FOX has decided to cancel 24: Legacy after just one season according to Deadline.
We have seen the last 24: Legacy but maybe not the last of the 24 franchise. Fox has opted not to renew the latest installment in the 24 franchise for a second season. Meanwhile, the network, producing studio 20th TV and producers Howard Gordon and Brian Grazer are exploring a potential new, more anthological/event series 24 incarnation.
This decision shouldn’t come as a surprise. The writing was on the wall as the show struggled in the viewership department right from the start. Despite being heavily promoted and debuting after the second most-watched Super Bowl ever, it received the lowest post-Super Bowl ratings in 14 years. It was only downhill from there with ratings dropping nearly every episode.
FOX boss Dana Walden said in March that she was “a little sad” about Legacy‘s disappointing ratings performance and that “we’re just going to have to see how our pilots come in, how it continues to perform and weigh all of the information we have in May.”
The Hollywood Reporter reveals that executive producer Howard Gordon flew back from his sabbatical in Spain in an unsuccessful attempt to save 24: Legacy:
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Gordon flew back to the U.S. in April and early May in an effort to revive 24, with talks said to have included a pitch to save Legacy.
It looks like Fox weighed all of the information and listened to the pitch, but ultimately decided that a second season wasn’t worth pursuing.
It’s extremely rare for a network to cancel a show in the same year that it aired after the Super Bowl – it hasn’t happened since 1995.
Aside from low viewership, the show was poorly reviewed by critics and fans. On review aggregator website Metacritic, Legacy has a 49 Metascore and 4.8 user score compared to a 70 Metascore and 8.7 user score for the previous installment, Live Another Day.
Legacy was also subject to controversy with The New York Times referring to the premiere as “a one-hour Super Bowl ad for Islamophobia.” A few weeks later, the show came under fire again for using footage from the 2013 Westgate shopping mall shooting in Kenya to depict a fictional terrorist attack.
After the finale, producers revealed some of their plans for a second season. John Donovan was to become the President, with Eric Carter working as a CTU agent trying to prevent a large scale threat in a different country. That won’t happen now.
24: Legacy‘s cast included Corey Hawkins, Jimmy Smits, Miranda Otto, Teddy Sears, Dan Bucatinsky, Anna Diop, Ashley Thomas, and Coral Pena. Best of luck to them in their future endeavours.
As Deadline reports, this is not necessarily the end of the series. It’s possible the network will try another reboot with new characters, or get the original cast back together at some point in the future (right now Kiefer Sutherland is busy on Designated Survivor). But it’s definitely the end of this 24: Legacy incarnation.
103 Comments
Comments ClosedRyan
June 7, 2017 at 9:55 pm24 Spoilers
June 8, 2017 at 12:03 amYou’d think that the writers would be hungrier than ever and eager to prove that this franchise can survive without Jack Bauer, but no, they completely phoned it in. Felt like they didn’t even try at all.
Justin
June 9, 2017 at 5:33 pmKevin
June 8, 2017 at 5:27 pmTJ
June 10, 2017 at 1:26 amChlojack
June 7, 2017 at 10:14 pmdadvader
June 26, 2017 at 10:53 amMarlon
June 7, 2017 at 10:23 pmNo we wait.
Another 3 years? 4 years?
They really fucked up
Justin
June 8, 2017 at 12:56 amstlphx
June 7, 2017 at 10:36 pmDavid
June 1, 2020 at 12:01 amKevin
June 7, 2017 at 10:37 pmFelipeJack
June 7, 2017 at 10:37 pmThat, at this, time they honoured 24 and Jack Bauer and only brings the original and true 24 with Jack Bauer with the minimal standard quality Live Another Day had. Anything besides that would just have the potential to damage even more the name of the show.
Dan
June 8, 2017 at 12:54 amLuke
June 7, 2017 at 10:51 pmDavid
June 1, 2020 at 12:03 amCJ
June 8, 2017 at 12:40 amJustin Urciuoli
June 8, 2017 at 12:44 amDave26
June 8, 2017 at 1:35 am24 Spoilers
June 8, 2017 at 3:09 amI don’t think it’s the right path for the series. When you know up-front that these characters will only be around for twelve episodes it’s hard to become invested in their storylines. And I feel it will just make the writers even lazier – they’ll have even less incentive to develop characters if they’re only intended to be around for a short time. It’ll end up being paper thin characters that are revealed as moles and/or killed. ZzZzZ.
The best parts of 24 were the character relationships and story arcs that spanned multiple seasons. Jack and Palmer dynamic, Jack and Tony bromance, Tony and Michelle romance, Jack and Chloe’s friendship, etc… Same goes for the villains too – Nina’s death was satisfying because there was three seasons of buildup to it.
None of that is possible in an anthology series. It’ll never come close to reaching the heights of 24’s original run. I feel like they at least had the right idea with 24: Legacy, even though they completely botched the execution of it. This anthology concept just seems like a very flawed idea right from the start.
Chlojack
June 8, 2017 at 9:42 am24 Spoilers
June 8, 2017 at 8:37 pmUnfortunately, being on 24 at this stage does nothing for an actors career. It’s not going to get awards recognition, it’s not going to have huge ratings that gives an actor exposure, and it’s certainly not going to provide job security.
Justin
June 8, 2017 at 12:25 pmI think an Anthology series could work. I think a possible Anthology series will have some old cast members along with a new cast that will carry over from season to season. Howard Gordon has always admitted that 24 was best when the viewers can invest in the characters.
One can argue that seasons 7 and 8 were connected as seasons 7 and 8 had most of the same cast, and still referenced each other. Season 9 was connected with season 8 (Russia story) along with season 6 (Cheng). 24 Legacy was its own thing with some connection to 24 solitary.
It’s kind of hard to judge the Anthology format when no details has been released on possible plots and characters. But I am willing to give Howard and Fox a chance. New stories, new characters and new settings can be original and fresh IMO. But I still think some characters will carry over and the seasons would have some connectivity. It’s better they start from scratch again, take their time and craft a very good story.
Maybe Kiefer will do a 24 movie or 24 TV movie or another event series in 2019, 2020, or 2021 along with Chloe, Kate, Tony etc.
Everyone here is entitled to their opinion. No right or wrong here. I will hold my judgment on this idea until we see possibly see or hear more in the future. Won’t be a while as they are just getting started on development. Probably will get an update at summer press tour
24 Spoilers
June 8, 2017 at 11:24 pmI wouldn’t say season 7 and 8 had “most” of the same cast – only two characters introduced in S7 carried over to S8 (Renee Walker and Allison Taylor). None of the characters introduced in 8 carried over to 9, none of the characters introduced in 9 carried over to 10, none of the characters from 10 will carry over to 11.
So I would argue it has already practically been an anthology type show for nearly the last decade. With the exception of Jack and Chloe (who are also gone now), each of the last four seasons has been almost an entire reset in cast, location, and storyline. This isn’t necessarily a fresh direction for the franchise, it’s just another way of saying there will be an entirely new cast yet again.
And to be honest, it feels more like a concession that these writers are no longer able to create compelling long-lasting characters. Sadly I think they’re burnt out and have run out of ideas, the best course of action would be for them to hand the reins over to someone else.
Justin
June 9, 2017 at 7:10 pmTJ
June 10, 2017 at 1:29 amEvan Ginzburg
June 8, 2017 at 12:52 amJustin
June 8, 2017 at 12:55 amJoshua
June 8, 2017 at 1:31 amDave26
June 8, 2017 at 1:35 amAndry
June 8, 2017 at 2:08 amTJ
June 10, 2017 at 1:31 amBrad
June 8, 2017 at 3:20 amPersonally, I would happily accept the show never resurfacing again. As they say, time will tell.
Paul
June 8, 2017 at 3:59 amX
June 11, 2017 at 4:31 amThat was answered in Solitary.
Why was Tony given plans to escape prison?
So the government could use him for assignments as shown in Legacy.
There’s nothing more that needs to be said.
Tony is simply a black-ops mercenary.
24 is over.
It doesn’t need to come back.
David
June 1, 2020 at 12:33 amJoshua
June 8, 2017 at 3:53 amTJ
June 10, 2017 at 10:56 pmEvans
June 8, 2017 at 4:47 amWouldntYouLikeToKnow
June 8, 2017 at 5:23 amI feel like the only one who still cared was Sean Callery. He always brings his A-game.
shafagh
June 8, 2017 at 7:47 amCatherine
June 8, 2017 at 7:51 amHank
June 8, 2017 at 9:08 amGerry Mander
June 8, 2017 at 9:17 amLegacy deserved to get cancelled, an anthology series would be a terrible idea (for any number of reasons), and any idea that ’24’ is not about Jack Bauer – or can succeed without him – should officially be put to rest as of now.
You want to continue the franchise? Best answer… DON’T. A far better option would be to finish the franchise on a strong note… bring back Joel Surnow and make a ’24’ movie to give Jack a proper and satisfying send-off. One last limited season would be nice but 1) not with this current writing team, and 2) Kiefer simply won’t have time to make one for the next few years at least.
A movie could be eminently doable but sadly not likely at this late stage… face it folks, this could be it, and if it is, it’s been one helluva ride.
Adieu and goodnight (until further notice).
XAM
June 8, 2017 at 8:15 amDWordy
June 8, 2017 at 8:41 amXAM
June 9, 2017 at 4:59 amJohnGormleyJG
June 11, 2017 at 4:14 amHank
June 8, 2017 at 9:08 amThe Predictor
June 8, 2017 at 9:15 amX
June 11, 2017 at 4:34 amAnd prequels are pointless.
Shirley taylor
June 8, 2017 at 10:30 amSeba
June 8, 2017 at 11:06 amFrank
June 8, 2017 at 11:38 amRonnieC6
June 8, 2017 at 12:30 pmHank
June 8, 2017 at 12:42 pmGerry Mander
June 8, 2017 at 1:55 pmA movie could be written, prepped, shot, and released in two years even with Kiefer’s other commitments… and whilst he’s still physically able. Whatever happened to that alleged idea for a movie that was supposedly concocted by Brian Grazer shortly after Live Another Day finished… was that story even remotely accurate?
And with Jack’s current incarceration in Russia, plus all the political talk swirling in the real world about Russian shenanigans worldwide, there would be no shortage of story ideas right now for such a venture.
I still hold that a movie is not only the best next step for ’24’ but frankly the only real viable step…
Billy Mayer
June 8, 2017 at 12:31 pmMariah
June 8, 2017 at 3:00 pmChlojack
June 8, 2017 at 4:07 pmAlso, if they go the anthology route, that might allow some of the actors who are currently on a series to appear (just like the Prison Break cast, who are regulars on another show were eligible to star in the reboot since it was a limited series).
Jack Power
June 8, 2017 at 4:22 pmI know that in the beginning of 24 the people who worked there and kiefer Sutherland thought that fox won’t order 24 after the pilot episode as a series and after this they thought it will only have 13 episodes and then Fox order another 11 episodes and after 15 years we have 9 season of 24.
The writers in the original 24 create an amazing series but they were very modest and they didn’t take a renewal as granted when they wrote it.
And now they want to do an anthology series and replace again all of the cast. Why they think that it will be better than 24 Legacy rating, it will probably be worst in the rating.
24 was best in introducing new cast member with the old ones in every season.
So they just need do a season with Kate Morgan, Chloe O’Brian and Tony Almeida if they you want that it will succeed and bring back Jack Bauer when Kiefer Sutherland is available.
Becky
June 8, 2017 at 5:30 pmJustin Urciuoli
June 8, 2017 at 6:48 pmNow that 24 Legacy aired and producers have feedback on what the audience wants, I really believe Howard and Brian and Fox will work there asses off to recover the franchise and make the next iteration of 24 the best one they can to win over fans again and not to have it one and done again. It would be too embarrassing for them if they had another one and done. I think the next iteration will be the original flavour and could be fresh and original and new. The franchise needs to evolve. Legacy was a spinoff that did not take risks or evolve. The anthology format can potentially do that.
When Fox first announced plans for more 24 in 2015, they said it would be 1 installment without Kiefer and they were not thinking of continuing show without him. Meaning I think Fox and producers had a back up plan and always knew they wanted to continue with franchise even if Legacy failed. Legacy was a limited series like last only meant to continue if it was successful. So now they go back to the drawing table and start over again. The fact that Fox announced plans for another 24 on the same day Legacy was cancelled, shows Fox still has interest in the franchise and has not shut the door completely and is open to more 24 and working with Howard and Brian.Never say never in TV. Everyone though 24 was dead after 2010 but it came back in 2014 and 2017. 24 is like a cat with nine lives aha.
With 24 Legacy being cancelled, this will only force Kiefer to reprise his role soon enough.
Justin Urciuoli
June 8, 2017 at 6:57 pmAcer4666
June 8, 2017 at 7:02 pmChlojack
June 8, 2017 at 7:45 pmOr if they do the rescue of Jack Bauer from a Russian prison storyline which many fans have wanted to see since LAD ended.
24 Spoilers
June 9, 2017 at 3:02 pmCould be literally anything in entirely different genres each episode – police chasing a suspect, firefighters rescuing someone from a building, surgeons frantically trying to save a life, a hostage negotiator, DEA agents busting a drug cartel, a spy having his cover blown and needing to escape, an air marshal preventing a plane hijacking, basically whatever. They’d be able to try a whole bunch of ideas that maybe aren’t sustainable for an entire season but could make a fun episode of TV.
Perhaps that’s straying too far from 24, but if they truly believe real time is the star of the show and not the characters (something I very much disagree with), they might as well try something like that.
But I’d be happy with a more traditional season as long as it had quality writing like the earlier seasons. Competent characters doing competent things, that shouldn’t be too much to ask for.
Justin
June 9, 2017 at 5:39 pm24 Spoilers
June 10, 2017 at 4:10 amAnd having feedback from 24: Legacy only helps if they actually do something with it. They haven’t acknowledged any of the fan criticism at all. The writers appear to be in denial and actually think they made a great season. For example, Manny Coto’s public statement on how they were “so creatively pleased” with Legacy hasn’t been reassuring.
Justin
June 10, 2017 at 3:58 pmI think Manny Coto, Evan Katz, David Fury, Alex Gansa, Chip J, are all wonderful writers. Not showrunners.
I hope Fox, Howard and Brian all take the fan criticism into consideration
X
June 11, 2017 at 4:54 amWhen they say ‘anthology’, I hope they mean one season that has nothing to do with other seasons, focusing on something entirely different every season.
I’d love season long Twilight Zone / Outer Limits stories.
Science-fiction.
Slow-burn thrillers.
Anything that’s not dealing with CTU or terrorism.
And if they ever have the balls to bring Jack Bauer back as the villain working for Russia who succeeds in his mission to bring down America, then that could be interesting for a final season.
Maybe have sequel seasons every now and then.
Example:
24: Invasion
– An alien invasion prompts a group of strangers to work together to survive.
24: Vengeance
– A young man in 1920s New York decides to fight crime when bank robbers take refuge in his family’s home.
You can have all kinds of great stories.
Even follow up some of those later on.
24: Vengeance can have another season down the line where this guy becomes a real-life superhero and the first Vengeance season was his origin story. (24: Vengeance 2)
24: Invasion 2 could be the humans escaping Earth.
Sebastian Monroe
June 9, 2017 at 9:48 amThe U.S. government needs Jack Bauer’s intel on the events from LAD and have learned from Chloe O’Brien that he is either dead or in a Russian prison. She is able to determine that he is indeed alive. Since the U.S. government does not want to start a war or negotiations with Russia, they authorize a black-ops unit led by Tony Almeida to break him out.
RonnieC6
June 9, 2017 at 1:21 pmA close friend of mine is very close to Glenn Morshower, who played Aaron Pierce. I met Aaron a few times in the past, and, through my friend, gave him a verbal outline of my story. He loved it.
Since then, LAD aired, so I had to change my story to begin shortly after LAD ended. My story takes place in Los Angeles, and Jack, Tony and Chloe are back. I would be happy to get my story to either Howard Gordon or anyone else involved with 24.
Hank
June 9, 2017 at 2:13 pmWhat makes Justin full of crap, is too few realize you can’t give story ideas, why? Because well you may not, if they take an idea, poof, lawsuit. Legal won’t let them. So unless you are specifically hired or have an actual in at Fox, the people who have final say, not an actor on a show who has no say what so ever, don’t waste your breath.
WouldntYouLikeToKnow
June 8, 2017 at 9:26 pmUnless they had some big movie star (Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Gary Oldman, Johnny Depp) as the protagonist, so that people will watch it solely for them, it’s just going to fail. Nobody will watch it, because Legacy proved these writers don’t know what to do, how to create compelling characters and how to be creative.
And they sure as hell will NOT get a big name movie star.
So the only way this will work is if they actually expand on the established universe with old characters and better writers. Bring back Joel Surnow and Michael Loceff. Write a compelling story for Tony. Have him, during one of his contracts, get involved with Mandy. Somehow find a way to naturally get Kate Morgan involved. The political story could center on what Mike Novick or Keith Palmer are up to.
Just expand on the “lore.” Have fun with the characters. Get them into difficult situations. Let them make tough choices with real consequences. With established characters you don’t even need to try and fail to get us to care about new ones. We’ll automatically care if Tony, Kate or whoever are in tough situations because we already know them and want them to make it out okay.
Also, the show is called “24”, not “Terrorist attacks on a huge scale.”
It’s totally fine to have a season about former CTU/CIA operatives doing mercenary work anywhere in the world and just trying to deal with some personal betrayals and old grudges, or trying to find a place in the world. Trying to find a reason to keep going after all the shit that went down. A lot of characters still have a lot of potential. Even Belcheck. Or Chase if you declare that one novel not canon.
There is so much potential, if you just dig for it. Especially Tony is such a complex character. You’re not going to achieve that with ANOTHER all-new cast in 12 episodes.
Joshua
June 8, 2017 at 11:23 pmJack Power
June 9, 2017 at 5:29 amAnd if they want a good season then do it with the old cast.
X
June 11, 2017 at 4:57 amthe arrow
June 9, 2017 at 7:13 amsign this, to try to get Kate Morgan’s character for the next-spinoff
JohnGormleyJG
June 9, 2017 at 9:19 amChlojack
June 9, 2017 at 9:44 amthe arrow
June 9, 2017 at 12:28 pmthe arrow
June 9, 2017 at 12:27 pmjust a try to create some buzz for it from a die hard fan, who was thoroughly disappointed by Legacy, I thought, why not give it a shot?
XAM
June 10, 2017 at 1:46 pmChlojack
June 9, 2017 at 9:47 amthe arrow
June 9, 2017 at 12:27 pmMilo
June 9, 2017 at 1:18 pmJustin
June 9, 2017 at 6:16 pmJoshua
June 9, 2017 at 7:21 pmMarlon
June 10, 2017 at 12:35 amI think a pretty good twist would be to see the gang try and rescue Jack from Russia to find he is not in prison but has escaped deep into Siberia somewhere and gone relcluse.
Tony remembers a hideout/meeting place from when they worked together and they eventually find him.
Russians secretly follow the gang so that they can apprehend Jack.
And it becomes a chase to the finish line where the US government are waiting to pick them all up at the border (with Kim waiting) and at the end….Tony sacrifices himself to save Jack who has already been injured/shot but is looked after by the paramedics (similar to the end of season 2) with Kim and family watching over him. THE END
thom
June 10, 2017 at 7:24 pmI’ve got an idea to set Jack back to the game…
A terrorist threat on Russia would put the country on its knees. Then, the russian intelligence would realize Bauer is an expert about this group’s leader.
The country would have 24 hours to prevent the ultimate attack. The russian president, desperate, would make a deal with Jack: help for freedom.
Beyond the terrorists, Jack would deal with some evil russian agents who would try to kill him once the threat was gone. CTU could be involved: they’ve satellites, agents on Russia and databases on the terrorists. Maybe CTU could have political problems on giving info to the russians. Now we have lots of conflicts and the possibility to bring back lots of characters!
Spoiler alert: in the end, after saving the day, Jack would die as a free man, and once again as a hero. So Kiefer could accept to return (one last time) to the role.
X
June 11, 2017 at 5:01 amThat or Jack comes to America to take it down as a Russian insurgent and he is the villain of the season.
There is no rescuing Jack because Jack is there of his own free will in exchange for peace.
I’m happy with Live Another Day’s ending because I know the ending for any follow-up (Jack’s fate) will very very likely suck.
I loved LAD’s ending as a definitive ending.
Hated that they made Legacy (but still enjoyed it).
XAM
June 13, 2017 at 10:28 amDavid
June 2, 2020 at 11:37 pmMilo
June 10, 2017 at 5:50 pmKurt Cobain
June 13, 2017 at 5:02 amLegacy reminds me of a remix album by Michael Jackson that was released about 20 years ago. A bunch of artists took a bunch of mostly B-sides and remixed the crap out of it and threw in unreleased material intended for the Addams Family Values soundtrack and called it an album. But 24: Legacy was much worse.
janeyboy
July 13, 2017 at 2:59 amI don’t care about the BIG BAD or how grand the stakes are, but the storytelling and the original characters who could make any plot emotional. They took time to make us care about them back in the day. Season 1 is my favourite, and had the least END OF THE WORLD plot of all. It truly had unexpected twists and turns, and not just because 24 was new at the time, but because it didn’t follow the formula some of the later seasons did–still loved them compared to Legacy.
I’d love a small for TV movie to send off JACK and 24. I can’t see a movie ever happening, and more seasons at this point would hurt 24 if they’re anything like Legacy was. It’s sad, but I’m happy this was cancelled. I had no problem with the lead, he was great. I actually very much enjoyed the finale and that scene with the young girl. Wish the rest of the season had some depth!
Also, don’t hotwire cars in 2017. Don’t show real terror footage in ep. 4. Awful.
Ivo Machado
July 27, 2017 at 9:35 pmBasically I never watched it when it aired, for whatever reason. When all the hype around 24:Legacy came about, I ended up watching the premiere after the super bowl. I liked the concept and so I watched the remainder of the series. By the end of the season, I was surprised at the concept of killing off one of the main characters of the series, which was shocking at the time.
I liked the general concept so much I decided to give 24 a run on Netflix.
By the time I got into the first couple of episodes of season 1, I got so hooked on the series I actually ran through seasons 1-9 within 2 months (just finished season 9 last week).
I am now going through major 24 withdrawal and believe Jack Bauer to be the only real protagonist of 24.
24:Legacy got me into 24.
24 got me hooked and now thinking 24:legacy to be a total knock off..
We need more Jack Bauer and Chloe O’Brian.
Jonathan
August 4, 2017 at 3:12 pmThe producers didn’t realize that 24 IS Jack Bauer. And the franchise IS Kiefer Sutherland in the same way that Dirty Harry IS Clint Eastwood. There’s no substitute. At All. That’s why it was so easy to kill off major characters….because Bauer is the heart of the show. They were doing that long before Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead. Even if you could have someone fill Jack Bauer’s shoes, they really did not cast the right person in “Legacy.” He didn’t have charisma, take-no-prisoners attitude, tortured soul, or plain badassery as Jack.
If Sutherland has a change of heart (after all, his character never really was given closure) and is willing to return after Designated Survivor runs its course, the season needs to be 24 episodes, not this 12-episode “event series” crap.
I also think 3 seasons would be great (though I doubt Sutherland would commit to that) because the original run seemed to follow 3-season story arcs. With 9 seasons now done (I’m leaving out “Legacy”), one more 3-season arc to wrap up his character would be great. And while I understand that Jack Bauer is a tragic character, I’d like to see him finally reunited with his family for good at the end.
Also, bring back Yvonne Strahovsky! She was one of the best things about “Live Another Day.” She and Jack would make a good team, and she was a lot more fun to watch than the red-headed agent that jack worked with a couple times (can’t remember her name offhand). Also, of course, bring back Chloe–but, bring back the non-hacker anarchist Chloe. And, you can always bring back Tony.
David
June 2, 2020 at 11:28 pmJake Higgins
August 10, 2017 at 10:06 amDavid
June 2, 2020 at 11:25 pmPaula M Ybarra
October 16, 2017 at 12:28 am