Fox developing two 24 spin-offs, including a legal thriller

A 24 spin-off? More like 48.

Recently we learned that Fox was working on a 24 prequel. Turns out the network is actually working on two projects based on the action thriller.

The first is, yes, a prequel that explores the early days of Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland in the original series). The second is actually a legal drama, which will move the iconic ticking clock real-time format into an entirely different genre.

Fox CEO and Chairman Gary Newman was asked at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills on Thursday if the format — which originally launched in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks– still has real-world relevance. Last year, Fox launched a 24 spin-off, 24: Legacy, starring Corey Hawkins, which was canceled after one season.

“We feel [the 24 format] still has a lot of power and a lot of legs,” Newman says. “Times are fraught now, these are emotional times. Security continues to be a big issue. In terms of the prequel, people love Jack Bauer and [we] would tell a story that I think the audience would very much connect with — of how he became that character. It would be set in the same world of security.”

As for the legal thriller, “the idea of moving the franchise from terrorism and security into the legal world is something we talked about as far back as season 3 or 4 of 24 where, from time to time, there would be discussions of spinoffs. You have to look for an arena where the stakes are high and time matters. [The legal version of 24] deals with an execution of a prisoner and there are just 24 hours left until the execution is supposed to take place. So the stakes are high and it potentially has a lot of the same values of the original 24. Regardless of the political climate, the time’s always right for a show of that type.”