’24’ reboot pilot ordered by Fox… but no Jack Bauer

FOX announced today that the network has ordered the pilot “24: LEGACY”, a potential new series installment of the groundbreaking and Emmy Award-winning drama franchise most recently revived as the event series “24: Live Another Day”.

“24” keeps ticking, but this time without Jack Bauer. As for the plot, well, it also sounds very 24. Series veterans Howard Gordon, Manny Coto, and Evan Katz are all signed on as executive producers. All things considered, it was a pretty great return to form, even with the shortened episode count. “As always, we’re going to cast the best actor we can find for the role”. So, he might be leaving 24, but it’s still a very Kiefer Sutherland role. Will 24 fans gravitate to Legacy as much as the prior series? The female lead is a woman with a long history at the agency, a former head of CTU. 24: Legacy which retains the original’s real-time format with split screens and complex interweaving storylines, each episode representing one hour of an eventful day.

But hey, Kiefer Sutherland’s Bauer seemingly came back from the dead a few times over the course of the series, so in the world of “24” anything is possible.

Walden said that there are now no plans for the original series’ stars to pop up in the follow-up, although that could happen down the road. According to Entertainment Weekly, the show’s producers are looking to pilot a reboot of the series with a whole new cast and, more importantly, an African-American or Latino actor will be cast as the lead.

While the format was compelling, at least back when the show debuted in 2001, it was the character of Jack Bauer that proved to be the driving force behind the entire series.

The new version of 24 ain’t got Jack. The hero asks CTU for help in saving his life and-surprise-has to stop what could be one of the largest-scale terrorist attacks on American soil.