Many great action heroes have graced the small screen, but few have commanded an audiences’ attention quite like Jack Bauer. Bauer – the star of hit television series, 24 – would regularly jump into action to defuse bombs, shoot the bad guys, and save the day… over a 24-hour period.
If you were a fan of 24 when it originally aired, then you will know how great Jack Bauer was (and still is). He helped to make each episode of the show nail-bitingly tense and effortlessly action-packed.
Across the course of multiple seasons, a movie, and a revival series, Jack saved countless lives. He also inspired a spin-off TV series, set within the 24 universe.
But if you don’t know Jack, don’t know 24, and don’t know anything about the 24 universe, then you certainly have some catching up to do – and thanks to streaming services, that’s fairly easy to do. Well, it is, so long as you know where to start.
In this post I am doing all the leg work for you, by providing you with the viewing order for 24. This post will set out the timeline for the series, the movie, the revival, and the spin-off show, so you know what to watch and when to watch it.
__
Explaining 24
24 first hit television screens in November 2001, and ran continuously for six seasons until May 2007 – with each season comprising 24 episodes. After the sixth season, and largely due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike (which impacted the production of many TV shows), the series took a short break for a year.
During the break, the story continued via a 90-minute television movie, called 24: Redemption. The movie – which aired in November 2008 – was set four years after the conclusion of the show’s sixth season.
With the writer’s strike over, the series resumed production in 2009, and ran for two further seasons (Seasons 7 & 8), concluding in May 2010. At this stage, after eight seasons and a movie, the show was effectively over.
But while the show was off air, 24 continued to perform well on home video, and in 2014, it was revived for a new season, with the story continuing in real-time, four years after the Season 8 finale. Jack Bauer returned for this new season – which was called 24: Live Another Day – but unlike the previous seasons, it was only 12 episodes long.
24: Live Another Day only ran for one season, becoming somewhat of an ‘event’ series. And by the end of the season, 24 effectively came to an end for the second time.
But you can never let a good thing disappear, and in 2017, 24 was revived once more, this time via a spin-off show called 24: Legacy. Set three years on from 24: Live Another Day, the series followed a new character (no longer Jack Bauer) across the course of 12 episodes.
__
Viewing 24 in order
If you plan to watch 24 in its entirety, then here is the list of all the series and movies you will need, in timeline order:
- 24 Season 1 (2001)
- 24 Season 2 (2002)
- 24 Season 3 (2003)
- 24 Season 4 (2005)
- 24 Season 5 (2006)
- 24 Season 6 (2007)
- 24: Redemption (2008)
- 24 Season 7 (2009)
- 24 Season 8 (2010)
- 24: Live Another Day (2014)
- 24: Legacy
If you watch the shows/movie in this order, you will follow the show from start to finish and not miss out on any of the action and drama.
__
If you’re a fan of 24, or you’re just getting into the 24, then you may wish to know that all of the episodes are available on DVD, including the spin-off show, 24: Legacy.
24: Legacy is available on Region 1 and Region 2 DVD and includes all of the episodes of the show in one set.
The 24: Legacy DVD set is available from all good entertainment stockists, including Amazon US and Amazon UK.
__
Thank you for taking the time to stop by It’s A Stampede! to read about the viewing order of 24 – I hope it helps. For more action-packed content, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
Read more:
Disclaimer: I earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
It's A Stampede! 
Leave a Reply