24

24 is an hour-long drama series produced by the Fox Network. It was created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran and premiered in the United States in November 2001.

The show stars Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer and focuses on the events of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles. In order to present a suspenseful real-time narrative, each episode typically follows not only Bauer and CTU, but a group in the U.S. government, the terrorists or conspirators behind the day's events, and one or more civilian families. One of the series' directorial trademarks is the frequent use of the split screen.

24 concluded airing its sixth season on May 21st, 2007, and was shortly thereafter renewed for an additional two seasons. The seventh season was set to premiere on January 13, 2008. However, due to delays in production and a strike by the Writers' Guild of America, the premiere of Season 7 has been postponed until January 2009.

Season 1
Season 1 starts and ends at midnight on the day of the California Presidential Primary. The plot is that Serbian terrorists are plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate, David Palmer, while Jack Bauer's wife and daughter have been targeted by the Serbian individuals unknown to Jack. Jack suspects that people that he works with in CTU may have been involved in both, and works simultaneously at defending Palmer from attack while unraveling the situation behind the capture of his wife and daughter. Palmer also must defend his own son from allegations of murder. Read more on Season 1....

Season 2
Season 2 starts and ends at 8:00am. The two main plots of the season are stopping a nuclear weapon from detonating inside Los Angeles and preventing a war between the United States and several Middle Eastern countries, which would benefit European & American businessmen who orchestrated the day's events.

Subplots include Kim Bauer running away with a child from an abusive step-father, Kate Warner suspecting that her sister's Middle Eastern fiancé is a terrorist, President Palmer attempting to find a traitor in his administration and George Mason dying of radiation poisoning. Read more on Season 2....

Season 3
Season 3 starts and ends at 1:00pm. The main plot of the series is trying to prevent the spread of a deadly virus in Los Angeles by a British terrorist mastermind. Subplots include President Palmer being blackmailed by a major supporter of his party, Jack Bauer's reaction to a relationship between Kim Bauer and Chase Edmunds and Tony Almeida's conflict between his job and the woman he loves. Read more on Season 3....

Season 4
Season 4 starts and ends at 7:00am. There are several main plots including the kidnapping of the Secretary of Defense and his daughter, the attempted meltdown of several nuclear power plants, the destruction of Air Force One and a nuclear weapon heading towards Los Angeles, all masterminded by a Turkish terrorist. At the end of this season, Jack Bauer is forced to stage his own death and start a new life. Read more on Season 4....



Season 5
Season 5 starts and ends at 7:00am with the assassination of David Palmer and Michelle Dessler, with Tony Almeida and Chloe O'Brian also targeted. Jack Bauer is forced to come back to CTU after his presumed death to fight Russian terrorists and, ultimately, his own government. Read more on Season 5....

Season 6
Season 6 starts and ends at 6:00am. After many negotiations and concessions by President Wayne Palmer, the Chinese return Jack Bauer to the United States so that he can be surrendered to terrorist Abu Fayed, who is attempting to have rival Hamri al-Assad taken out by falsely accusing his cell of being responsible for numerous terrorist attacks over the previous 11 weeks. Upon discovering the truth, Jack manages to escape and, with the help of Assad (who actually intends to renounce terrorism and broker a peace with the United States) is leading the hunt for Fayed. Jack's assigment involves thwarting Fayed, securing several suitcase nukes, stopping a Russian arms dealer responsible for helping Fayed and bringing a Chinese government agent, along with an American industralist to justice in order to avert a full-scale nuclear conflict. Read more on Season 6....

Season 7
Season 7 of 24 was set to premiere on January 13, 2008 with two episodes, and an additional episode on January 14. On November 6, 2007, FOX announced that due to the WGA strike, the season was to be postponed indefinitely until production can resume, so that the show could continue its tradition of airing all 24 episodes without breaks. The season has since been confirmed to air in January 2009.

A two-hour prequel to Season 7 will air on Sunday November 23, 2008.

Season 8
Season 8 of 24 was set to air in 2009. However, due to the postponement of Season 7, the eighth season may end up airing in 2010 or 2011.

Awards
24 has been honored with numerous award nominations, particularly technical awards (such as editing, directing, and sound). The following is a selected list of awards the show has won. See the complete list of awards and nominations at the Internet Movie Database.


 * 2002
 * Emmy Awards - Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (for episode Day 1 12:00am-1:00am)


 * 2003
 * Emmy Awards - Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) - Sean Callery
 * Golden Globes - Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Drama) - Kiefer Sutherland


 * 2004
 * Golden Globes - Best Television Series (Drama)
 * Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series - Kiefer Sutherland


 * 2006
 * Emmy Awards - Outstanding Drama Series
 * Emmy Awards - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series - Kiefer Sutherland
 * Emmy Awards - Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series - Jon Cassar (for episode Day 5 7:00am-8:00am)
 * Emmy Awards - Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) - Sean Callery
 * Emmy Awards - Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series - David Latham (for episode Day 5 7:00am-8:00am)
 * Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series - Kiefer Sutherland


 * 2007
 * Emmy Awards - Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series (for episode Day 6 10:00pm-11:00pm)

Series

 * Pure 24 (2003) was a talk-show-format series that aired on the BBC after each episode of season 2. It featured audience discussion, previews, contests, and interviews with the cast and crew.
 * 24 Inside is an ongoing talk-show-format webcast consisting of interviews the cast and crew of the show.
 * 24: Conspiracy was a spin-off series of one-minute mobisodes, taking place during Season 4.
 * The Rookie is a series of short webisodes sponsored by Degree.
 * Day Zero was an animated web spin-off set before the first series.
 * Podcasts are regularly updated audio files where fans review the show.

Specials

 * 24 Heaven (2002) was a special aired on the BBC after the first season ended in the U.K.
 * 24: The Postmortem (2002) was a special aired on the BBC after the first season ended in the U.K.
 * 24: Access All Areas (2003) was a special aired on the BBC. Host Natalie Casey visits the major Los Angeles filming locations for season 2.
 * 24 Exposed is a two part documentary going behind the scenes of the production of the second season finale featured on the second season DVD.
 * See more DVD special features...



Books and comics

 * There are five graphic novels.
 * There are fourteen reference books.
 * There are several novels based on the series, collected in the 24: Declassified series. There is also one book set after the events of Day 1.
 * There is a 24 Top Trumps special based on Season 4.

Other media

 * 24: The Game is an official spin-off game set between Days 2 and 3.
 * There are three soundtracks, and one soundtrack featuring remixes of the theme tune.
 * The first six seasons are available on DVD.
 * Robert Cochran & Joel Surnow wrote a screenplay based on a story from Howard Gordon called 24: The Movie. The script is finished but production has not yet begun.