24

The Fox action-drama series, 24, revolves around counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer, (Kiefer Sutherland). Each season of 24 is comprised of 24 episodes and each episode takes place in "real time". Therefor by the end of a season, the viewers have watched one day/24 hours in the life of Bauer. The one hour episodes are broadcast in sequential order and during the course of the day there is typically a terrorist threat to the United States which Bauer and his colleagues at the CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) must thwart.

Freddie Prinze Jr. joined the cast in May of 2009. He will play the role of Davis Cole, a Marine who will run CTU Field Ops.Reuters: Freddie Prinze Jr. Taking Role on 24 (May 28, 2009)

The End?

Executive producer Howard Gordon revealed in a January 2009 interview that 24 may wrap with eight television seasons.E! Online: Will Jack Bauer Die on the Big Screen? (January 14, 2009) However, a full-length film for the silver screen has been given thought and may very well provide a final wrap-up for 24.E! Online: Will Jack Bauer Die on the Big Screen? (January 14, 2009) Numerous times throughout the interview, Gordon declared that death was imminent for Jack Bauer, though never specifically mentioned a planned on-screen death for him.E! Online: Will Jack Bauer Die on the Big Screen? (January 14, 2009)

Kiefer Sutherland implied his character will killed off at the end of season 7 when he said in a January 2009 interview, "'I see Jack as a really human figure and there is something innately tragic about people. I think there is no winning. We're all going to die. There's something really sad in that, and yet there's something really beautiful and hopeful."Now Magazine: Only One More (January 17, 2009)

New information came in February 2010 when Fox announced that they would be filming in Europe. The studio indicated that it planned to use the same producer and production team as contracted for the small screen for a feature length film.

More recently on March 16, news came from the studio confirming script writing underway. Production is planned for early 2011.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_(TV_series)

On March 26, 2010 Fox announced that May 2010 would be the final episode of the television series presented under the semblance of real time. It seems that writing, developing and producing the series is like making 12 movies a year and has become a difficult endeavor. In the wake of the announcement, Kiefer Sutherland was noted as commenting,We both (he and Howard Gordon) felt strongly that there has been a demand and an interest in a 24 film, which would be a two-hour representation of a 24-hour day.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473705/news

Awards

24 has won numerous Emmy Awards, particularly in technical categories such as Sound Mixing. In 2002, Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran won for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series, and the show took home Outstanding Drama Series in 2006. It has also won 2 Golden Globes, for Best Dramatic Series in 2004, and for Kiefer Sutherland's performance as Bauer in 2002, for the shows first season.

Controversy

Because it deals with issues of counter-terrorism and plots againstHomeland Security, and because creator Joel Surnow is an outspoken conservative, 24 has become a much-discussed and politicized series.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations had complained that the series implied that harm or discrimination against Muslims is condoned. In February of 2007, the New Yorker reported that U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan and several CIA experts met with the producers of 24 to express their concern about the shows depiction of American operatives torturing terrorists. Specifically, the concerns were over depictions of torture that could do damage to the reputation of the United States abroad and encourage real U.S. soldiers to resort to such tactics.Breitbart: Hit US television show '24' under fire from Muslim group (January 19, 2007)