Q&A With 24 Exec Producer Howard Gordon

Q&A: '24' exec producer Howard Gordon

By Matt Belloni

June 10, 2010, 08:55 PM ET

The Hollywood Reporter: Do you think "24" would have been a hit if we weren't in a post-9/11 era?

Howard Gordon: The show would have been successful, but I don't think it would have been nearly as resonant. The real world gave us a lot of fodder so it's almost impossible to imagine what it would have been like in an alternate universe without 9/11. It's like asking what the show would look like without Kiefer Sutherland. It's hard to imagine it.

THR: Who has been the most the surprising fan of the show?

Gordon: I was in Iraq and found myself talking to both Gen. (Ray) Odierno and the British ambassador, and it turns out that Gen. Odierno is a tremendous fan of the show. I actually put him on the phone with Kiefer from Baghdad.

THR: And the most surprising critic?

Gordon: The critics are not surprising because I feel like the show has--fairly or unfairly--become a pawn in certain agendas, particularly in the torture debate. I am far more surprised by the wide range of fans we have. The most surprising is that Rush Limbaugh and Barbra Streisand could love the same show.

THR: Did Rupert Murdoch ever tell you whether he liked it?

Gordon: At one wrap party, he did say that he did like the show. But you know what, I couldn't even tell you. It was a fairly muted compliment. (Laughs).

THR: Did Fox ever refuse to air anything?

Gordon: The only thing they nixed, to my recollection, is when we downed Air Force One and the president died. We had to have the president survive.

THR: Have your views on torture changed since working on the show?

Gordon: My views have changed only because I have gotten a crash course in what's been done in reality. But I can't really speak to that because I'm not an expert. The far more nuanced and challenging area for me has been privacy versus security. How far do we go to monitor our citizens and noncitizens and what are the criteria for that? The hazards are apparent but so are the hazards of inattentiveness or of protecting people to the point of not being able to detect a threat. There is certainly a line, and that line is, I think, constantly being drawn. I always say this about "24": Even though we may have been kicked around as the mouthpiece for policy that allows torture or that forgave it or promoted it, the fact that we were having the debate in society was a very healthy thing.

THR: Some on the right said "24" changed when conservative co-creator Joel Surnow left. Do you agree?

Gordon: It wasn't so much that Joel left but that the world changed and the reductive wish fulfillment that "24" initially represented (changed). Not only did the world change but Jack (Bauer) changed because he continued to lose and lose. He has grown increasingly scarred by his own life. It's not because the conservative left the room, it's because Jack grew into this darker character and the world into a much more complex place.

Source: THR

THR 24 Producer: Bauer Faces Unhappy Ending

'24' producer: Bauer faces unhappy ending

Series finale will leave character in 'compromised place'

By Bob Tourtellotte, Reuters

May 9, 2010, 11:00 PM ET

"24"

For fans of hit TV show "24," this will come as no great shock: The show's executive producer Howard Gordon promised that when the action program finishes its run this month, an unhappy ending will greet Jack Bauer.

U.S. government agent Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, has saved the world time and again and been thanked for his efforts with any number of personal tragedies, including the death of loved ones. So it seemed natural that in the final seconds of his final show, he should face hardship -- again.

"(It) leaves him in a compromised place morally, ethically and emotionally," Gordon said. "This show is a tragedy, and to give Jack a happy ending didn't feel authentic."

But Gordon remained mum on the specifics of how Bauer meets his unhappy fate. Still, beyond the end one thing is certain, there will be more of Jack Bauer to come -- in movie theaters.

"24" began in 2001 as a novel concept for TV. The entire season elapsed in 24 fictional hours, with each one-hour episode being one hour of a day. A clock on TV screens ticked off the time, adding to the tension on the program.

The show proved to be a hit for the Fox network and gained a loyal following. It won an Emmy for best drama in 2006, and Sutherland was given a Golden Globe for acting in 2002.

Season 8 began in January with Bauer preparing for a quiet life, playing with his grand-daughter and smiling for only the second time in the show's history. But within minutes, he was drawn back into action by the government, which needed help in foiling a plot to murder a Middle Eastern peace-keeper.

Since then, treachery, back-stabbing and a well-intentioned but misguided President Allison Taylor (portrayed by Cherry Jones) have landed Bauer back in hot water and the country in jeopardy. Will he save it?

Gordon's not telling, but he did promise this: The writers are "taking him to a place he's never been before."

The final episode airs May 24, and while that may be the last episode for TV, plans are in the works for a movie based on the show and Bauer. Gordon said a first draft of a script has been written, and a second one is in the works.

"We're honoring the series and the creative integrity of (Bauer) and then possibly bringing in a whole new group (of characters)," Gordon said. "What I do think is important is that we do not retread" over old ground.

Source: THR

24 Showrunner Sets Next Project Gordon Optimistic About 9th Season

'24' showrunner sets next project

Howard Gordon to co-write U.S. version of 'Prisoners'

By Nellie Andreeva

March 17, 2010, 11:00 PM ET

"24"

"24" executive producer/showrunner Howard Gordon is going from trying to prevent a war to dealing with its consequences.

20th Century Fox TV, where Gordon is under an overall deal, has acquired rights to the Israeli format "Prisoners of War," which Gordon will co-write with "24" executive producer Alex Gansa and Gideon Raff; the latter created the original series for Keshet Broadcasting, whose recent launch in Israel has drawn a lot of attention.

The acquisition and Gordon's involvement underscore the growing popularity of Israeli formats, which have become a hot TV commodity in Hollywood and spawned two pilots this development season: Fox's "Traffic Light," also from 20th TV, and CBS' "The Quinn-Tuplets."

20th TV chairman Dana Walden said that after hearing Keshet's pitch for "POWs," it was an instant decision to take the format to "24's" Gordon and Gansa.

"The format is very smart and has all of the exciting elements that go into '24': an ongoing story, an incredible story engine and a very emotional situation," Walden said.

Featuring an all-star cast, the Israeli "POWs" tells the story of three soldiers who return home from 17 years in Syrian captivity and must readjust to life in Israel and reunite with their families.

Tentatively titled "Patriots," the American version will revolve around three U.S. soldiers presumed killed during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 who are found in a cave 10 years later.

"They come home greeted as heroes, but they are traumatized by the treatment there, and their families have become collateral damage to their captivity," said Gordon, who exec produces the project with Gansa, Gideon and Keshet's Avi Nir.

There will be some mystery about what happened during their years in captivity and the possible threat one of the soldiers might present, Gordon said of the project, whose genre he describes as "suspense, psychological drama."

The U.S. version also will introduce a new character, a counterterrorism agent -- and no, his name won't be Jack Bauer.

Speaking of "24," despite the continuous drumbeat about the veteran real-time terrorist drama coming to an end, Gordon was surprisingly optimistic about the show's chances to return for a ninth season.

"Discussions are still being held; the book hasn't been closed," he said. "If there is '24' past Season 8," he added, "I will be part of that," though probably not as showrunner. He also said that star Kiefer Sutherland, who has no deal for the show beyond the current season, "is inclined to do another season if there is a good story."

The show is now in production of the final two episodes of Season 8 and Gordon is bearing down. "Every year of '24' has a strong thematic closure," he said.

Gordon, Gansa, Raff and Keshet are repped by WME.

Source: TheHollywoodReporter