More Intel on the Format of the Reconstituted 24

Fox Chairman of Entertainment Kevin Reilly offered  further information on the exact format of the all-new, back from the dead, reconstituted incarnation of 24 (entitled 24: Live Another Day) returning next year to Fox. We already knew the network's signature real-time action series would be back as a 12-episode miniseries rather than a 24-episode season, but how would that change the one hour of TV equals one hour of real time daylong scenario? Reilly told Crave Online (via Dark Horizons) that the story would still unfold over the course of the day, but certain hours would be skipped. Producer Howard Gordon clarified that scenario for the website previously, saying, "We’ll keep it a 24 hour story but we’ll tell 7-8, 8:15-9:15, 10-11 and then skip 3 hours if we need to. I think it’s going to actually make us not have to do the pretzel logic of some of the stuff." That sounds like an excellent plan to me. Not only did it always take me out of the action a bit whenever Jack Bauer managed to get from one side of L.A. to the other in less than the duration of a single episode in the middle of the day (an impossible feat given this city's traffic), but I felt like the seasons always sagged in the middle as the writers struggled to fill out the day. There would generally be a slam-bang beginning and a terrific conclusion, but in the middle things tended to drag a bit and we were stuck with situations like Kim being menaced by a cougar. Reilly, apparently, felt the same way, explaining that the miniseries format will provide the patented 24 experience we want without stretching the story too thin.

"Howard has always said, he always had 12 great ones, it was the next 12 that used to kill them.” Now that shouldn't be an issue. Not only that, but with the ability to skip hours of travel time, the new format opens up the series to more international locations. "This is going to be set in an international setting," Reilly told Crave. "They’ve got great ideas. I love doing it this way. I have been really heartened by the amount of equity left in the show. I am stopped by fans all the time, thanking me for bringing it back." Great! I can't wait to see Jack Bauer tearing it up overseas! That's what I was hoping for from the 24 movie that never got off the ground. It would be great to see a new 24 "event series" every summer for years to come, with Jack in a different international city each season.

In addition to Kiefer Sutherland, The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Mary Lynn Rajskub will also be back, reprising her fan-favorite role as Chloe, Jack's indispensable CTU support tech, without whom he couldn't have foiled half the terrorist plots he managed to foil, or opened up half the sockets he managed to open. ("Open up a socket, Chloe!" was one of Jack's favorite things to whisper-yell into his cell phone.) So far, those two are the only familiar faces to be cast in 24: Live Another Day, and Reilly says the rest of the cast will probably be filled out with new characters. I don't know; I think they need to bring back Tony Almeida, too...