Kevin Reilly, Chairman of Entertainment for Fox, met the Television Critics Association today. Looking ahead to the upcoming return of “24” in a shortened 12 episode format, Reilly said the “24: Live Another Day” miniseries will give us the “24” experience we want without stretching the story too thin.
“I just sat with the team yesterday and heard the ideas,” said Reilly. “Everybody came in with a new vibrancy. The 12 episode format, Howard [Gordon] has always said, he always had 12 great ones, it was the next 12 that used to kill them.”
Reilly also confirmed that Jack Bauer could leave the country more easily in this format. “This is going to be set in an international setting. They’ve got great ideas. I love doing it this way. I have been really heartened by the amount of equity left in the show. I am stopped by fans all the time, thanking me for bringing it back.”
Fox just signed Mary Lynn Rajskub to return as Chloe, which was a coup that “24” executive producer Howard Gordon told us he wanted. Reilly said she will be central to Jack Bauer’s new story. “They have a really powerful arc for her in the next chapter. Look, I think the fans really would have been heartbroken to not see Chloe.”
With Rajskub cast, Reilly suggested the rest of the new “24” would be filled in by new cast. “I’m pretty sure that will be it for returning cast, but there are several new characters joining.”
The 12 episode format is based more on the shorter cable series model. I asked Reilly if, were this format popularized by the end of season eight, would he have continued the show indefinitely back then?
“I might’ve been, but I don’t think Howard and the guys would’ve done that. I think everybody felt as though okay, it’s still vibrant and alive, but it was starting to get to the place where everybody wanted to catch their breath.”
Based on our previous interview with an excited Gordon, it seems that he has caught his breath and he is ready for more.
Other “24” coverage on CraveOnline
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Mary Lynn Rajskub Returns For ‘24: Live Another Day’; Aug. 1, 2013
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Howard Gordon Wants Chloe & Real Time Continuity For New ’24′ Miniseries; July 29, 2013
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‘24’ Returns To Fox In May 2014 As a Miniseries; May 13, 2013
24: Through the Years
24: Through the Years
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Live Another Day (2014)
With a new season of "24" coming in 2014, here's a quick look back at the 8 seasons and movie (don't forget "Redemption") that came before it...
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Season 1 (2001-2002)
The clock is ticking...
Midnight. Jack Bauer, head of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), is suddenly thrust into a chaotic and exhausting 24-hour marathon of death, deception and terror as he struggles to prevent the assassination of a presidential candidate, find the traitor within his own organization, and save his kidnapped wife and daughter. -
Season 2 (2002-2003)
Jack Bauer is having another one of his "very bad days" in the second season of the groundbreaking real-time thriller 24. Once again the hours are ticking by with more guaranteed cliffhangers than a convention of mountain climbers. Holed up in a Los Angeles condo and estranged from his daughter, Jack is no longer on the government payroll; unfortunately for him, this small fact doesn't seem to matter to President David Palmer and the NSA, who call him back in to the CTU and give him 24 hours to infiltrate a terrorist organization that is planning to detonate a dirty bomb in the city of angels. All Jack wants is to get his daughter out of the city, unfortunately Kim's new employer, the abusive father of the child she is nannying, has other ideas.
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Season 3 (2003-2004)
Three years after the events of Day Two, Jack Bauer and his fellow CTU agents must deal with an international drug ring which threatens to unleash a deadly virus across Los Angeles if their jailed leader isn't freed. Jack's quest to stop their deadly plan will lead to reunions with old enemies, family crises, and more than one surprising twist.
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Season 4 (2005)
The season kicks off with a deadly terrorist strike resulting in the kidnapping of his new boss, the U.S. Secretary of Defense James Heller (William Devane). Although a fired, ex-employee of the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), it is no surprise who is going to shift into full gear to bring the terrorists to justice. However, it doesn't take the super-agent long to discover the kidnapping of his boss is part of a much larger plan, master-minded by Habib Marvan (Arnold Vosloh) the middle eastern terrorist cell leader the US government has been trying to track down for years.
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Season 5 (2006)
Eighteen months after faking his own death, Jack Bauer is forced to return to Los Angeles when it becomes apparent that the only four people who know he is still alive are being systemically targeted for assassination. The assassinations coincide with the signing of an anti-terrorism treaty between Russia and the U.S., leading Jack to suspect a link between the assassinations, the treaty, and a group of Russian terrorists. But as events slowly unfold it becomes apparent that the day's horrific events were originally set in motion by someone within our country's own administration – an individual with the power and resources to thwart Jack's every move.
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Season 6 (2007)
Day 6 of 24 's signature edge-of-your-seat action begins with Jack Bauer's return from a Chinese prison and quickly launching into a search for nuclear weapons that eventually leads to Jack's mysterious father. Guest stars include James Cromwell, Chad Lowe, Powers Boothe and Peter MacNicol.
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Redemption (2008)
After the 2007-2008 writers' strike pushed back the entire 7th season, this stand-alone movie was produced as as table-setting for the delayed season.
After sacrificing everything for his country, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) stands to lose the only thing he has left – his freedom. Wanted by the U.S. government and working as a missionary in Africa, Bauer is called upon to stop a ruthless warlord from drafting innocent children into his murderous militia. But first, Bauer must confront his own torturous past and face an impossible decision that will change his life forever.
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Season 7 (2009)
Set in Washington, DC, for the first time, the season opens four years after Season Six with CTU dismantled and Jack on trial for all his "misconduct" at CTU. Jack's day takes an unexpected turn when someone threatens the government and his expertise are needed again.
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Season 8 (2010)
As Day Eight unfolds, Bauer races against the clock to prevent the assassination of a Middle Eastern leader on a vital peace-making mission. Meanwhile, a deadly terrorist threat against New York City intensifies and builds towards an explosive climax. Relive the electrifying final season of TV's most groundbreaking series ever, including a surprise ending you simply must see.
