With so many shows being revived, it's about time Fox brings back 24.
The hit series, starring Kiefer Sutherland, aired for eight seasons between 2001 and 2014 and had a television movie on Fox before taking its final bow in 2014. Since then, there's been a lot of talk about bringing back the spy show, which followed agent counterterrorist agent Jack Bauer, but nothing has happened and fans want to know why.
For executive producer Jon Cassar, the reason is quite simple. "They've been talking about it for years, it's a tough one," Cassar told Screenrant Aug. 4. "It's how do you come back and how do you come up with another story?"
He continued, "Everything has been thrown at the wall to see if they can come up with anything, but no one's really come up with enough of a story to make it happen."
There's also the matter of coordinating schedules. Cassar noted that Sutherland is still acting and has a country music career, saying, "He's got other projects going and then he's got his touring, so that's a tough one to work around. Because when he does his European tours, he's gone for months, so there's a lot of factors."
Still, Cassar has hope that there could be a 24 revival. "It could happen, it'd be great if it happened, everyone's always asking me and it's like, 'I'll know when you know, quite honestly, I'm the last guy that knows,'" he said. "The whole thing happens and then they call me and say, 'Do you want to direct it?' So I'm gonna know the same time you do, you'll probably know before me."
Sutherland has floated the idea of reprising his role as the agent, who was last seen in Russian custody, but only if it feels right. "I do believe the story is unresolved," he told GQ in April. "If something were to be written that made sense to me and that I thought was going to contribute to the franchise then I would be behind it, even if my participation in that were to be limited."
He noted that there has to be "quality" writing for him to agree to the project, so he hesitates to give his full support to any reboot. As he put it, "I have learned that you're just better off not to be definitive about your answer of whether you will do something or not do something."
At the same time, he's open to saying goodbye to the role and letting an entirely new cast step up to the plate. "I think the only thing that would ever make sense—and I've told [showrunner] Howard [Gordon] this—is that you launch the new cast," Sutherland told NME in January, "because they're trying to get me back from China or wherever the hell it is that I ended up."
24 is streaming now on Hulu.