Season 8

*"All he wants is his family. All he needs is to survive one more day."*
— Season 8 promotion
**Season 8** of *24* premiered in the United States on January 17, 2010 at 8pm on Fox. The premiere was a 2-night, 4-hour event (January 17 and 18 from 9-11pm/8-10pm on FOX/Global).

On March 26, 2010, it was announced that Season 8 would be the show's final season. However, this later was rendered null with the release of the *24: Live Another Day* mini-series that followed.

## Season overview

CTU has been reinstated by President Allison Taylor in a New York City-based pilot program under the direction of Brian Hastings. Cole Ortiz, an ex-Marine who wants to follow in Jack Bauer's footsteps, runs the division’s Field Operations. Expert data analyst Dana Walsh collaborates with systems analyst Arlo Glass inside CTU. Rob Weiss serves as President Allison Taylor's new chief of staff, and Meredith Reed is an ambitious journalist with ties to the unfolding situation.

As President Omar Hassan of Kamistan comes to the United States on a peacemaking mission, he is targeted by a group of Russian terrorists, led by people from within Hassan's own country. CTU has to stop the impending threat, with the help of a reluctant Jack Bauer.

## Series conclusion

On the afternoon of March 26, 2010, a statement was issued from Fox explaining that Season 8 would conclude *24'*s run on television. Kiefer Sutherland gave a statement:

Executive producer and showrunner Howard Gordon was also a part of the decision. He was quoted saying:

*"*24 *is so much more than just a TV show – it has redefined the drama genre and created one of the most admired action icons in television history," said Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Networks Group. Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company added, "We are extremely proud of this groundbreaking series and will be forever thankful to Kiefer, the producers, the cast and crew for everything they’ve put into* 24 *over the years. It’s truly been an amazing and unforgettable eight days."*

Plans to continue the show in feature film form were explored, with Billy Ray being contracted to write a screenplay. Plans for shooting were scheduled to commence in late 2010 or early 2011, but Ray's script was turned down by FOX and the film effort is at a standstill.

## Timeline

Day 8 begins 18 months after Day 7 at 4:00pm ET, the latest in the day of any season. This is the second season to use Eastern Time as opposed to Pacific Time. According to the date on Pavel Tokarev's phone, the day takes place on February 27-28, contrary to Operation Hero stating it takes place in late May. Day 8 takes place about 14 years and 6 months after Day 1.

## Format

As with Season 5, Season 8 can be divided into three acts:

1. Jack is unwillingly dragged back into the world of CTU when an assassination plot is underway targeting Kamistani President Omar Hassan during a peace conference at the United Nations with U.S. President Allison Taylor. The main antagonists of this act are Davros and Farhad Hassan. (4:00pm–7:00pm)
2. It is then discovered that Kamistani extremists are planning to acquire stolen nuclear fuel rods; after CTU fails to intercept them and the group is unable to return to Kamistan with them, the splinter group threatens to use them against the United States if their demands are not met. The main antagonists of this act are Samir Mehran, Vladimir Laitanan, Sergei Bazhaev, Tarin Faroush and Dana Walsh. (7:00pm–8:00am)
3. After a hard-hitting personal loss, Jack, fueled by revenge, goes rogue to hunt down the members of the Russian government responsible for the day's events. The main antagonists among the Russian officials are Yuri Suvarov, Mikhail Novakovich, Pavel Tokarev and Dana Walsh. During this time, Jack frantically evades the enforcement apparatus of the federal government, which is trying to force Jack to stand down in order to cover-up the truth behind the Russian complicity, in a desperate attempt to save the peace treaty. The main antagonists among the cover-up conspirators of this act are Charles Logan, Jason Pillar and Allison Taylor. (8:00am–4:00pm)

### Major subplots

* Jack Bauer's attempts to leave New York and be with his family.
* Dana Walsh's mysterious past as "Jenny Scott", and the hoops she has to jump through to satisfy Kevin Wade, a man from her past that she would rather forget.
* President Omar Hassan's paranoid behaviour because of his brother's betrayal, resulting in distrust amongst even his closest allies.
* Renee Walker being reactivated, despite being fired from the FBI.
* An EMP is detonated at CTU, leaving them unable to assist with the mission to find the nuclear rods.
* The presence of a mole at CTU who is aiding the terrorists.
* High-ranking members of President Taylor's administration work behind her back in order to resolve the nuclear fuel rod crisis at the risk of destroying the peace process between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Kamistan.
* The reappearance of Charles Logan and his impact on other characters.
* Chloe O'Brian replacing Brian Hastings as the head of CTU and the impact it has on others.
* Renee Walker is murdered, prompting Jack to go rogue and defy Chloe and President Taylor to avenge her death.
* President Allison Taylor's questionable actions to keep the peace treaty alive.
* Russian President Yuri Suvarov is revealed to be the mastermind behind the day's events.

### Impacts on future seasons

* Jack Bauer, after committing a rampage that could've initiated another World War if successful, disappears at the end of the day and becomes a highly-sought after fugitive for the four years leading up to Day 9.
* The death of Renee Walker, and the botched suicide attempt of Charles Logan.
* Allison Taylor is impeached for her complicity in covering up the Russian involvement in the deaths of Omar Hassan.
* The arrest of Chloe O'Brian.

## Cast

*Main article: Season 8 cast*

*See also: Recurring characters, Character appearances for Season 8*
### Starring

* Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer (24 episodes)
* Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian (24 episodes)
* Anil Kapoor as President Omar Hassan (15 episodes)
* Annie Wersching as Renee Walker (13 episodes)
* Mykelti Williamson as Brian Hastings (17 episodes)
* Katee Sackhoff as Dana Walsh (20 episodes)
* Chris Diamantopoulos as Rob Weiss (12 episodes)
* John Boyd as Arlo Glass (24 episodes)
* with Freddie Prinze Jr. as Cole Ortiz (24 episodes)
* and Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor (20 episodes)

### Special Guest Stars

* Gregory Itzin as Charles Logan (8 episodes)
* Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer (2 episodes)

### Guest starring

* Nazneen Contractor as Kayla Hassan (21 episodes)
* Necar Zadegan as Dalia Hassan (20 episodes)
* T.J. Ramini as Tarin Faroush (11 episodes)
* Mido Hamada as Samir Mehran (10 episodes)
* Clayne Crawford as Kevin Wade (9 episodes)
* Frank John Hughes as Tim Woods (8 episodes)
* Reed Diamond as Jason Pillar (8 episodes)
* Akbar Kurtha as Farhad Hassan (8 episodes)
* Navid Negahban as Jamot (8 episodes)
* Graham McTavish as Mikhail Novakovich (7 episodes)
* David Anders as Josef Bazhaev (6 episodes)
* Michael Filipowich as Nick Coughlin (6 episodes)
* Julian Morris as Agent Owen (6 episodes)
* Hrach Titizian as Nabeel (6 episodes)
* Jennifer Westfeldt as Meredith Reed (6 episodes)
* Ethan Rains as Ali (5 episodes)
* Gene Farber as Oleg Bazhaev (4 episodes)
* Doug Hutchison as Davros (4 episodes)
* Joel Bissonnette as Pavel Tokarev (4 episodes)
* Nick Jameson as Yuri Suvarov (3 episodes)
* Stephen Root as Bill Prady (3 episodes)
* Rami Malek as Marcos Al-Zacar (3 episodes)
* Jordan Marder as Dimitri (3 episodes)
* D.B. Sweeney as Mark Bledsoe (2 episodes)
* Paul Wesley as Stephen (2 episodes)
* with/and Bob Gunton as Secretary of State Ethan Kanin (10 episodes)
* with/and Callum Keith Rennie as Vladimir Laitanan (3 episodes)
* and Jurgen Prochnow as Sergei Bazhaev (7 episodes)
* and Michael Madsen as Jim Ricker (4 episodes)
* and Eriq La Salle as UN Secretary General (2 episodes)
* and Mare Winningham as Elaine Al-Zacar (2 episodes)

## Crew

*See also Season 8 production staff*
While the crew for the show's eighth season was nominally the same as in the previous season, there were a few changes and two big departures. Jon Cassar, who had been the show's lead director since the second season, decided against returning for this season and so was replaced by Brad Turner, who had been the show's second most prolific director after Cassar. Turner's own position as the show's secondary director was taken by Milan Cheylov, with Nelson McCormick being the guest director for this season; producer Michael Klick also directed two episodes, as he had done for the previous season. Production designer Joseph Hodges was another major departure, and so the show's first production designer, Carlos Barbosa returned to the position. Another returnee was Chip Johannessen, who had previously written for the series as a freelancer and now joined the staff as a full-time writer, as did his writing partner Patrick Harbinson.

## Airings

The following episodes were broadcast as back-to-back as two-hour episodes:

* Episodes 1 and 2, "4:00pm-5:00pm" and "5:00pm-6:00pm," on January 17, 2010
* Episodes 3 and 4, "6:00pm-7:00pm" and "7:00pm-8:00pm," on January 18, 2010
* Episodes 5 and 6, "8:00pm-9:00pm" and "9:00pm-10:00pm," on January 31, 2010 (UK only)
* Episodes 15 and 16, "6:00am-7:00am" and "7:00am-8:00am," on April 5, 2010
* Episodes 23 and 24, "2:00pm-3:00pm" and "3:00pm-4:00pm," on May 24, 2010

## Background information and notes

* Days 8 and 1 are the only seasons to not feature a sitting vice president.
* With Anil Kapoor as Omar Hassan, Day 8 is the only season to star a foreign head of state as a main star.
* Although this is mostly as a result of having no successful terrorist attacks, Day 8, with 100, has the shortest confirmed body count on 24.

## See also

* Day 8 antagonists
* Unnamed Day 8 characters
* DVD collections: Region 1, Region 2, Region 4
* Blu-ray collections: Region A, Region B

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