Following Sunday’s Super Bowl LI on Fox, fans of “24” were treated to the premiere of spinoff series “24: Legacy.” The new drama evoked an immediate familiarity, with ticking clocks, high-stakes action and, yes, even a mole within CTU. The only thing missing is the iconic central character Jack Bauer, played to perfection for 14 years by Kiefer Sutherland (2001-2014), who won an Emmy for his performance in 2006 (watch above). Will “24: Legacy” and new star Corey Hawkins follow the original series’ path at the Emmy Awards? Vote in our poll below.
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Created by original producers Manny Coto and Evan Katz, the current 12-episode series reunites fans with the real-time concept, but has thus far withheld the urge to bring back former characters. After two episodes, there is nary a mention of Jack Bauer, Mary Lynn Rajskub‘s Chloe O’Brian, William Devane‘s James Heller, Carlos Bernard‘s Tony Almeida, Yvonne Strahovski‘s Kate Morgan or Jayne Atkinson‘s Karen Hayes, to name just a handful.
Instead, “24: Legacy” has introduced a slew of new characters to the “24” universe, including Hawkins as ex-Army ranger Eric Carter, Miranda Otto as former head of CTU Rebecca Ingram, Jimmy Smits as Senator John Donovan and Gerald McRaney as John’s influential father Henry Donovan. Early ratings have proven successful for Fox, as the first hour following Sunday’s Super Bowl nabbed more than 17 million viewers.
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Will this new edition live up to the original series in terms of being embraced by the Emmys? The TV landscape has changed dramatically since the days of “24,” with premium cable and streaming services now dominating much of the field. It’s been a whopping six years since one of the Big Four broadcast networks had a show nominated for Best Drama Series — CBS’s “The Good Wife” — and eight years since Fox last contended here, for “House.”
For its original run, “24” was nominated for 68 Emmy nominations and racked up 20 wins, including Best Drama Series (2006) and acting victories for Sutherland (2006) and supporting actress Cherry Jones (2009). Above, relive the moment from the 2006 Emmys when Sutherland claimed Best Drama Actor against Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under”), Denis Leary (“Rescue Me”), Christopher Meloni (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”) and Martin Sheen (“The West Wing”). He actually won two Emmys that night as he was also credited as a producer of the show when it took home Best Drama Series.
