Caffeinated Clint
Fox’s “24” is returning – – without it’s signature star.
Hopping on the ever-popular reboot train (particularly trendy at Fox, who kick of their “X-Files” redo in a couple of weeks and are prepping a continuation of “Prison Break”), the net is modeling a sequel series to the Kiefer Sutherland hit.
“24 : Legacy” will focus on an Arican-American lead, a military hero, Eric Carter.
“There’s also a female co-lead who is a former head of CTU”, Fox Television Chairman and CEO Dana Walden revealed. “It doesn’t feel like it is fully replicating the original in terms of how much Jack Bauer carried by himself, but it’s a very prominently featured lead.”
“It’s a new CTU, a new cast of characters. It’s a completely different story in terms of the special ops groups that we’re focusing on. It’s a very contemporary-feeling story about the potential to activate new sleeper cells in the United States and radicalizing Americans. It’s a whole new story. There are nods in the pilot to prior CTU agents, there are a couple photos that will feel reminiscent of the original, but no ongoing [returning] characters.”
While Sutherland likely won’t be involved in the new series (he has a new show over at NBC, in which he plays POTUS), original “24” alumni Howard Gordon, Brian Grazer, Manny Coto and Evan Katz will serve as executive producers on the new project.
Filming this winter, “24 : Legacy” will feature, according to the presser, an “all-new cast of characters and retain the real-time, pulse-pounding, fast-paced format with split screens and complex interweaving storylines, with each episode representing one hour of an eventful day.”
“The project will revolve around a military hero’s return to the U.S. and the trouble that follows him back – compelling him to ask CTU for help in saving his life, and stopping what potentially could be one of the largest-scale terror attacks on American soil.”
Originally premiering on November 6, 2001, “24” was nominated for a total of 73 Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Drama Series in 2006. Over eight seasons, Kiefer Sutherland garnered seven Emmy Award nominations and one win for Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama Series. While the series gained global recognition, Sutherland’s portrayal of the legendary character penetrated the American psyche like no other dramatic television character to become part of the cultural lexicon.
The most recent chapter in the franchise, “24: Live Another Day,” was a 12-episode event series that premiered in the summer of 2014 on FOX, reuniting series stars Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Raver and William Devane. The series was both a critical and ratings hit, garnering three Emmy Awards.
