New Details on The 24 Prequel Series, Kiefer Sutherland's Involvement, and the 24 Legal Thriller
Earlier this week it was announced that FOX was developing a 24 prequel series that will focus on a young version of Jack Bauer. A lot of people don't seem too thrilled at the idea, but FOX seems to think that people will be thrilled.
Fox Television Group Chairman and CEO Gary Newman, talked about the upcoming 24 prequel saying that it would show that Jack Bauer was still pulling all-nighters saving the world even before the first season.
"I think people love Jack Bauer and you would tell a story that I think the audience would very much connect with. How did that character become who he was. It would be set in the same world of security which I think continues to be very relevant."
When asked if Keifer Sutherland would return to the franchise, Newman said:
"There are no discussions about whether or not he will have any kind of role. He’s aware of it, and he’d be an executive producer and is excited about the idea."
At least Sutherland is involved with it. Newman went on to talk about the 24 legal thriller that has been in development saying, "the time is always right" for a show like 24 no matter what the political climate is and also reveals that this story will focus on an execution of a prisoner.
"The idea of moving that franchise from terrorism and security into the legal world is actually something we talked about probably as far back as season three or four when there would be discussions of spin-offs. You have to look for an arena where the stakes are high and time maters. That deals with an execution of a prisoner and there’s just 24 hours left when the execution is supposed to take place. It potentially carries a lot of the same values you would have in the old 24. There are real emotional stakes involved.”
When asked by a reporter about 24‘s history of positioning people of color as the bad guys on the show, Newman responded:
"Looking back at 24 from season to season the bad guys really varied from Eastern European to Asian to people in the Middle East. We understand that the criticism was bad, it just wasn’t as one-sided as it seemed."
The plan for both of these new 24 shows is still to tell the story as it unfolds in real time.
"We obviously love the show. the mechanism of telling a show set in real time is unique to 24. We think it still has a lot of power and a lot of legs. Really, ever since the show went off the air, we’ve talked about how do you re-imagine 24? The times are fraught now. These are emotional times. Security continues to be a big issue."
What do you think about these new 24 shows that are in development? Are you excited about them? Do you think they'll be good? Or do you think that 24 should just give up on the franchise?