Howard Gordon discusses 24: Live Another Day with IGN

IGN TV: Obviously, at this point, you have so much on your plate. What was it about this show that made you say, “I need to make time for this. I want to go back to this” and return for 24: Live Another Day?
Howard Gordon: Honestly, it was almost like a bad joke — or a good joke. I had dinner with [Fox Networks Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer] Peter Rice, who mentioned very off-hand, “Are you doing the [24] movie?” He’s the boss, so he would know! I said, “You know, probably not…” It didn’t look like it was going to happen. He said, “Would you ever think of doing it as a limited series?” I said, “That’s a really interesting idea. I’m coincidentally having dinner with Kiefer on Wednesday” — it was, like, a Saturday night. I go, “I’ll talk about it with Kiefer.” Over dinner, we both said, “Nah, nah.” Then both of us, the next day, called each other. We just riffed like, “If we both did it, it would be this. What if it’s that?” Then I went to [20th Century Fox Television CEOs] Dana Walden and Gary Newman, and Dana and Gary said, “Let’s go over to [FOX Chairman of Entertainment] Kevin Reilly.” I just mulled on the idea for a little bit. Literally, she called Kevin, and Kevin said, “Come over!” And they said yes! But I said, “I’ll only do it if Evan and Manny [are involved] — and I can assemble the team.” We’re friends, so I knew their deals were coming up.

It was one of those things where, coming back to your question, everyone missed Jack and this show so much, even though four years ago, I would have bet the house that there was no way this moment would ever come. I was so happy, and we were all happy that we got out with our integrity. We were all very, very proud of the show. We had our bumps, we had our good seasons and our less good seasons, but by and large I think it was a very successful run creatively and one that ended fulfilling the promise that the show had in the beginning. We know we’re tempting fate at some level, but f**k it!

IGN: [Laughs] Right, right. That would help! When it comes to the Jack and Chloe dynamic, the final scene of the show was very tragic, but also touching and Jack was open with her in a way he usually isn’t. But it sounds like when we meet them again, it’s going to be very much the opposite of when we last saw them.
Gordon: It’s the first time between seasons that four years have elapsed. That’s a long time. Even between seasons [with the time jumps] — if you did the math, it’s probably 2027 or something like that! [Laughs] But all the characters have to progress along their own continuum, and Chloe’s had the kind of tragic upshot. Current events kind of gave us inspiration there too. We liked the idea of Chloe being a cross between Lisbeth Salander and Edward Snowden. That idea really got us psyched.

Check out the full interview at IGN which also discusses Audrey’s return, the writers being surprised that Heller was still alive, whether Aaron Pierce will return, and some juicy new details about Yvonne Strahovski’s character Kate Morgan. The Yvonne/Kate paragraph has some spoilers on the characters backstory.