Political thriller 24 returns as a limited-run series

After a four-your-long hiatus, the show will be told in a mere 12 episodes to cater to today’s viewing habits.

LOS ANGELES:

Counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer returns to television on Monday after a four-year absence as Fox revives Emmy-winning thriller 24 in a limited-run series, a format the network bets is better tailored for today’s viewing habits.

As audiences shift toward recording shows to watch later on digital video recorders (DVR) and have less patience for committing to months-long traditional television series, Fox believes a short run of 24: Live Another Day will encourage viewers to skip the DVR and watch the show as it airs. The rebooted 24, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Bauer, will be told in 12 episodes, half the length of its preceding eight seasons.

That is a formula inspired in part by cable television’s ability to draw respectable ratings by cutting the length of a show’s season, said Joe Earley, chief operating officer of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s Fox Broadcasting arm.

The show’s executive producer Evan Katz believes that since the show began in 2001, viewing habits have changed to the point where committing to watch 24 episodes on a week-by-week basis could be too much to ask from an audience. “I also think it is more special,” said Katz about reviving 24 as a limited-run series.

24: Live Another Day, which also stars Mary Lynn Rajskub as Bauer’s sidekick, Chloe O’Brian, picks up as Bauer re-emerges years after he was forced to go underground for being wanted by both the United States and Russia.

The frenetic thriller in which each episode represents an hour in one day, attracted viewers as one of TV’s top shows from 2001 to 2010, as Bauer raced against a ticking clock to foil plots through guile, guns, gadgets, fists and controversially, torture.

It won 20 Emmy Awards during its eight-season run, including Best Drama Series, Sutherland for Best Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. At its peak in 2006, 24 drew nearly 14 million viewers on average. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2014.

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