Despite the relative success of the limited series 24: Live Another Day, it seems the good people at Fox are already looking ahead to Jack Bauer’s retirement. “Sure, we had fun watching Kiefer Sutherland torture people,” someone in marketing undoubtedly said, “but wouldn’t it be even more fun to watch torture executed by a sexy twentysomething?” And that marketing person got to take the rest of the afternoon off, because TV Line reports the network is developing a 24 spinoff that will feature a new, younger version of a male terrorist fighter.
Perhaps conceived by the same executive would knew how totally hip and fresh it would be to turn Spider-Man into an EDM-listening X-Games bro, this new iteration of the show would feature a “new male antihero working alongside an older, more seasoned female agent.” (Yvonne Strahovski’s Kate Morgan, despite being the obvious choice, will not be that agent, probably because she’s also way too old, if we apply standard Hollywood male-female age ratio adjustments.) The show would launch as a limited series, à la Live Another Day, but could turn into a regular series depending on how it performs. If so, it would maintain the “real-time” concept and ticking-clock scenario, because otherwise people will get confused about how much time there is left, like they are with every other show on television.
And while there’s no word yet on Sutherland’s participation, franchise head Howard Gordon suggested that he could appear on a guest-star basis. Presumably, these appearances will involve Jack Bauer shaking his head in disbelief at just how truly outrageous this hot young variation of himself will behave. “This guy is totally in your face!” Bauer will exclaim, echoing the assessment of successful new youth-skewing characters since time immemorial.