You don’t know Jack… or, at least, that seems to be the message with the news that the ‘24‘ spin-off has not been renewed by FOX. But the ‘day’ might not be over entirely…
When FOX decided to revisit the 24 franchise, but without Kiefer Sutherland returning as Jack Bauer, a few eyebrows were raised – after all, Sutherland’s tragic agent had been the mainstay of the franchise for a decade of unfortunate days. Sutherland was involved with 24: Legacy as an executive producer but the on-screen heroics fell to Corey Hawkins as an ex-special ops soldier who founds himself in the middle of a conspiracy when members of his elite team suddenly start being targeted by a terrorist kingpin… and a potentially catastrophic terrorist attack is found to be in the works.
However, despite a strong start – helped by its position after the ratings juggernaut that is the American Super Bowl – the series failed to capture the same magic as the original. Many complained it fell back on old tropes and stretched suspension of disbelief in some of the ways the story was paced out in the familiar ‘real-time’ format, something even the parent show had struggled with over time.
Now comes news that 24: Legacy has officially been cancelled by the FOX network. However there is a chance that FOX will be exploring other options within the format and word comes through sites such as TV Line and others that there is an interest in working out a way to recreate the ‘real time’ format but approach the story it tells somewhat differently. It is believed that if this was to go ahead in the near future it would not involve any characters seen in 24: Legacy. The only character from 24 who appeared in Legacy was Carlos Bernard’s disgraced Tony Almeida, though in a fairly minor role – ironically many have suggested a show featuring that character’s redemption might have proven far more compelling… maybe something to consider going forward.
