24 prequel eyed as potential series at Fox

Interested in knowing who Jack Bauer was before he became Jack Bauer?

You may be in luck, 24 fans: EW has confirmed that talks are underway about a possible prequel at Fox. Series creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran are putting their heads together with franchise executive producer Howard Gordon to figure out a way to tell new stories about one of TV’s most popular antiheroes.

Casting has not started, but The Hollywood Reporter reports that a prequel could be ready for midseason on Fox.

It’s not surprising that Fox is looking for a new way to spin its old but very popular yarn, which first launched in 2001 with Kiefer Sutherland in the starring role. A year ago, Fox chairman and CEO Dana Walden said the network wanted to continue the franchise, even though it released star Corey Hawkins out of his commitment for future installments.

“Perhaps as an anthology storytelling franchise,” Walden told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour last August. “We felt really good about a lot of the last season. It was a hard decision to make, whether to bring it back or not. We let Corey out of his obligation so he could do his Broadway play. It felt like the right thing to do, to take the pressure off around upfronts.

“It felt like, where we left off, we can continue telling stories about those exact characters,” Walden continued. “It felt very close to the original. Our goal is to make something that generally extends the life of the franchise. Viewers got a taste of 24 again. It had the urgency of real time. It whetted their appetite.”

The most recent version of 24 that featured Hawkins averaged 6.08 million viewers and a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49. Sutherland was an executive producer on the show.