24 was created by writer/producers Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran. The pair met in the early 1980s when they worked on the 1981 prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest. The two struck up a friendship and began working together on other shows; one of the most memorable ones was The Commish. In 1997, the duo created the cult classic action-drama series La Femme Nikita, which lasted five seasons.
After the series’s cancellation, Surnow and Cochran tried to develop a new show they could pitch to Fox. Surnow had the idea of a TV series with 24 episodes in a season that would take place in real-time. Joel called Robert Cochran and told him his idea, to which Cochran replied, “That’s the stupidest Idea I have ever heard; it will never work.” But Joel insisted, and they met the next day at an IHOP to flesh out the concept. After a few hours of debate and many pancakes, they finally agreed that this could work.
They decided that the show would be called 24 and would revolve around an agent named Jack Bauer. Jack worked for the fictional government agency Counter Terrorism Unit, or CTU for short. Each episode would be an hour of that day, eventually leading to an epic conclusion.
Joel and Robert pitched it to Fox, who immediately picked it up. The network said that it was a revolutionary concept that would advance television.
But Surnow and Cochran realized that making a show in real-time would be challenging. Unlike other TV series at the time, you didn’t have the same shortcuts. The main character couldn’t travel across the country from one episode to the next. If they did, the character would be eating peanuts for five episodes. So, to get around the logistics, you needed multiple storylines; this way, you could work around these limitations. Giving Jack a family provided this opportunity. This is why season one was split between Jack trying to stop a political assassination and also trying to save his family.
The show focused on a beating-the-clock scenario to keep the viewers invested and drove the point home. Joel insisted on incorporating the ticking clock in the episode. This way, the viewers could keep track of the story’s progression, ramping up the tension along the way. The iconic four-box split screen came about due to necessity. Initially, the plan was to use a split screen because all the scenes involved phone calls. Surnow and Cochran thought it would be more engaging for the audience to see both characters talking on screen rather than the standard voice-over. It was editor David Thompson who suggested they use small boxes instead. Thompson felt that the boxes would allow them to use different shots in the same scene to allow for more flexibility in how the show was seen. The team then realized that the boxes could be used for other things; the most memorable was for the act breaks. I remember watching episodes with friends and voting on what box would be chosen when the story resumed.
Another thing that Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran realized was that the central storylines could not sustain for the entire 24-episode season. The audience would realize that the episodes were only stretching out the arc of that season. So twists and shocking moments had to be incorporated into the show, which meant some plots were resolved earlier than planned. For example, Jack was supposed to rescue his family at the end of the season, but instead, he was able to save them by episode 13. The assassination was also foiled earlier in the season, and this is what led to what I like to call the “Russian doll tactic.” In 24, there would always be a threat that would lead to a bigger threat. Season one’s plot to kill presidential candidate David Palmer is the perfect example. At the start of the season, Jack is trying to stop the murder plot targeting David Palmer and rescue his family, who have been kidnapped. By the middle of the season, the assassination attempt was stopped, and Jack rescued his family.
The second half of season 1 would focus on finding a mole in CTU and David Palmer dealing with scandals that threatened his campaign. The villain behind the conspiracy would be revealed, and the mole’s identity would shock viewers. Baur would once again save Palmer from another attempt on his life, but the last episode left fans reeling. But before we dive into that choice, let’s see how the show was cast. We will start with our hero, Jack Bauer, the CTU agent with a troubled marriage and the father of a rebellious teenage girl.
Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran auditioned many actors for the role, and one of the most notable ones was Jeff Goldblum. However, none of the actors had the intensity they sought. The pilot’s director, Stephen Hopkins, was friends with Kiefer Sutherland and recommended him to Surnow and Cochran. Robert Cochran was particularly resistant to casting him as he thought Kiefer was too young to play Bauer since the character was the father of a teenage daughter. He changed his mind when he learned Kiefer Sutherland had a 13-year-old daughter.
Sutherland was impressed by the script and thought it was clever and unlike any show he had seen before. But he felt that the network wouldn’t pick it up, so he decided to do it anyway, plus he needed the money. Sutherland was perfect for the role as he showcased Jack’s intensity and the trauma he felt from the failures he had made in the past. It’s not surprising, considering Kiefer Sutherland’s long and illustrious career in film.
As for who would play Jack’s rebellious teenage daughter, Kim Bauer, Elisha Cuthbert would land the coveted role. Elisha did an excellent job portraying the smart and resourceful girl throughout the series. Fun fact: Katie Sackoff was almost cast in the role but lost it to Cuthbert, although she would get a role in season 8 as senior data analyst Dana Walsh. The role would become Elisha Cuthbert’s breakout performance as she exploded in popularity during her time on the series. However, although Elisha’s popularity began to soar as the show continued, the character started to irritate many viewers.
Many fans point to certain episodes involving Kim that have caused many to question their dedication to the series. After season one, the writers began to struggle with how they would keep Kim involved in the series. The issue was that there was no reason for Kim and Jack to interact with each other. So, the writers began to think outside the box, and season 2 perfectly illustrated how insane 24 could become.
Don’t believe me? Here are some of Kim’s adventures in season 2 of 24.
- Kim discovers that a young girl she babysits is being abused by her father. She escapes with the child and is hunted by him.
- She is framed as a kidnapper by the father
- She is framed for murder
- She gets tricked into believing that a nuclear bomb has gone off by a lonely farmer who wants her to stay with him.
- She wanders into a convenience store and ends up in a hostage situation
And finally, in the most memorable “what the f*ck?” moment, a cougar stalks Kim Bauer. Yes, you read that right: a wild animal hunts the daughter of a government agent. The story behind that legendary moment is hilarious.
In a 2013 Vulture Article, Robert Cochran talked about the episode; he said, “The Angeles Crest Forest is just outside of L.A. Most of us on the writing staff, the producers, had been in it or through it once. They have mountain lions up there and cougars up there. So we said, ‘Okay, well, what if she sees a cougar?’ We were just looking for something to toss in that would jeopardize her as she was roaming around up there.” Later in the article, he said, “We used a little phrase to rebound back and forth in the writers’ room. When an idea would come up, someone would say, ‘I’m watching, I’m watching.’ That’s what we were looking for: Would we keep watching? If we would, we didn’t worry if an idea was good or bad in some abstract way.”
In season 3, they eventually made her an Intelligence agent/technician at CTU to better fit her involvement on the show. But Elisha left at the end of that season to pursue movie roles. However, Cuthbert almost missed out on the biggest role of her career. When season one ended, Fox nearly made a gigantic mistake that would have cost them millions. There was a lot of debate behind the scenes on whether or not to renew the show. Even though 24 was critically praised and had impressive ratings, not everyone was on board to bring it back. They felt that the cost of the show may have outweighed its ratings success. However, the executives at Fox were convinced when they saw the revenue foreign sales were providing to the network. So the second season was given the go-ahead, and the rest, as they say, was history. God, can you imagine the alternate universe where 24 was canceled? We would have missed the 2004 cinematic masterpiece The Girl Next Door.
Another surprising fact was that the original plans for the second season would have drastically changed the show’s concept. In an interview with 24spoilers.com, Cochran said that when they were renewed for season 2, they considered making every episode last 24 hours. They even wrote a prototype script, but realized it wouldn’t be the show they had set out to do.
Other characters are introduced throughout the series and become part of the main cast. Tony Almeida was another CTU agent who went from Jack’s rival to one of his closest friends. Tony was played by Carlos Bernard, who originally auditioned to play Jack. Almeida was a fan-favorite character who didn’t need to talk to get his point across. Carlos had this fantastic ability to communicate his feelings with just one look.
Another fan-favorite character was Michelle Dessler, played by Reiko Aylesworth. Reiko is an incredible actor who portrayed a multi-layered character. Michelle was smart and courageous, throwing herself in danger to help others. But she was also part of the show’s most loved couple. Tony and Michelle had an epic love story. They would date, get married, break up, and then reconcile. Reiko and Carlos had amazing chemistry, instantly making fans fall in love with them.
The other character who became massively popular was Chloe O’Brian, played by Mary Lynn Rajskub. Chloe was the senior intelligence analyst; in other words, she was the badass computer hacker. She was grumpy, snappy, easily annoyed, and socially awkward, but she was a close friend to Jack. It was awesome to see their relationship evolve from co-workers to best friends. Mary Lynn said that her agent forced her to go to the audition for the show. She had recently had a bad experience trying to get a role on CSI. So Mary was in a bad mood when she got there. Then, Joel Surnow came out to the hallway and told her he had written a role for her on the show. Joel had seen her role in the Adam Sandler movie Punch Drunk Love and was impressed with her performance as Sandler’s sister.
Other memorable actors came and went while the series went on. Some were unknowns at the time, such as Zachary Quinto. Others had memorable careers, like Sean Astin and Dennis Hopper.
However, 24 attracted such incredible actors because of the action-packed storylines and the shocking choices the series would make. The show did not pull any punches; the perfect example was the season one finale. In the last episode, Jack is betrayed by his co-worker and former lover, Nina Myers, played by Sarah Clarke. Toward the end of the season, it was revealed that Nina was a mole in CTU working against the agency. Jack’s wife, Terry, accidentally discovers that Nina is the mole, which forces her to kill Terry Bauer. So the season ended with Jack cradling his dead wife in his arms, devastated.
However, this was not the original ending. Originally, Terry survived and was reunited with her family. But Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran realized this destroyed the show’s realism. They said the original ending would have made the show a fairytale. Surnow and Cochran knew that because Jack saved the future president, there had to be a price. When Kiefer Sutherland was told, he begged them not to do it. He said they would be betraying the audience. But they stuck to their guns, creating one of the most shocking moments in the entire series. This created stakes.
Every season, you didn’t know who was safe. One of the best examples was in season 3 when there was a subplot that revolved around terrorists in possession of a chemical weapon. It was a deadly virus called the Cordilla virus. They discovered a device containing the virus had been planted in a hotel. An agent named Gael Ortega and Dessler searched the hotel for the device. Ortega finds it, and just as he is going to defuse it, it goes off in his face. When I first saw this episode, I was shocked. “Wait, they didn’t stop the weapon? But, they’re the heroes! That’s not supposed to happen to the good guys.” Not only that, but we see characters die from the virus throughout the following episodes. One of the symptoms of the virus is a bloody nose, so she is constantly checking for one. I can’t tell you how hard I gripped my seat whenever she touched her nose.
But even though 24 was a hit with critics and viewers, it also had its fair share of detractors. Many accused the show of promoting racist stereotypes toward Arab Americans and sexist depictions of women. One of the most mentioned controversial choices was its casual use of torture on the show. Many people across the political spectrum accused the series of promoting torture as an effective way of interrogation.
As the seasons progressed, the ratings grew; season 5 is considered the best of the entire series. The first episode was shocking because it killed off former president Palmer and Michelle Dessler. It’s funny; Dennis Haysbert, who played David Palmer, was so upset about being killed off that he didn’t want to do his death scene. He eventually relented but told the showrunner that killing Palmer was a mistake. But don’t worry, guys, President Palmer went on to have a great career in sales.
Another factor in Season 5’s popularity was one of the main antagonists, RoboCop himself, Peter Weller. Weller played Jack’s former mentor, Christopher Henderson, who was responsible for killing his friends and working in a conspiracy to increase America’s military posture in Central Asia. This season was a masterclass at interweaving multiple storylines, filled with action and character moments.
But after season 5, ratings began to slip, and fans were tired of Jack Bauer’s adventures. A lot of the stories started to feel repetitive. In my opinion, the new characters introduced were not as interesting or multi-dimensional as the previous cast. Except for one, Renee Walker, who the late Annie Wersching played. Renee was the perfect match for Bauer; she was intelligent, strong-willed, and a badass. She was similar to Jack, who would do whatever it took to protect the country. Wesching and Kiefer had incredible chemistry, and you wanted Renee and Jack to get together because of that intense attraction toward each other. So, as you can imagine, it was rage-inducing when they finally did get together, for her to be fridged. The choice felt like a cheap stunt to grab viewers’ attention. That was my jump-the-shark moment.
Things were also stressful behind the scenes. By season 4, Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran had stepped down as showrunners, and writer/producer Howard Gordon stepped up to take the reins. Rumors of tensions behind the scenes started to come out. Years later, Freddy Prince Jr. confirmed this. He accused Kiefer of showing up late to set, being drunk, and getting people fired for not putting up with his tantrums. He said it was so bad he considered quitting acting.
Eventually, ratings began to plummet, and everyone involved in the show felt it was time to put the gun back in the holster. Finally, the inevitable came: Season 8 was announced as Jack Bauer’s last adventure. So, on May 24, 2010, on Day 8 from 3 PM to 4 PM, Jack said goodbye to the fans and headed to parts unknown.
Four years later, Jack returned for a 13-episode miniseries called 24: Live Another Day, or what many fans consider season 9. The miniseries revolved around Jack trying to stop a terrorist’s plan to use American drones to force the president to surrender himself to them to be executed for what they consider his war crimes. Then, later in the season, the drones were used to start a war between the US and China. The season ended with Jack surrendering to the Russians to free Chloe from their clutches, and the last we saw of Jack was flying away in a helicopter to more than likely be tortured.
BUT. That was not the end of the 24 universe. In 2015, a spin-off called 24: Legacy premiered and featured an entirely new cast. But Carlos Bernard did guest-star as Tony Almeida for a few episodes. The show only lasted one season due to low ratings. Other countries also made adaptations of 24. In 2013, Colors TV, an Indian general entertainment pay television channel, produced and aired 24: India, which got rave reviews. Another adaptation of 24 was made in Japan, called 24: Japan. The new series was produced by Total Media Communication for TV Asahi and was written by Shūkei Nagasaka. It lasted 2 seasons.
But could the original 24 series come back? Well, people have tried. Multiple projects have been thrown around for the 24 franchise. A movie and a prequel series were being developed, but nothing has panned out. Kiefer Sutherland says he is interested, but considering his age, he says the clock is ticking. Um… pun not intended.
I think 24 should come back, but it should be with an original story. 24 fell into the trap of repetitive plots and cheap stunts to shock the audience. A return to the series deserves something to match or exceed the series’ influence on television. Many shows have taken the real-time concept and run with it. The most recent example is the hit TV series The Pit, which revolves around an emergency room night shift as doctors and staff try to deal with their duties. Just like 24, every episode is an hour. Some great parodies paid homage to the show. My favorite was the Mad TV sketches starring Bobby Lee.
If you want to watch the series, Season 1 through 8, and 24: Legacy is on Hulu to stream. However, the TV movie 24: Redemption is not on Hulu, so if you want to stream it, you have to buy it on Amazon. For the most part, the show does hold up, although many moments are dated and silly. Sadly, I do have to admit that some of the aspects of some seasons are just… well… problematic. However, despite its bad seasons and moments, the show was entertaining. I wouldn’t mind going down that rabbit hole again.
