There will be one less hand on the clock when 24 resumes.
Executive producer and cocreator Joel Surnow is leaving the Emmy-winning drama to pursue other creative endeavors, according to trade reports.
Although his contract with 20th Century Fox was not officially up until Apr. 30, Surnow figured the hiatus imposed by the writers' strike, which indefinitely postponed the premiere of 24's seventh season, was a good time to make a clean break.
"I've done seven years, almost eight years at the same place with the same great group of people," Surnow told Variety. "During the strike I started thinking about different things I'd like to do independently, and decided it was time to see if there were other opportunities I wanted to pursue."
Surnow's departure from the Fox lot also means that Real Time Productions, the shingle he shared with 24 showrunner Howard Gordon and cocreator Robert Cochran, will cease to exist.
"Joel created one of the landmark series of this decade in 24 and his contribution to its creative excellence over the years has been immeasurable," Fox said in a statement Wednesday. "While he leaves the show in the incredibly capable hands of the talented Howard Gordon, his input will always be welcome."
Surnow said that he'll always be close to the show as long as it's on but, with his resignation effective immediately, the politically minded producer will not be involved in season seven's remaining 16 episodes.
Only eight "hours" of Jack Bauer's seventh hellish day in the spotlight had been shot when the struck show ran out of scripts and Fox opted to postpone the premiere rather than have to break up the season.
Thanks to the logistical complexity involved in shooting a big-budget show like 24, which will feature a locale change to Washington D.C., Janeane Garofalo and a female president (Cherry Jones) next season (all changes inputted before the strike), producers say it's going to be another year until Day Seven is off and ticking.
"24 works best 24 hours in a row. I don't think we'll see it until 2009," writer-producer David Fury told E! Online's Watch with Kristin blog recently.
On the side, Surnow has created Fox News Channel's answer to The Daily Show, The 1/2 Hour News Hour, but he said his first love remains the hour-long drama.
"I'd love to come up with another show that has some of the qualities that 24 has, in terms of being unique," he said. "I'm going to look around for some of the passion projects that I have and start meeting some people in town."