24 (TV series)

This article is about the television series. For the game, see 24: The Game. For other uses, see 24 (disambiguation).

24
24 intertitle
Genre	Drama, Thriller, Action, Serial
Created by	Joel Surnow Robert Cochran
Starring	Kiefer Sutherland John Boyd Chris Diamantopoulos Cherry Jones Anil Kapoor Freddie Prinze Jr. Mary Lynn Rajskub Katee Sackhoff Annie Wersching Mykelti Williamson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	192 + 24: Redemption (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations	Los Angeles Washington D.C. New York City
Running time	44 min
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	November 6, 2001 – present

24 is an American serial action/drama television series. Broadcast by Fox in the United States and syndicated worldwide, the show first aired on November 6, 2001, with an initial 13 episodes (the next 11 episodes were later ordered). 24 is the second longest-running espionage series in television history, behind the original Mission: Impossible series by number of episodes and The Avengers by longevity of broadcast.

24 is broadcast in real time, with each season depicting a 24-hour period in the life of Jack Bauer, who works with the United States government as it fights fictitious terrorist threats to the United States. Bauer is often in the field for the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit as it tries to safeguard the nation from terrorist threats. The show also follows the actions of other CTU agents, government officials and terrorists associated with the plot. The first six seasons of the show were all based in Los Angeles and nearby locations—both real and fictional—in California, although occasionally other locations have been featured as well—most notably, Washington, D.C., where a portion of the episodes took place during the fourth and sixth seasons. Departing from tradition, the seventh season is set primarily in Washington, D.C. Season 8 is to take place in New York City.

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. After six seasons, it was confirmed that FOX has ordered a further two seasons to be produced. A feature film based on the show has been written, with a working title of 24, and was scheduled to be filmed in 2007 for a 2008 release, but plans for production were put, and have remained, on hold to focus on the series.

The seventh season, originally scheduled to premiere on January 13, 2008, was initially postponed in the wake of the 2007-08 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. It was officially postponed until January 2009. To help offset the strike-induced delay, 24 returned on Sunday, November 23, 2008 with a feature-length TV movie, titled 24: Redemption, that takes place nearly four years after season six and "set up the story that [launched] season seven".

Elements

Real time

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

24 is a thriller which is shown in "real-time", with each minute of airtime corresponding to a minute in the lives of the characters. Commercial breaks are placed at times when something non-essential to the plot is taking place (e.g., characters driving somewhere will begin when a commercial break starts and arrive at their destination at the end of the commercial break). This allows for the show to actually occur in real time without compromising action. The real time clock of the show continues to tick during the commercials, emphasizing the reality of the 24 hours of the season in which the characters work. Finally, 24 has avoided flashbacks with one exception in Season 1 and it does not use slow motion techniques, even on moments of rapid action or sleight-of-hand, which other franchises might choose to emphasize in that way.

Actual show run time without commercials is between 42 and 44 minutes, as is typical for hour-long television shows on many commercial stations. However, the effect only works if episodes are shown with commercial breaks during the show and then only if these are inserted at the right points in time and have the same length, which may not fit in with the normal programming of a commercial station.

Watched continuously, each season would take approximately 17 hours to finish. This real-time nature is emphasized by an on-screen digital clock appearing before and after commercial breaks, with a distinct beeping noise for each second, alternating between B and C sharp tones (the sound associated with the on-screen digital clock is occasionally not played to signify highly emotional moments, such as the death of a main character or in the conclusion of most of the season finales; the producers and fans have dubbed this the 'Silent Clock', and its use has become a hallmark of the show). This time corresponds to the in-universe time of the show. The characters will often place time windows (such as the common "within the hour") on certain events such as terrorist threats, thus strongly hinting the attack/event will occur before the end of the episode.

The action switches between different locations tracing parallel adventures of different characters involved in the same overarching plot. As a result, there may be long sections of unseen narrative for each character, in which case a character may only be seen for a portion of an episode's overall running time.

Storytelling and visual style

24 employs fast-paced and complex plots. Though each day's events typically revolve around thwarting an impending terrorist attack, the series maintains an episodic format by requiring its characters to investigate leads on said terrorists, with each lead taking roughly an hour and introducing the next episode's lead in its closing minutes. The exact objective of the day may also change over the course of the season, as the terrorists adapt their plans, execute contingencies, try to cover up connections or are discovered to have been mere pawns in a larger, more insidious scheme.

A recurring theme of 24 has characters faced with the decision of whether to let something tragic happen for the sake of a greater good. In Season 2, a Dept. of Defense staffer has the chance to warn CTU of an imminent attack on their building, but argues doing so would put the culprits on alert and thus cause a valuable trail to go cold. A similar situation occurs in Season 5, when terrorists plan to release a canister of nerve gas inside a busy shopping mall. In Season 3, the President and CTU agents must choose between the life of a high-ranking CTU official and the imminent threat of further attacks, while Season 4 is notable for a scene in which two men—one of whom possesses crucial information about a nuclear missile strike, and the other is the husband of a major character—lie dying in an emergency room, creating the ethical dilemma of whom to save. In addition, the sitting President often has to deal with a similar quandary. For example, in Season 6, President Wayne Palmer asks Jack Bauer to sacrifice himself in exchange for the location of a known terrorist.

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. Later seasons have tended to use a different time window, starting in the morning, with the exception of Season 3, which began and ended at 1PM, and Season 8, which will begin and end at 4PM, to allow filming to begin in the summer when there are more daylight hours available. This also makes for a more realistic period of time for the characters in the show to be continuously awake, in addition to plot elements such as 24-hour crises and worst-case scenarios.

24 frequently uses split-screen action to follow multiple plots, phone conversations, and shots leading into and out of commercial breaks, and emotional conversations, allowing the depiction of both participants' faces without breaking tension by cutting back and forth between camera angles.

Creative influences

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.

In addition, 24 borrows some aspects of the 1997 film Air Force One, namely the plane itself and the use of the 25th amendment. In Seasons 2, 4 and 6, Air Force One can be seen (Although in Season 6 it is actually Air Force Two, as it is the Vice President on board.) and the series reused the same set as the one featured in the movie. Additionally, four actors featured on 24—Xander Berkeley, Glenn Morshower, Wendy Crewson and Spencer Garrett—played roles in Air Force One.

Counter Terrorist Unit

Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) is a fictional U.S. government anti-terrorist agency hypothetically created by Bill Clinton in response to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Its protocols are somewhat similar to the real-life FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force and the CIA Counterterrorist Center. It is, however, most similar to the newly created National Counterterrorism Center, which is run by the DNI but composed of all Agencies and Departments in the US government responsible for countering terrorism. The main character, Jack Bauer, is most similar to a Paramilitary Operations Officer in the CIA's Special Activities Division. CTU's headquarters are in Los Angeles, with satellite operations in major cities where threats are likely. CTU's primary mission is to disrupt and foil foreign and domestic terror cells hostile to the United States, as well as protect it from terrorist attacks. With an office in nearly every major city, CTU also has a role in creating security policy and fighting groups of organized crime, which fund terrorism.

CTU appears to have been somewhat clandestine, or at least kept out of the public eye. Particularly in the early seasons of the show, CTU agents who identified themselves as such to outsiders were frequently met with skepticism by those who had never heard of the organization, including police officers, until they produced their federal identification.

CTU offices are run by a Director, also called the Special Agent in Charge, to whom the Director of Field Operations and the Chief of Staff report. Departments within a CTU office include Communications ("Comm"), Logistics, and Tactical ("Field Ops"). Communications and Logistics personnel report directly to the Chief of Staff, whereas Tactical personnel are deployed into Tactical Teams ("Tac Teams") by the Director of Field Operations.

The Los Angeles CTU Field Office houses several areas. The first floor contains the Situation Room, as well as the main communications complex and command center, often referred to as "The Floor." On the second floor is the Director's office and Field Ops office. Protocols elsewhere in the building are the Information Technology department (I.T.), an in-house Medical clinic, Meteorology department, several Holding Rooms used for interrogation and confinement, and Tech Rooms, which contain the bulk of the physical computer hardware used by CTU.

The CTU offices within a region report to a Divisional Office, overseen by the Division Director. Divisional offices cover a larger amount of territory in their jurisdiction. Finally, the Divisional office and all other offices report to a District Headquarters, overseen by a Regional Director. This title implies each District Headquarters has jurisdiction over an entire region of the United States. However, in Season 1, the reverse was implied: the District Director, George Mason, reported to District Manager Richard Walsh, and then Ryan Chappelle, the Regional Director from Division. However, in the Season 2 finale, Chappelle referred to a Mr. Vaughn, the District Director, as his superior.

CTU often suffers setbacks for the sake of plot. Despite the high-profile and high-risk nature of its duties, it is frequently infiltrated by double agents, and several times has been attacked or seized by terrorist forces.

CTU was disbanded during the time between Season 6 and Season 7 under Congressional orders. At the start of Season 7 those who formerly worked with CTU are being placed under scrutiny by a Senate subcommittee, and Jack Bauer is at the heart of a show trial led by Senator Blaine Mayer. Several agents who worked for CTU at one point or another have been working underground to uncover widespread corruption at the highest level of the United States government. CTU servers and other official records were taken into evidence, sealed, and decommissioned, but under orders from President Allison Taylor during season 7, the servers have been recommissioned.

In Season 8, CTU has moved to New York City with new and former staff. Brian Hastings is the CTU Director.

Recurring plot devices

There are some plot devices which are used frequently on 24.

• Weapons of mass destruction: WMDs, especially nuclear weapons, are constant threats on the show. Seasons 2 and 6 have been based around the threat of nuclear weapons. In Season 3, it is a weaponized virus. Season 5 features a fictional nerve gas. Season 4 features the threat of a nuclear weapon also, but the entire season did not center around this plot, and included a nuclear meltdown and a strike on Air Force One. Season 7 features a private military company in the vein of Blackwater called "Starkwood" which seeks to acquire bio-weapons after testing them in the fictional African nation of Sangala.

• Traitors in the government: CTU is often compromised by moles. Major subplots often deal with the presence of double agents working with terrorists. There was first thought to be one mole in the first season, but then a second was discovered. Since then, another agent was found to be a corporate spy in Season 4. In Season 5 one traitor was discovered in the White House Administration, before a second was. Many other agents have been accused of being turncoats. One of Season 7's major subplots is about a massive breach in U.S. Government, where nearly one hundred individuals were hired by war criminal General Juma.

• Frequent Change of President of the United States: The President has changed many times over the show's history. David Palmer was elected President before Season 2, but was temporarily forced to step down under the 25th Amendment. Vice President Jim Prescott took over for several hours and then for a much longer period of time after an attempt on David Palmer's life. After Palmer finished his four year term, he decided not to seek re-election, making way for John Keeler. However, Keeler's term ended early because he was seriously injured after Air Force One was shot down. Vice President Charles Logan took over and became president. Months later, he was forced to step down after evidence was found implicating him in a series of terrorist attacks. At this point, Vice President Hal Gardner replaced Logan and finished his term. Before Season 6, Wayne Palmer was elected to office, but suffered a coma after an assassination attempt. Vice President Noah Daniels was thereby promoted to President and finished Palmer's term, but failed to be re-elected and watched as his successor Allison Taylor became President during Redemption.

• Frequent Change of CTU Directors: There have been twelve directors of CTU, many of whom have also either resigned or been killed. In general, the current head of CTU LA (be it Jack, Tony, George Mason, Bill Buchanan, Michelle Dessler or some other) is depicted by the writers of the show as being willing to compromise protocol for the sake of progress. Frequently, Division sends over a new, by-the-book director to (in the words of Alberta Green) "slow things way down" and reassert control over the maverick department; and, in doing so, oppress or reduce the efficiency of CTU LA employees attempting to perform their jobs under deadline. About half these directors have eventually evolved from agents of bureaucracy to allies and partners-in-crime, facilitating CTU's work even at the expense of protocol; almost inevitably, these "reformed" directors (Ryan Chappelle, Lynn McGill) sacrifice their lives in a heroic fashion. Just as inevitably, they are eventually replaced by yet another bureaucrat.

• Torture: Jack and others employ the use of torture or threats of torture in nearly every situation in order to extract information. CTU has also used hyoscine-pentothal, a fictional pain-inducing drug, in interrogation sessions where quick results are needed. This has been used on both agents and antagonists. Its effects are completely unlike the effects of real hyoscine and pentothal. The show has been criticized by human rights groups for its over-use of torture scenes. In response, the show's writers have said that they will try to include fewer torture scenes in future episodes, not to meet the demands by human rights groups, but because it was starting to overwhelm the storytelling.

• Retribution: While antagonists in 24 usually are dealt with a sense of justice, some are intentionally killed by Jack after he deems that their usefulness and danger are over: Victor Drazen (shot repeatedly after falling from a dock), Nina Myers (shot while attempting to escape CTU), Conrad Haas (shot after confessing to assassinating David Palmer) and Christopher Henderson (shot twice after he tries to kill Jack). Similarly in Season 3, the wife of the late Gael Ortega shot Stephen Saunders while in CTU.

• Jack's absence from CTU: The only time Jack is a CTU agent between seasons is before Season 1 and in between Seasons 2 and 3. Prior to every other season, Jack is always somewhere else where his skills are not being practiced. Before Season 2, Jack was retired/inactive from CTU for a year and a half after the death of his wife, Teri. Fifteen months before Season 4, Jack began working for the Secretary of Defense, James Heller, after he was fired from CTU by Erin Driscoll because of his heroin addiction. Before Season 5, Jack had faked his death and was working at an oil refinery. Before Season 6, Jack was in a Chinese prison for 20 months. Between Seasons 6 and 7, Jack was evading a senatorial subpoena by traveling the world and participating in humanitarian work. Also, sometime after Season 6, CTU was disbanded.

• Threatening a certain character's family to give vital information: This variant of psychological and physical torture was introduced in Season 2 when Jack interrogated Syed Ali. This idea was dismissed in the beginning of Season 3 since Ramone Salazar didn't care about his children but it was used later on to coerce Stephen Saunders. Christopher Henderson used the tactic to prevent the release of evidence in Season 5 and CTU used it again in Season 6 to orchestrate a conversation between General Habib and Abu Fayed. In Season 7, Renee Walker threatens Edward Vossler's family to give Jack Bauer and her information of the whereabouts of Colonel Dubaku. This device was used by Jack and other characters on both sides of the law throughout Season 7.

Cast

Main characters featured in the seventh season from left to right:
Sean, Janis, Larry, Renee, Tony, Jack, Bill, Chloe,
Henry, President Taylor, and Ethan.

See also: List of 24 characters, List of 24 cast members, Minor CTU agents in 24, and Recurring and minor characters in 24

24 is known for making major changes to its main cast every season—the exceptions being Kiefer Sutherland, who is the only main cast member to star in all seven seasons--and all 168 episodes--to date. Glenn Morshower, who plays Aaron Pierce has also starred in all seven seasons, and 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, main cast members are added and dropped frequently. In a few cases, guest stars have been upgraded to main cast members during the course of a season. Main cast members who return from prior seasons—whether they return for one episode or the better part of a season—are often given a "Special Guest Star" billing, although this is also used for other cast members who are well-known film actors, like Richard Burgi, Dennis Hopper, Powers Boothe, Sean Astin,and James Cromwell, Special Guest appearance has also been used for 2 actors, like Dennis Haysbert in seasons 4 & 5 and Jon Voight in season 7.

Current Main Cast

• Jack Bauer, portrayed by Kiefer Sutherland, is the protaganist and main character of the series
• Chloe O'Brian, portrayed by Mary Lynn Rajskub
• Renee Walker, portrayed by Annie Wersching
• Allison Taylor, portrayed by Cherry Jones
• Arlo Glass, portrayed by John Boyd
• Rob Weiss, portrayed by Chris Diamantopoulos
• Omar Hassan, portrayed by Anil Kapoor
• Cole Ortiz, portrayed by Freddie Prinze Jr.
• Dana Walsh, portrayed by Katee Sackhoff
• Brian Hastings, portrayed by Mykelti Williamson

Former Main Cast

Actor	Character	Episode count	Main cast seasons	Recurring cast seasons	Status
Leslie Hope	Teri Bauer	24	1	NA	Deceased
Sarah Clarke	Nina Myers	36	1	2, 3	Deceased
Elisha Cuthbert	Kim Bauer	77	1, 2, 3	5, 7, 8*	Alive
Dennis Haysbert	David Palmer	79	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	NA	Alive
Kim Raver	Audrey Raines	53	4, 5	6	Alive
Alberta Watson	Erin Driscoll	12	4	NA	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
Gregory Itzin	Charles Logan	36	5	4, 6	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	Unknown
Peter MacNicol	Tom Lennox	24	6	NA	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	NA	Alive
Regina King	Sandra Palmer	9	6	NA	Alive
Colm Feore	Henry Taylor	12	7	NA	Alive
Bob Gunton	Ethan Kanin	23	7	6, 8*	Alive
Jeffrey Nordling	Larry Moss	19	7	NA	Deceased
Rhys Coiro	Sean Hillinger	10	7	NA	Alive
Janeane Garofalo	Janis Gold	21	7	NA	Alive

^† = Status of character in last appearance or mention in a televised episode of 24
* = Attached to star/currently in production
** = Was moved from guest star to main cast member midseason, during Season 4 only.

Notable guest stars

24 features a large number of guest characters in every season. Below are the guest stars who have made the most guest appearances during the first seven seasons.

Actor	Character	Seasons	Episode Count	Status†
Jude Ciccolella	Mike Novick	1, 2, 4, 5	58	Alive
Glenn Morshower	Aaron Pierce	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	49	Alive
Paul Schulze	Ryan Chappelle	1, 2, 3	23	Deceased
Zachary Quinto	Adam Kaufman	3	23	Alive
Geoff Pierson	John Keeler	3, 4	19	Unknown
Daniel Bess	Rick Allen	1	18	Alive
Michelle Forbes	Lynne Kresge	2	18	Unknown
Arnold Vosloo	Habib Marwan	4	17	Deceased
Frank John Hughes	Tim Woods	7	16	Alive
Adoni Maropis	Abu Fayed	6	15	Deceased
Sprague Grayden	Olivia Taylor	7	14	Alive
Laura Harris	Marie Warner	2	14	Alive
Jesse Borrego	Gael Ortega	3	14	Deceased
Powers Boothe	Noah Daniels	6	14	Alive
Željko Ivanek	Andre Drazen	1	14	Deceased
Vicellous Shannon	Keith Palmer	1,2	13	Alive
Joaquim de Almeida	Ramon Salazar	3	12	Deceased
Tzi Ma	Cheng Zhi	4, 5, 6	12	Alive
Michael Massee	Ira Gaines	1	12	Deceased
Ricky Schroder	Mike Doyle	6	12	Unknown
Rena Sofer	Marilyn Bauer	6	12	Alive
Jonathan Ahdout	Behrooz Araz	4	12	Alive
Shohreh Aghdashloo	Dina Araz	4	12	Deceased
Nick Jameson	Yuri Suvarov	5, 6	12	Alive
John Allen Nelson	Walt Cummings	4, 5	12	Deceased
John Terry	Bob Warner	2	12	Alive
Peter Weller	Christopher Henderson	5	11	Deceased

^† = Status of character in last appearance or mention in a televised episode of 24
* = Attached to star/in production.

Plot synopsis

Season 1

Main article: 24 (season 1)

Season 1 begins and ends at 12:00 AM, and occurs on the day of the California presidential primary. Jack Bauer must 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.

Season 2

Main article: 24 (season 2)

Set 18 months after season 1, season 2 begins and ends at 8:00 AM. Jack must stop a nuclear bomb from detonating in Los Angeles, then assist President David Palmer in proving who is responsible for the threat despite being overwhelmed by grief.

Season 3

Main article: 24 (season 3)

Set 3 years after season 2, season 3 begins and ends at 1:00 PM. While struggling with a heroin addiction, Jack must re-infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel in order to acquire a deadly virus being marketed underground.

Season 4

Main article: 24 (season 4)

Set 18 months after season 3, season 4 begins and ends at 7:00 AM. Jack must save the lives of Secretary Heller (his new boss) 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, methods which will have long-term consequences for both Jack and the U.S.

Season 5

Main article: 24 (season 5)

Set 18 months after season 4, season 5 begins and ends at 7:00 AM. Jack is believed to be dead by everyone except a few of his closest friends. He is forced to resurface when his friends are assassinated and he is framed for the murders of the people who knew he was alive. 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.

Season 6

Main article: 24 (season 6)

Set 20 months after season 5, season 6 begins and ends at 6:00 AM. 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.

Redemption

Main article: 24: Redemption

Redemption is a television movie which aired on November 23, 2008, bridging the gap between the sixth and seventh seasons of 24. Filmed partially in Southern Africa, Jack finds himself caught up in a military coup in the fictional African nation of Sangala while trying to find somewhere he can rest. Meanwhile, in the United States, it is Inauguration Day, where Allison Taylor is being sworn in to office.

Season 7

Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer) and Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida) in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. for filming of 24 in October 2007.

Main article: 24 (season 7)

Set 4 years after season 6, season 7 begins and ends at 8:00 AM. A major national security incident occurs when the firewall responsible for protecting America's government computer infrastructure is breached by the same people responsible for a conflict in Sangala. A larger conspiracy involving government officials and private military contractors is revealed as the season progresses. The season features the show's first female president, Allison Taylor, and this is the first season to take place outside Los Angeles.

Season 8

Main article: 24 (season 8)

Kiefer Sutherland confirmed he will return for the 8th season and said the show’s future also hinges on its writers’ ability to shape its story. In a recent interview for ITN posted on YouTube, Kiefer Sutherland revealed that the starting timeline for season 8 will begin very quickly after the end of season 7, however recent conflicting information has described the timeline as being pushed further into the future, making Jack's granddaughter, Teri, old enough for meaningful dialogue. The only confirmed cast members so far to reprise their roles are Kiefer Sutherland, Cherry Jones, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Annie Wersching, Elisha Cuthbert and Bob Gunton. Additional cast members include Anil Kapoor (as a Middle Eastern leader named Omar Hassan), Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) and John Boyd (The Notorious Bettie Page) who were confirmed on the day production was slated to begin. Westfeldt will play journalist Meredith Reed, while Boyd will play CTU systems analyst Jonah Schwartz.

Season Eight will begin and end at 4:00PM, unfolding in New York City amidst the shadows of the Statue of Liberty and the United Nations where CTU has been upgraded and is run by the MBA-schooled Brian Hastings (Mykelti Williamson). Cole Ortiz (Freddie Prinze Jr.), an ex-Marine who wants to follow in Jack Bauer’s footsteps, runs the division’s Field Operations. Expert data analyst Dana Walsh (Katee Sackhoff) collaborates with systems analyst Arlo Glass inside CTU. Rob Weiss serves as President Alison Taylor’s new chief of staff, and Meredith Reed is an ambitious journalist with ties to the unfolding situation.

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. Jon Cassar revealed in an interview "I think the idea is to do an hour of it that sets it up where you can go around the world and set up a story in normal film time, and probably the last hour will be in real time – something like that."

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 series."

Executive Producer Howard Gordon says on the future-film, "My hope is to go [shoot the feature film] after the eighth season. That's sort of what we're aiming for. I think that a big-screen 24 will be a fitting send off for Jack."

It is now thought that a film would be made after the eighth season, and that filming could still take place outside of the USA, with London thought to be a possible location.

Broadcasting information

U.S. television 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. However 24 begins its season in January and runs new episodes non-stop until May, a trend which began after many fans grew unhappy with constant pre-emptions. 24 airs during February and May sweeps.

Season	Timeslot	Premiere	Finale	Rank	Viewers (M)
1	Tuesdays 9/8c	November 6, 2001	May 21, 2002	#76	8.60
2	Tuesdays 9/8c	October 29, 2002	May 20, 2003	#36	11.73
3	Tuesdays 9/8c	October 28, 2003	May 25, 2004	#42	10.30
4*	Mondays 9/8c	January 9, 2005	May 23, 2005	#29	11.90
5*	Mondays 9/8c	January 15, 2006	May 22, 2006	#24	13.78
6*	Mondays 9/8c	January 14, 2007	May 21, 2007	#27	13.00
Redemption^	Sunday 8/7c	November 23, 2008	November 23, 2008	#16 (tied)	12.12
7*	Mondays 9/8c	January 11, 2009	May 18, 2009	#20	12.62
8*	Mondays 9/8c	January 17, 2010	May 2010

*= 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.

^ = Indicates that 24: Redemption was the television movie. Also, this was the rating of that week.

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 p.m. Eastern (8:00 p.m. Central) 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 has so far 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 and an overall 33 million viewers over the two nights. 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.

Viewership has increased steadily for 24, except for a slight fall in the third season. FOX was able to continue gaining audience share in 2005 and 2006 with non-stop seasons and the number of viewers was up over 60% in season 5 vs season 1. In more recent seasons ratings have dipped slightly, but this can be attributed to the increased prevalence of online means to watch episodes, as this slight reduction in ratings is not limited to 24.

International broadcasters

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

In Australia, the first few seasons were highly successful. However, the current season is only being viewed by less than 400,000 viewers (due to the late night time slot of this and previous seasons) and has been bumped first to 10:30pm Sundays and now to 11:00pm Sundays.

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

In Bulgaria seasons 1, 2 and 3 aired on bTV. As of Season 4 it currently aires on Nova Television. Repeats of seasons 1, 2 and 3 can be seen on Fox Crime.

In mainland China, only season 1 was broadcast, but DVDs of other seasons can be bought easily.

In South Africa, the show is broadcast on satellite channel "MNET Movies" and originally "MNET". Free channel etv only ever aired Season 1, but discontinued broadcasts due to competitive Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night timeslot.

In India, it is broadcast on AXN.
In Hungary, season 3 of 24 is broadcast on national state channel MTV1 (Magyar Televízió), while season 6 is currently running on "COOL TV".

In Norway, they showed all of the seasons on the channel "TV2"

In Macedonia the show is aired on A1 TV.

In Malaysia, ntv7 broadcast the all new season 7 on Saturdays at 11pm

In Japan, it is broadcast on Fuji Television and Fuji News Network.

In Portugal, the show is broadcast on RTP2 and Fox Crime.

In Afghanistan, it is broadcast on Tolo TV.

Critical 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 threat 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 the minds of the voting public, in part to support the policies of the Bush Administration. Slate magazine commented that the United States' torture policy has deeper roots in 24 than in the U.S. Constitution.

In Germany, 24 is under heavy criticism due to its glorification of governmental tortures and its permanent violation of human rights (e.g. privacy, dragnet, computer surveillance, etc.).

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.

DVD/Blu-Ray releases

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 England 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 U.S. sales of the Season 1 DVDs increased the audience size of Season 2 by 25%.

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 six 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 premium channel Sky One) in the UK with a large spoiler on the front cover of season four—which featured 'surprise' special guest star 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.

Fox announced a special edition re-release of season 1, which was released on May 20, 2008. The new set includes a 7th disc of bonus features, while disks 1-6 contain all 24 episodes with deleted scenes, audio commentary, and 5 extended episodes. The set is released in a steel box.

When the announcement of the DVD release for Season 7 happened, it was also announced that the 7th Season would be released on Blu-Ray, making it the show's first season to be released on the format.

Seasons 1-7 are also available for purchase on iTunes.

Other media

Main article: List of 24 (TV series) media

The success of 24 has led to the series being extended into other arenas, including media specifically created for mobile devices and the internet. You can now see any 24 episode from any season on the FOX website and on iPhones and T-Mobile phones. 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. A feature film based upon the series has been written but the project has been put on hold to focus on Seasons 7 and 8.

Further reading

• 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).
• Steven Keslowitz, The Simpsons, 24, and the Law: How Homer Simpson and Jack Bauer Influence Congressional Lawmaking and Judicial Reasoning, 29 Cardozo Law Review 2787 (May 2008).
• Jepson, Rich. 24 Terrorism Through Television. ISBN 978-0-9561504-0-0. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
• Hart Weed, Jennifer. 24 and Philosophy: The World According to Jack. The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series (1 ed.). Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1405171049. Retrieved 2008-02-07. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |origmonth= ignored (help)

External links

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

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