24 (TV series)

***24*** is an American action drama television series created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran for Fox. The series stars Kiefer Sutherland as US counter-terrorist federal agent Jack Bauer. Each season covers 24 consecutive hours in Bauer's life using the real time method of narration. Multiple interrelated plots are featured in each episode, which often include Bauer's contacts in perilous crisis. The show premiered on November 6, 2001, and spanned 204 episodes over nine seasons, with the series finale broadcast on July 14, 2014. In addition, the television film *24: Redemption* aired between seasons six and seven, on November 23, 2008. *24* is a production by Lucasfilm Television and 20th Century Fox Television.

The series begins with Bauer working for the Los Angeles–based Counter Terrorist Unit, in which he is a highly proficient agent with an "ends justify the means" approach. With the exception of the final season, this disregard for conventional morality puts him at odds with others until he is usually proven right. Throughout the series, most of the main plot elements unfold like a political thriller, as they lead to deaths, twists and cliffhanger endings. Bauer uses people on both sides of the law in his attempts to prevent terrorist attacks and bring down those responsible, sometimes at great personal expense. These attacks include presidential assassination attempts, bomb detonations, bioterrorism, cyberwarfare, as well as conspiracies that involve government and corporate corruption.

*24* received generally positive reviews, and its fifth season was universally praised by critics. However, the series was criticized for Islamophobia and glorification of torture. The show won numerous awards throughout its run, including Best Drama Series at the 2004 Golden Globe Awards and Outstanding Drama Series at the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards. In May 2013, it was announced that *24* would return with a 12-episode limited series titled *24: Live Another Day*, which aired from May 5 to July 14, 2014, bringing the episode count to 204. A spin-off series, *24: Legacy*, premiered on February 5, 2017, lasting a single 12-episode season. *24* is the longest-running U.S. espionage- or counterterrorism-themed television drama, surpassing both *Mission: Impossible* and the UK's *The Avengers*.

## Synopsis

### Premise

*24* is a serial drama starring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer about the efforts of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit to protect the United States from terrorist plots. The episodes take place over the course of one hour, depicting events as they happen, in real time. To emphasize the real-world flow of events, a clock is prominently displayed on-screen during the show, and there is a regular use of split screens, a technique used to depict multiple scenes occurring at the same time.

Each episode typically follows Bauer, officials in the U.S. government, and the conspirators behind the events of the day, often simultaneously. *24* is known for employing plot twists which may arise as antagonists adapt, objectives evolve or larger-scale operations unfold. Stories also involve interpersonal drama, delving into the private lives of the characters. As part of a recurring theme, characters are frequently confronted with ethical dilemmas. Examples of this are a bombing in Season 2, which can only be prevented by blowing Bauer's cover, and an ultimatum in Season 3, in which a terrorist agrees not to carry out an attack if a high-ranking CTU official is killed. Season 4 is also notable for a scene in which two men—one of whom possesses crucial information—are dying in a room with only one surgeon.