After putting the tireless Counter Terrorist Unit agent to work for eight extra-long days,
Although everyone on set reacted to the news emotionally, no one is perhaps sadder than the man who brought
“It’s very sad. The only thing tempering this from
being all-out heartbreak is the fact that we have this sense of
accomplishment,”
only thing holding people up. Because for me and all these people
who’ve been with us since the beginning, it’s a very special thing, and
it’s very sad to see it end.”
The termination notice comes in the middle of Day 8,
which critics have panned and the audience has largely shunned. The
most recent episode of the show,
million viewers — down 34 percent from Season 7’s average of 13.3
million. While the ratings have cooled, the cost of producing “24” has
continued to increase.
“Everyone concurs that we want the show to end as close to peak form as possible,” executive producer
something we’d be up for because we realize Jack’s story in the
real-time format has been told. Jack is a wonderful character who can
live past the ’24’ real-time franchise.”
Indeed, Jack may not be retiring just yet.
Sutherland, also an executive producer on the series, is eager to get started on a “24” movie, and
At its peak, “24” helped transform Fox into a
ratings powerhouse in the early 2000s. Alongside shows such as
“American Idol” and “House,” it vaulted the network into the No. 1 spot
among the coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic.
“I know the end will be a very difficult day, and I
would love to have avoided it,” said Sutherland. “It’s hard. I broke it
down the other day: I’ve worked on ’24’ more than half of my
professional career.
“We’ve made 196 hours of TV … close to 100 movies. That’s a very successful career in itself. I think
are the only two people who’ve made more stuff than that. So it would
be silly for me to pretend the end of this would not have a huge impact
on my life.”
The clock stops ticking
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