The executive producers of “24,” including star Kiefer Sutherland and joined by Mary Lynn Rajskub, spoke to the future of the Fox Franchise, including where the film stands and details on the upcoming event series, “Live Another Day.”
Sticking to the franchise’s format, “Live Another Day” will take place over 24 hours in real time, but spread over just 12 episodes — sometimes skipping hours between episodes. The limited series seems to have given the team a new infusion of energy.
“We want to maintain the following, but it was a marathon,” Gordon said of the series’ original run. “This felt like we could catch our breath… You could see the horizon.”
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This next chapter takes Jack Bauer (Sutherland) to London in order to shut down a terrorist attack. Executive producer Manny Coto revealed that Jack will be as we last left him: a Fugitive. Newly announced character, Kate Morgan (Yvonne Strahovski) is a CIA agent hunting Jack.
Why not shoot in the U.S.? “Anywhere but here is where we needed to set it,” Coto explained. “He’s a fugitive and he can’t go home.”
“This is really about Jack and where he is 12 years later,” Gordon said. “We have analogues for the Snowden affair and the drone issue is a backdrop.”
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As Kate gets closer to Jack, Chloe (Rajskub) re-enters the picture. She’s damaged and has turned against the government.
“At the beginning of this show, [Jack and Chloe are] actually pitted against each other,” Sutherland said. “It’s exciting to play and it will also evolve over the show. A lot of the dynamics of the characters coming back are shaped by the way we start the show.”
Jack and Chloe will be forced to both go after some kind of secret.
Alongside Sutherland and Rajskub, Kim Raver and William Devane are set to return for “Live Another Day.” In addition to Strahovski, newcomers Giles Matthey (“Jobs”), Gbenga Akinnagbe (“The Wire”), Michael Wincott (“The Crow”) and Judy Davis (“Life with Judy Garland”) have joined the series.
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But, if you haven’t finished Season 8 or even watched “24” at all, Coto said new viewers will be able to watch the limited event series. Sutherland said that Jack and Chloe’s reunion will be one of the ways they’ll provide exposition on what matters from the previous run of the series.
As for the film, that’s on hold according to Sutherland. “The script for the film is very, very different,” he said. “The film is an ongoing situation and it’s always there.”
And “if this ends up rebooting the show,” Sutherland avoided confirming he’d be a part of it. Instead, he gestured toward a possible spinoff with one of the new characters.
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“I never said I was a part of it,” the actor and executive producer said of the series returning to TV.
“I felt the star of the show is ’24,’ this concept, this idea,” he continued, seemingly gesturing toward a spinoff. “I think the format allows for certain new characters to have a moral objective in a world that isn’t very moral.”
“24: Live Another Day” premieres with a special two-hour episode on Monday, May 5.