Shortly before the first act break of 24: Legacy, a credit appears on-screen reading: “Based on the television series "24" created by Joel Surnow & Robert Cochran”. It’s a slightly jarring sentence, particularly as, by this point, the opening minutes had already showcased a number of 24’s signature stylistic choices: a pre-episode voiceover informing viewers of when the episode takes place and that it does so in real time; split-screens; on-screen digital clock readouts; and the digital clock font for all of its text.
That’s to say nothing of the series’ narrative basis, existing in the same world as the characters and plots of the Jack Bauer era. Indeed, there’s a sense of considerable familiarity. CTU is the prime agency once again, one character mentions a relation to Edgar Stiles, a handful of scenes are clearly evocative of memorable moments past, and a fan favourite is set to return at some point during the 12-episode run.
So while there may be no Jack Bauer, no Chloe O’Brian, and no “Damn it!”, Legacy very much feels like a continuation of the series in both substance and heart.
Leading the new cast is Corey Hawkins as Eric Carter, an ex-Army Ranger who has returned to the United States after leading a successful mission to kill terrorist leader Ibrahim Bin-Khalid. He, along with his wife, Nicole (Anna Diop), and his fellow squad members have all been given new identities for protection, but Eric quickly learns that he and his team have been targeted by a group of Bin-Khalid’s followers. He’s forced to turn to former CTU director Rebecca Ingram (Miranda Otto) for help both in surviving and in trying to prevent a series of terrorist attacks, but both have grave concerns over who to trust.
A lack of trust has long been a facet of 24; the first season spent its entire run with the threat of a traitor looming over it, while virtually every season afterwards featured at least one individual betraying CTU, the FBI, or the President. By this point, it’s such a familiar trope for the series that not only is it overly played out but is tiring, particularly once you consider that in seven and a half seasons after Nina Myers, 24 only once made a mole reveal shock or even matter. In fairness to Legacy, though, it establishes about as early as it can that there’s a leak inside the agency as opposed to pulling the rug out at a random juncture, which may be a better way to do this.
The opening two hours (the first of which debuts after the Super Bowl, with the second a night later in its regular 8pm slot) use the uncertainty somewhat scarcely, rooting it in the basis of Eric’s one-man mission - “Because right now, I’m the only one I can trust,” he says - but only actively addressing it every so often. Hour two spends more time in this department than the premiere, and by the end of it, we may or may not know more about it, because while the episode goes to great lengths to progress that arc, there’s no telling whether any of it is as it seems.
Not all of these work. Amira’s story, in particular, is somewhat infuriating, partly from predictability and partly through a failure to make the angle utilised seem competent (*), and opens the door for the same criticism of the portrayal of potential terrorists that the original run received at times. Mullins isn’t yet enough of a character to be particularly invested in his potential espionage, and it doesn’t help that Sears plays the role in a way that makes it tough not to be suspicious. Legacy makes an effort to try and balance several plotlines at once, as is tradition, but only Eric’s is immediately and strikingly enthralling; Ingram’s and Donovan’s story is compelling enough to stick with, even if slightly flawed.
(*) This is intentionally vague to avoid spoiling a couple of things that happen across the two episodes, which I’ll address in more detail in my post-episode reviews.
Interestingly, the opening two hours manage to directly bisect 24’s two types of early season hours - the slow-builders of the early seasons and the fast-paced thrill-ride of the later seasons. It works well. Much of the promotional material has touted a scene involving a large pipe, which is as ridiculous as it looks/sounds, but entertainingly so, while multiple shootouts serve as a reminder of the universe we’re in. At the same time, the existence of Donovan’s campaign - akin to that of David Palmer’s - Nicole’s placement in safety, etc. slow the pace to prevent overload which, given the entirely fresh start, is an absolute necessity.
Though he’s credited as an executive producer, Kiefer Sutherland’s absence obviously leaves a big hole at the top of the cast. Enter Hawkins playing a younger, slightly less experienced operative. Carter isn’t free of emotional baggage, but it’s a much different weight than that which plagued Bauer as he kept having the longest day of his life. Perhaps more importantly, Carter isn’t quite the gruff, no-nonsense good guy that Bauer was in the very early days, and while that may frustrate or disappoint some viewers, it’s refreshing to get a different persona leading the charge. (Also, given that EP Howard Gordon’s other on-air show, Homeland, has a never-ending stream of characters with various pieces of emotional hangups, starting anew isn’t a bad thing.)Hawkins is something of the typical action star we’ve become accustomed to in recent years of television and film, and he’s great here. He has a frantic energy about him that heightens the pace, a requirement given the race-against-time nature of the series and particularly of his story, and in the short time devoted to Carter’s personal life, Hawkins sells the blend of post-military struggles and a desperation to protect Nicole. It makes for easier viewing, and he’s a strong fit for the role.
That being said, he’s pretty lonely in that category. Miranda Otto, who was great on Homeland, isn’t given a whole bunch to do here, and what she does get is mostly quite ordinary. There’s one moment in the second hour that is strong from her, but it’s relatively mundane otherwise. Jimmy Smits lacks the charisma of Dennis Haysbert and the gravitas of Gregory Itzin; Dan Bucatinsky’s communications analyst Andy is part grating, part stale; and Anna Diop is mostly just there.
Despite its shortcomings, Legacy doesn’t tarnish the original flavour: it’s entirely fine, but little more. But in a world where fans and critics are often fearful of reboots/revivals/continuations, that’s arguably an achievement in and of itself. A low bar? Perhaps. But it’s something, and that’s not a bad start.
24: Legacy premieres on FOX after the Super Bowl on Sunday, 5th February, before airing in its regular 8pm timeslot beginning Monday, 6th February.
