24 Turns 16—And No Action Series Has Dethroned It

If you thought The Night Agent was filling some of that 24-sized hole in your TV-watching life—bad news: it wraps up for good after just four seasons. Yep, 40 episodes and done. Not even close to the mammoth output of classic action thrillers. And honestly, I get it, but a small part of me misses the days when shows went on for like six seasons with 20+ episodes each, cranking out twisty, high-octane TV until the actors looked as tired as their characters.

I’m not ashamed to admit I got hooked on The Night Agent for one reason: it feels like the closest thing to 24 we’re going to get right now. For anyone who doesn’t remember, 24 was absolute must-see TV when it dropped in 2001, right at a moment when America was obsessed with foiling terrorist plots. The country was reeling, and suddenly TV delivered Jack Bauer—a counter-terror agent who saved the day (and usually threatened to torture someone) every hour, for nine seasons and a bonus comeback run.

'24' Still Stands Alone

What makes 24 stand out, even after all these years? Lots of shows have tried the whole 'real-time' thing, and none have landed it like 24. Each season really did play out minute-by-minute over 24 hours, with enough ticking clocks and split screens to make even the calmest viewer anxious. No amount of binge-watching gets your pulse going quite like Kiefer Sutherland growling at analysts while everything goes sideways in real (TV) time.

And let’s talk characters: Jack Bauer is practically the anti-Peter Sutherland or Jack Reacher. The newer heroes are too squeaky-clean. Bauer? Every single episode he’s breaking rules, yelling at Chloe, and making decisions that would give any HR department a collective heart attack. He’s not alone, either—politicians and agents get in waaaay over their heads and make morally questionable choices right and left.

The action never pulled its punches, either. There’s a scene in season 8 where Bauer goes on a revenge rampage—let’s just say it’s violent enough that you could almost hear the network censors panicking. And every wild shootout or backroom brawl in 24 always had consequences. Bad calls led to innocent people getting caught in the crossfire, and Bauer rarely got the 'perfect hero' ending. I’ll say it now: 24 is one of those rare network shows that still feels sharp in 2026.

Will '24' Ever Actually Come Back?

Out of all action thrillers, 24 pretty much broke the mold. Not a lot of genre TV gets 76 Emmy nominations, let alone wins for Outstanding Drama Series. The only thing TV execs love more than revivals is milking a proven hit, so it’s not shocking there’s never-ending talk about bringing 24 back. They tried a spinoff, 24: Legacy, in 2017, but without Kiefer Sutherland... it quietly flamed out. That’s when talk started up about a true revival—and at one point, they even considered a new series. Lately, though, the chatter has been about making a movie instead.

If you're wondering where things stand: Imagine Entertainment stuck a 24 feature film on its slate for development as of February 2026. Plot? Absolutely locked up. But if I had to wager, expect an 'escape or rescue' mission that finally wraps up the whole Bauer-in-Russian-captivity cliffhanger from 24: Live Another Day. And before anyone panics about real-time not working in a movie: they already did a longer format once with 24: Redemption—that Africa-set story where Bauer protects kids from trigger-happy militia goons. Worked fine then; could work again.

Kiefer Sutherland on possibly suiting up as Jack Bauer again:
'Well, I would love it. I love playing that character, and it would be nice to figure out a way to tell a story that has an end. There's a lot of moving parts. Howard Gordon has written something that I thought was really interesting and exciting. It would be something that I'm certainly open to doing. I've certainly said that before. The people who are responsible for paying for it, they have to make their decisions based on other criteria, and so we'll see what happens. If it happens, I'd be thrilled to do it, and if it doesn't, we'll find other stuff.'

Sutherland is 59 now—definitely not the fresh-faced hero he was two decades ago. But if Tom Cruise can keep jumping off buildings, I don’t see why Jack Bauer can’t break out of a Russian prison for old times’ sake.

Why 24 Was Built to Last (And Could Work Again):

• Real-time tension: That on-screen clock still raises the stakes, every episode.
• Morally messy heroes: Bauer’s more complicated (read: yell-y, rule-breaking) than just about anyone currently on TV.
• Action that matters: Every gunfight and car chase actually came with real fallout.
• Never too neat: 24 refused happy endings—another reason people keep rewatching.
• Still relevant: Even if terrorism isn’t the constant worry it was in the 2000s, the paranoia and double-crossing play just as well in any era.

I’ll be honest: Rewatching 24 is basically an annual tradition now. Here’s hoping we hear, 'Previously on 24...' one more time—and this time, with an actual ending.