24: Redemption. Glenn Morshower, who plays Aaron Pierce, made appearances in the first seven seasons. Background extra Michael Jacey (who plays Agent John) is the only actor besides Sutherland and Morshower to appear in the first six seasons.

Due to the unpredictable nature of each season's storyline, the main characters change frequently. More commonly in the earlier seasons, a character may begin in a recurring role (that sometimes resulted in appearing in every episode of the season) before being upgraded to a leading regular role in the following season. The only instance of an actor being promoted mid-season from recurring to series regular are Lana Parrilla and Roger Cross in season four. Jude Ciccolella was never a series regular, but has the eighth highest episode count of any actor.

A "Special Guest Star" billing is used for appearances by famous actors, including Lou Diamond Phillips, Richard Burgi, Dennis Hopper, Sean Astin, Powers Boothe, James Cromwell, Robert Carlyle, and Kurtwood Smith. It is also used for former series regulars making return appearances in the series.

The "Special Guest Appearance by" billing has been used for the returning Dennis Haysbert in seasons four and five, and for Jon Voight in Redemption and season seven.

Main characters

Actor	Character	Episode count	Main cast seasons	Recurring cast seasons	Status†
Kiefer Sutherland	Jack Bauer	192	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, R, 7, 8	—	Alive
Leslie Hope	Teri Bauer	24	1	—	Deceased
Sarah Clarke	Nina Myers	36	1	2, 3	Deceased
Elisha Cuthbert	Kim Bauer	79	1, 2, 3	5, 7, 8	Alive
Dennis Haysbert	David Palmer	80	1, 2, 3	4, 5	Deceased
Sarah Wynter	Kate Warner	25	2	3	Alive
Xander Berkeley	George Mason	27	2	1	Deceased
Penny Johnson Jerald	Sherry Palmer	45	2	1, 3	Deceased
Carlos Bernard	Tony Almeida	115	2, 3, 5, 7	1, 4	Alive
Reiko Aylesworth	Michelle Dessler	62	3	2, 4, 5	Deceased
James Badge Dale	Chase Edmunds	24	3	—	Alive
Kim Raver	Audrey Raines	52	4, 5	6	Alive
Alberta Watson	Erin Driscoll	12	4	—	Alive
Lana Parrilla*	Sarah Gavin	12	4	4	Alive
Roger Cross*	Curtis Manning	44	4, 5	4, 6	Deceased
William Devane	James Heller	20	4	5, 6	Alive
Mary Lynn Rajskub	Chloe O'Brian	125	5, 6, 7, 8	3, 4	Alive
Gregory Itzin	Charles Logan	44	5	4, 6, 8	Alive
James Morrison	Bill Buchanan	64	5, 6, 7	4	Deceased
Louis Lombardi	Edgar Stiles	37	5	4	Deceased
Jean Smart	Martha Logan	24	5	6	Alive
D. B. Woodside	Wayne Palmer	48	6	3, 5	Presumed Dead
Peter MacNicol	Tom Lennox	24	6	R	Alive
Jayne Atkinson	Karen Hayes	30	6	5	Alive
Carlo Rota	Morris O'Brian	29	6	5, 7	Alive
Eric Balfour	Milo Pressman	28	6	1	Deceased
Marisol Nichols	Nadia Yassir	24	6	—	Alive
Regina King	Sandra Palmer	9	6	—	Alive
Cherry Jones	Allison Taylor	43	R, 7, 8	—	Alive
Annie Wersching	Renee Walker	37	7, 8	—	Deceased
Colm Feore	Henry Taylor	12	R, 7	—	Alive
Bob Gunton	Ethan Kanin	31	R, 7	6, 8	Alive
Jeffrey Nordling	Larry Moss	19	7	—	Deceased
Rhys Coiro	Sean Hillinger	10	7	—	Alive
Janeane Garofalo	Janis Gold	21	7	—	Alive
Anil Kapoor	Omar Hassan	15	8	—	Deceased
Mykelti Williamson	Brian Hastings	17	8	—	Alive
Katee Sackhoff	Dana Walsh	20	8	—	Deceased
Chris Diamantopoulos	Rob Weiss	12	8	—	Alive
John Boyd	Arlo Glass	24	8	—	Alive
Freddie Prinze, Jr.	Cole Ortiz	24	8	—	Alive

• ^† = As of last appearance or mention in a televised episode.
• * = Was moved from guest star to main cast member mid-season.

Notable recurring characters

24 features a large number of recurring characters in every season. Below, in order of appearance, are the recurring characters who have appeared in at least 10 episodes, or have appeared in multiple seasons (Mandy), or play an important role (Victor Drazen).

Actor	Character	Seasons	Episode count	Status†
Karina Arroyave	Jamey Farrell	1	10	Deceased
Daniel Bess	Rick Allen	1	18	Alive
Mia Kirshner	Mandy	1, 2, 4	7	Alive
Michael Massee	Ira Gaines	1	12	Deceased
Vicellous Shannon	Keith Palmer	1, 2	13	Alive
Glenn Morshower	Aaron Pierce	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	49	Alive
Jude Ciccolella	Mike Novick	1, 2, 4, 5	58	Alive
Željko Ivanek	Andre Drazen	1	14	Deceased
Paul Schulze	Ryan Chappelle	1, 2, 3	23	Deceased
Dennis Hopper	Victor Drazen	1	5	Deceased
Michelle Forbes	Lynne Kresge	2	18	Alive
Phillip Rhys	Reza Naiyeer	2	10	Deceased
Laura Harris	Marie Warner	2	14	Alive
John Terry	Bob Warner	2	12	Alive
Daniel Dae Kim	Tom Baker	2, 3	11	Alive
Lourdes Benedicto	Carrie Turner	2	10	Alive
Joaquim de Almeida	Ramon Salazar	3	12	Deceased
Christina Chang	Sunny Macer	3, 7	11	Alive
Zachary Quinto	Adam Kaufman	3	23	Alive
Vincent Laresca	Hector Salazar	3	12	Deceased
Vanessa Ferlito	Claudia Hernandez	3	11	Deceased
Jesse Borrego	Gael Ortega	3	14	Deceased
Geoff Pierson	John Keeler	3, 4	19	Presumed Dead
Paul Blackthorne	Stephen Saunders	3	10	Deceased
Nestor Serrano	Navi Araz	4	10	Deceased
Shohreh Aghdashloo	Dina Araz	4	12	Deceased
Jonathan Ahdout	Behrooz Araz	4	12	Alive
James Frain	Paul Raines	4	10	Deceased
Arnold Vosloo	Habib Marwan	4	17	Deceased
John Allen Nelson	Walt Cummings	4, 5	12	Deceased
Tzi Ma	Cheng Zhi	4, 5, 6	12	Alive
Sandrine Holt	Evelyn Martin	5	10	Unknown
Nick Jameson	Yuri Suvarov	5, 6, 8	15	Alive
Julian Sands	Vladimir Bierko	5	11	Deceased
Peter Weller	Christopher Henderson	5	11	Deceased
Paul McCrane	Graem Bauer	5, 6	8	Deceased
Stephen Spinella	Miles Papazian	5	10	Alive
Adoni Maropis	Abu Fayed	6	15	Deceased
Rena Sofer	Marilyn Bauer	6	12	Alive
Evan Ellingson	Josh Bauer	6	10	Alive
James Cromwell	Phillip Bauer	6	8	Deceased
Powers Boothe	Noah Daniels	6, R	14	Alive
Kari Matchett	Lisa Miller	6	10	Alive
Ricky Schroder	Mike Doyle	6	12	Alive
Hakeem Kae-Kazim	Ike Dubaku	R, 7	9	Deceased
Jon Voight	Jonas Hodges	R, 7	10	Deceased
Frank John Hughes	Tim Woods	7, 8	24	Alive
Sprague Grayden	Olivia Taylor	7	14	Alive
Necar Zadegan	Dalia Hassan	8	20	Alive
Nazneen Contractor	Kayla Hassan	8	21	Alive
TJ Ramini	Tarin Faroush	8	11	Deceased
Mido Hamada	Samir Mehran	8	10	Deceased

• ^† = As of last appearance or mention in a televised episode.

Production

Conception

The first season was signed for an initial 13 episodes. The next 11 episodes were ordered later. After leading actor Kiefer Sutherland won a Golden Globe for his role in the first 10 episodes, the ratings of the show increased, leading Fox to order the second half of the season.

A feature film based on the show is being planned. Kiefer Sutherland described the film production as "exciting" because, "It's going to be a two-hour representation of a 24 hour day, so we were not going to be restrained by the real time aspect of the TV show."

The seventh season, originally scheduled to premiere on January 13, 2008, was postponed in the wake of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. To ensure a nonstop season, a trademark of the show since the start of its fourth season in January 2005, the season was postponed a full year until January 2009. To help offset the strike-induced delay, the show returned on November 23, 2008, with a feature-length TV movie, 24: Redemption, that takes place nearly four years after season six and sets up the story that launched season seven.

Setting

The first six seasons of the show were mostly based in Los Angeles and nearby California locations—both real and fictional.

Other locations have also been featured. Portions of the fourth and sixth seasons and Redemption were set in Washington, D.C. The first half of season three was partly set in northern Mexico. Redemption is set mainly in the fictional African nation of Sangala, which was filmed in South Africa. The seventh season is set primarily in Washington, D.C. Season 8 takes place in New York City.

Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU)

The main setting of the show, having featured in seven of its eight seasons, is the fictional "Counter Terrorist Unit," a government agency tasked to prevent acts of terrorism against the United States. Jack Bauer, the main character, has been employed or deployed by CTU in every season but the seventh, during which the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington DC branch, served as the show's central law-enforcement agency, due to CTU being disbanded after the end of the sixth season for human rights abuses.

A CTU office consists of two main departments, though one side is more narrowed down than the other. One department handles field operations, sending out teams to confront and apprehend threats, sometimes with the back-up of local police departments and/or SWAT. A field agent must have combat training and high proficiency with firearms, and are often veterans of the armed forces. The other side employs "data analysts," civilians who stay at headquarters and handle a variety of jobs: providing telemetry via satellite footage, decrypting intelligence, hacking enemy computer systems, searching for leads amongst the city's background chatter of cell-phone and e-mail traffic, looking up files on the season's antagonists, helping with navigation or tracking, and generally trying to stay up-to-date on what has, is or might be happening. These analysts are narrowed down further to communications departments, logistics departments, and intelligence departments. (CTU, and thus 24 itself, is very much a product of the Information Age.) The office also employs medical personnel, because CTU houses an on-site medical center, equipped with operating rooms and on staff doctors. There are also on site security guards, which apart from being called to remove employees who were moles or employees who were fired, are known for their total ineptness, because they are almost always seen getting shot, being fooled by terrorists or being overpowered by somebody (frequently Jack Bauer). There is also janitorial/maintenance people on staff, but such characters rarely impact the show.

Though only two CTU offices have been seen on-screen in any detail (NYC in Season 8, and CTU Los Angeles in the first six seasons), they had these physical features in common: a large open "bull pen" area where analysts and non-active field agents congregate; holding cells for detention and interrogation of suspects; various server rooms for the office's computing hardware; a medical department; and raised private offices for the Special Agent In Charge of the branch, and the Director of Field Operations for the branch.

CTU offices are established in various cities; Season 3 alone mentions branches in Austin, Texas, San Francisco, California, New York City, and Washington, DC. These "domestic" units are answerable to "Division"; above Division is "District", which oversees much larger areas such as an entire region. According to supplementary material, CTU started out as a subdivision of the Central Intelligence Agency, despite that agency's inability to field operations on American soil, before becoming its own entity. On at least one occasion CTU LA was folded into the Department of Homeland Security.

Despite the high-risk nature of its duties and the careful employee screening one would expect, CTU often suffers setbacks for the sake of plot. Every season of the show has featured at least one double agent amongst the in-office personnel. Division-level offices are known for sending over a new Special-Agent-In-Charge to take over the director position from whichever main-cast character (formerly) held it; this character is always an obstructive bureaucratic type who insists on following the rules, which Jack (and to a lesser extent the other main characters) are known for bending if progress or innocent lives are at stake. CTU LA and CTU NYC have both been physically attacked as well; the NYC office suffered an EMP attack in Day 8, and CTU LA was bombed in Day 2, attacked with a worm in season 3, struck by nerve gas in Day 5, and physically seized by the Chinese in Day 6.

While CTU itself is a fictional agency, several entities with similar names or duties, like the National Counterterrorism Center, have emerged since the show's debut on television.

Relation to other productions

Immediately prior to 24, series co-creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran executive-produced La Femme Nikita for its entire five-year run on USA Network. Both series deal with anti-terrorist operations, and the lead characters of both series are placed in situations where they must make a tragic choice in order to serve the greater good. As a result, the on- and off-screen creative connections between 24 and La Femme Nikita are highly pronounced. Numerous actors from La Femme Nikita have portrayed similar roles on 24, a number of story concepts from La Femme Nikita have been revisited on 24, and many of the creative personnel from La Femme Nikita currently work (or have worked) on 24 in the same capacity.

Like the 1997 film Air Force One, 24 has featured Air Force One and use of the 25th amendment. Air Force One was featured in 24 Seasons 2 and 4. Air Force Two (carrying the Vice President but not the President) was featured in season 6. 24 used the same Air Force One set from the film. Seven actors featured in 24—Xander Berkeley, Glenn Morshower, Wendy Crewson, Timothy Carhart, Jürgen Prochnow, Tom Everett and Spencer Garrett—appeared in the film Air Force One.

Series conclusion

On March 26, 2010, a statement was issued from Fox explaining that Season 8 would conclude 24's run on television. Kiefer Sutherland gave a statement:

This has been the role of a lifetime, and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation to everyone who made it possible. While the end of the series is bittersweet, we always wanted 24 to finish on a high note, so the decision to make the eighth season our last was one we all agreed upon. This feels like the culmination of all our efforts from the writers to the actors to our fantastic crew and everyone at Fox. Looking ahead to the future, Howard Gordon and I are excited about the opportunity to create the feature film version of 24. But when all is said and done, it is the loyal worldwide fan base that made it possible for me to have the experience of playing the role of Jack Bauer, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Executive producer and showrunner Howard Gordon was also a part of the decision. He was quoted saying:

Kiefer and I have loved every minute of making 24, but we all believe that now is the right time to call it a day. I echo his sentiments of gratitude toward the show’s amazing creative team, as well as the studio and network who have always believed in us and shown us unbelievable support.

"24 is so much more than just a TV show – it has redefined the drama genre and created one of the most admired action icons in television history," said Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Networks Group. Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company added, "We are extremely proud of this groundbreaking series and will be forever thankful to Kiefer, the producers, the cast and crew for everything they’ve put into 24 over the years. It’s truly been an amazing and unforgettable eight days.

Plans for a feature film are now being explored, with Billy Ray being contracted to write a screenplay, and plans for shooting to commence in late 2010 or early 2011.

Feature film

A feature film adaptation of 24 was originally planned to be shot during the hiatus between the sixth and seventh seasons. Series creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran planned to write the script with showrunner Howard Gordon working on story. Filming was to take place in London, Prague, and Morocco. Plans for the movie were later put on hold. Kiefer Sutherland stated, "It's impossible to ask writers to work on the show and then come up with an amazing film we can shoot in the break between seasons."

It was later decided that the film would begin production after the conclusion of the eighth and final season. The film was to take place and be shot on-location in Europe. Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon, and Kiefer Sutherland were to serve as executive producers on the film, while the screenplay was to be written by Billy Ray.

In April 2010, Kiefer Sutherland said in an interview at a BAFTA event in London, that the script was finished and he would be reading it upon his return to the United States. Sutherland also said that the film will be a two-hour representation of a twenty-four-hour time frame. In November 2010, executive producer Howard Gordon revealed that a "work in progress" screenplay was being read by Fox, but that the movie did not yet have a green light or fixed schedule. In December 2010, Howard Gordon revealed that Fox turned down the script by Billy Ray, citing "it wasn't strong enough or compelling enough". Gordon is currently no longer involved with the project, but states that director Tony Scott has an idea and will pitch it to Kiefer Sutherland. Executive producer Brian Grazer tweeted that the film is planned for a 2012 release.

Impact and reception

Reaction

Main article: Critical reaction to 24 (TV series)

Because of the "real-time" storytelling approach to 24, and the series' willingness to directly address the issue of terrorism, the implementation of torture as a way to acquire information and the use and misuse of government authority, the series has generated a sizable critical reaction, both positive and negative. The series and the main character, Jack Bauer, have been accused of promoting the use of excessive violence and torture, in part to support the policy of the Bush administration.

In Germany and Switzerland, 24 has been criticized for the various techniques employed by its protagonists in apprehending terrorists.

The series has won numerous Emmy Awards for its technical and artistic achievements. In 2008, Empire magazine ranked 24 as the sixth greatest television show of all-time.

Ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of 24 on Fox.

Note: Most US network television seasons start in mid-September and end in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. After season 3, however, 24 began its season in January and ran new episodes non-stop until May, a trend which began after many fans grew unhappy with constant preemptions. Two new episodes were often shown on the same night, and the entire season took considerably less than 24 weeks to air. 24 aired during February and May sweeps.

Season		Episodes	Timeslot (ET)	Season premiere	Season finale	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
1	2001–02	24	Tuesday 9:00 pm	November 6, 2001	May 21, 2002	#76	8.60
2	2002–03	24		October 29, 2002	May 20, 2003	#36	11.73
3	2003–04	24		October 28, 2003	May 25, 2004	#42	10.30
4[*]	2005	24	Monday 9:00 pm	January 9, 2005	May 23, 2005	#29	11.90
5[*]	2006	24		January 15, 2006	May 22, 2006	#24	13.78
6[*]	2007	24		January 14, 2007	May 21, 2007	#27	13.00
Redemption[^]	2008	2 (TV movie)	Sunday 8:00 pm	November 23, 2008		#17	12.12
7[*]	2009	24	Monday 9:00 pm	January 11, 2009	May 18, 2009	#20	12.62
8[*]	2010	24		January 17, 2010	May 24, 2010	#39	9.31

^{^[*]} = Indicates a "non-stop" season, in which the season did not start at the beginning of the television season in September, but rather in January (the start of mid-season) to air new episodes every week until its season finale in May. These seasons also have a four-hour two-night premiere, beginning on Sunday from 8-10 pm ET and continuing on Monday from 8-10 pm ET.

^{^[^]} = Indicates 24: Redemption, the made for television movie and the rating was for the movie only.

Viewership increased midway through its second season when the mega-hit American Idol became the lead-in to 24 starting in February 2003. For its fourth season, Fox gave the show a vote of confidence by moving 24 out of the post-American Idol time slot (to make room for the eventual hit drama, House) and placed it on Monday nights at 9:00 pm Eastern while it aired the show in consecutive weeks, beginning in mid-January of 2005. The consecutive-week schedule was also implemented for 2006, beginning in mid-January 2006.

In comparison to its 2005 season, 24 in 2006 was up 16% in overall viewers and 14% in viewers of the advertiser-friendly 18–49 age demographic. Thus, the series reached its ratings peak in 2006. Ratings have remained steady, therefore 24 has managed to retain most of its audience through its entire run thus far. This circumstance is unlike other serialized shows such as Lost, Prison Break and Heroes, which have lost much of their respective audiences over subsequent seasons.

The sixth season's two-night, four-hour premiere, broadcast in 2007, garnered the largest audience in 24's history, averaging 15.7 million viewers. Ratings peaked at one point to 16.3 million. By comparison, the precedent seventh season's two-night, four-hour premiere, broadcast in 2009, decreased slightly in viewers, averaging an overall 27 million viewers over the two nights.

The eighth season's two-night, four-hour premiere increased by 15% in viewers from the previous season. It averaged 11.4 million viewers on its Sunday premiere.

Awards and nominations

24 has won and been nominated for various television awards, at events such as the Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. The series has been nominated in categories including acting, directing, writing, editing, sound, music score, and stunt coordination.

The series received 68 Emmy nominations, with 20 wins. It was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the Primetime Emmys in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, winning the award in 2006. Kiefer Sutherland was nominated in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009 (for 24: Redemption), winning the award in 2006. Creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran won for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series in 2002 for the pilot episode. Composer Sean Callery received nine nominations for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series, being nominated for every season and 24: Redemption; winning the award in 2003, 2006, and 2010. The series' fifth season was its most successful for awards, earning 12 nominations and 5 wins, including winning Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama for Kiefer Sutherland (after being nominated every year previous); Jon Cassar won for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series, with Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart receiving Best Supporting Actor/Actress in a Drama Series nominations. Itzin and Smart later received nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor/Actress in a Drama Series in 2009 and 2007 respectively. In 2009, Cherry Jones won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama. Other notable Emmy nominations include Stephen Hopkins and Ian Toynton for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

The series received 11 Golden Globe nominations, with 2 wins. It was nominated for Best Drama Series at the Golden Globes in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006, winning the award in 2003. Kiefer Sutherland was nominated at the Golden Globes in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008 (for 24: Redemption), winning the award in 2001. Dennis Haysbert received a nomination for Best Supporting Role in 2002.

The series received 10 Screen Actors Guild nominations, with 4 wins. It was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2003, 2005, and 2007 at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Kiefer Sutherland was nominated in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, winning the award in 2004 and 2006. The series won for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series in 2008 and 2010.

Distribution

Television

24 is widely broadcast in other parts of the world, including Canada, Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.

Kiefer Sutherland attributes the show's support from Fox to its early success in the UK. Its viewership in the UK decreased significantly when the BBC lost the rights to subscription channel Sky1 after the second season.

Home media

The release of 24 on DVD has had a significant impact on the success of the television series. In an interview with IGN in 2002, Sutherland revealed, "[24's] success in [the UK] was phenomenal. It was the biggest show the BBC has ever had. It was the number one DVD there, knocking off Lord of the Rings, which is unheard of for a television show DVD to actually knock-out every feature DVD available. And that's because they showed it without commercials." The US sales of the Season 1 DVDs increased the audience size of Season 2 by 25%.

The original UK Region 2 DVD boxset release of Season 1 carried an authoring error on discs 5 and 6, in that the last five episodes were in fact the versions shown in the US. These were trimmed by approximately one minute each, compared to the same episodes shown on BBC2 in the UK. One excluded scene was the significant revelation of Terri Bauer telling Nina Myers she was pregnant. Fox offered a replacement service to anyone who mailed them the affected discs.

At CES 2007, Fox Home Entertainment announced the complete first season of 24 would be released on the Blu-ray disc format in early 2007 although this never came to fruition.

The Region 1 DVD releases of 24 strictly emphasize actor Kiefer Sutherland on the cover art for all seven seasons to date, while the Region 2 & 4 DVDs instead echo the series' split-screen format by featuring the major players in each respective season. This presented audiences who had not seen the TV broadcast (since the series moved to subscription satellite channel Sky One) in the UK with a large spoiler on the front cover of season four—which featured 'surprise' special guest star Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida.

A "limited special edition" of Day Six is also available in the United States. In addition to the DVDs, the box includes a booklet with an episode guide, each major character's job description and biographical information, and script excerpts. A limited edition of Day Six is also released in the United Kingdom, available from HMV stores.

In mid-2007, the first four seasons were re-issued, featuring slim-packaging in line with the season 5 release, and improved video quality, especially in the first season, which was initially rushed to DVD. The metallic "24" logo has also been dropped in favor of the seven segment display logo.

A special edition of the first season was released on May 20, 2008. The new set includes a seventh disc of bonus features, while discs 1–6 contain all 24 episodes with deleted scenes, audio commentaries, and 5 extended episodes. The set is released in a steel box.

The television movie 24: Redemption was released on DVD in Region 1 on November 25, 2008, and in Region 2 on December 1, 2008. The DVD contains the broadcast version as well as an extended version with optional audio commentary, a making-of featurette, child soldiers in Africa featurette, a season 6 recap, and the first 17 minutes of the season 7 premiere episode.

The seventh season was the first season to be released on Blu-ray format. The eighth season was also released on Blu-ray. A complete series set was released on DVD along with the release of season eight.

All eight seasons and 24: Redemption are also available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand, and the Zune Marketplace.

DVD and Blu-ray releases

Season	Region 1 Release Date	Region 2 Release Date	Region 4 Release Date	Episodes	Discs	Bonus Features
1	September 17, 2002 May 20, 2008 (Special Edition)	October 14, 2002	December 2002	24	6	Introduction to Season One by Kiefer Sutherland and a preview of Season Two; alternate ending to the season finale with optional audio commentary by Joel Surnow. Special Edition: Two audio commentaries; 25 deleted scenes; five extended episodes; "The Genesis of 24" Documentary; The Rookie online short films.
2	September 9, 2003	August 11, 2003	September 2003	24	7	Six audio commentaries; 44 deleted scenes (with optional commentary); "24 Exposed" featurettes; "On the Button: Exploding the CTU" featurette; Multi-angle scene study.
3	December 7, 2004	August 9, 2004	September 2004	24	7	Six audio commentaries; 45 deleted scenes (with optional commentary); Season 4 Promo; Season 4 Prequel; "24: On the Loose" featurette; "Boys and Their Toys" featurette; "Biothreat: Beyond the Series" featurette; Multi-angle scene study.
4	December 6, 2005	August 8, 2005	November 2005	24	7	12 audio commentaries; 39 deleted scenes (with optional commentary); Season 4 Prequel (Director's Cut); Season 5 Prequel; Making a Scene: Making of Season 5 Prequel; "Breaking Ground: Building the New CTU" featurette; "Blood on the Tracks" featurette; "Lock and Load" featurette; 24: Conspiracy cell phone mobisodes; The Longest Day music video; 24: The Game: Behind the Scenes.
5	December 5, 2006	November 6, 2006	December 6, 2006	24	7	12 audio commentaries; 23 deleted scenes (with optional commentary); Season 6 Prequel; "Supporting Players" featurette; "Unsung Heroes: 24 Camera Department" featurette; "Music by Sean Callery" featurette; "Logan's Retreat" featurette; 100th Episode Reel; 24: Behind the Scenes book sample.
6	December 4, 2007	October 1, 2007	September 19, 2007	24	7	12 audio commentaries; 22 deleted scenes (with optional commentary); Season 7 Preview; "Master Illusionist: 24's Special Effects" featurette; "24 Season 6: Inside the Writers' Room" featurette; "24 Season 6: Opening with a Bang" featurette; "The Technology of 24" featurette; Webcast Diaries; Day 6 Debrief mobisodes; Public Service Announcement from Kiefer Sutherland; Deleted cameo scene with Ricky Gervais; Easter Egg: Jack Bauer on The Simpsons.
7	May 19, 2009	October 19, 2009	November 11, 2009	24	6	12 audio commentaries; 14 deleted scenes (with optional commentary); The Fimucité Festival Presents: The Music of 24; "Hour 19: The Ambush" featurette; "24-7: The Untold Story" featurette; 24 in 24 documentary (Region 2 only); 21 Scenemaker webisodes (Region 2 only).
8	December 14, 2010	November 8, 2010	December 1, 2010	24	6	Deleted scenes; "The Ultimate CTU: Design and construction of the most elaborate high-tech CTU yet"; "Virtually New York: LA as NYC greenscreen"; "Scenemakers: Making-of vignettes"; Extended episodes; "Chloe's Arrest" (Region 2 only); "Comic-Con 2009 Panel" (Region 2 only); "Eight Days: A Series Retrospective" (Region 2 only).

Other media

Main article: List of 24 (TV series) media

The success of 24 has led to the series being extended, including media specifically created for mobile devices and the Internet. In addition, the series has spawned video and board games, toys, soundtracks from both the series and the video game, and a number of original novels inspired by the series, as well as a number of "behind-the-scenes" books.

Further reading

• Slavoj Žižek, The depraved heroes of 24 are the Himmlers of Hollywood The Guardian, 10 January 2006.
• Steven Keslowitz, The Tao of Jack Bauer: What Our Favorite Terrorist Buster Says About Life, Love, Torture, and Saving the World 24 Times in 24 Hours With No Lunch Break (2009). ISBN 1-4401-2062-5
• Steven Keslowitz, The Simpsons, 24, and the Law: How Homer Simpson and Jack Bauer Influence Congressional Lawmaking and Judicial Reasoning, 29:6 Cardozo Law Review 2787–822 (May 2008). (PDF)
• Jepson, Rich. 24 Terrorism Through Television. ISBN 978-0-9561504-0-0.
• Hart Weed, Jennifer. 24 and Philosophy: The World According to Jack. The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series (1 ed.). Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-7104-9. Retrieved February 7, 2008. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |origmonth= ignored (help)

External links

Template:Wikipedia-Books Media related to 24 at Wikimedia Commons

• 24 at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• 24 (TV series) on 24 Wiki

Unexpected use of template {{24}} - see Template:24 for details.