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’24: Legacy’: Corey Hawkins gets Kiefer Sutherland's blessing for TV reboot

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ATLANTA – Not many actors have to deal with this kind of Legacy, pun fully intended.

Corey Hawkins, the star of 24: Legacy, appreciated the wordplay. “That's good,” he said with a smile and a chuckle, taking a break on the set at Atlanta Metro Studios. “Okay.”

Kidding aside, it's true.

When TV viewers think of the show 24, they think of Kiefer Sutherland playing Jack Bauer, racing against the clock in a series that moves in real time, episode by episode, hour by hour.

But now we have this new version, starring Hawkins as U.S. Army Ranger Eric Carter. It debuts after the Super Bowl, Sunday, Feb. 5, on Fox and City, with another new episode on Monday, Feb. 6.

Sutherland, of course, currently is starring in another TV show, Designated Survivor. He's still listed as an executive producer on 24: Legacy, but that's it for now. No acting role.

Sutherland's blessing was important to Hawkins, though. After all, they could have been making a new version of 24 without Sutherland's endorsement. Such things have happened many times in show business.

“That's very true ... and I don't think I would have done it, actually, if Kiefer wasn't ... I don't know ... maybe I would have, maybe I wouldn't have ... but the fact that I knew that Kiefer was on board (was a big factor),” said Hawkins, who is best known to audiences for his role as Dr. Dre in the feature film Straight Outta Compton, and his arc on The Walking Dead, playing Heath.

“Just like Compton, I wouldn't have done it if Dre and Cube and Eazy's family and Ren and Yella were not on board. So you want to take the risk and you want to step out there, you do it because that's what we have to do as actors. And sometimes in TV, it becomes big and it becomes about the entertainment, but also we have to focus in on the work. And that's what we're trying to hone in on.

“The fact that (Sutherland) liked my work, that he was a fan of my work, he was telling me about it, and I was like, 'I'm a fan of YOURS!' I'm like, 'You don't understand!' ”

As always with 24, an urgent sense of understanding is what drives the plot. Some characters understand the urgency of the situation more than others.

I'm about to discuss the basic setup of 24: Legacy, nothing that will ruin it for you, but if you'd rather not know anything at all heading into the first episode, I'll issue a SPOILER ALERT here.

As the story begins, it has been six months since an elite squad of U.S. Army Rangers, led by Sgt. Eric Carter (Hawkins), killed terrorist leader Sheik Ibrahim Bin-Khalid in Yemen. In the aftermath, Bin-Khalid’s followers declared a fatwah against Carter, his squad and their families, forcing them into the U.S. federal witness-protection program.

But when a previously quiet afternoon suddenly erupts in gunfire, it becomes very apparent to Eric that his identity has been compromised. He knows that means the rest of the team likely has been exposed, too. This is not good, because some members of the squad are more stable than others.

Eric also quickly realizes that the people who attacked him weren't solely motivated by revenge. They definitely were looking for something. What were they after? And why did they think that he might have it?

Another crucial question: Who sold out the team? Who's the Benedict Arnold? Only a couple of people in exceedingly high places could have done it, and now Eric has to wrap his brain around the fact that one of them is a traitor.

Eric's former boss at the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) is Rebecca Ingram, played by Miranda Otto. Rebecca decided to quit CTU because her husband, Senator John Donovan, played by Jimmy Smits, is running for President of the United States.

Rebecca had conceded that it's her husband's time to shine and she needed to take a backseat, for him. But now with this latest alarming development regarding Eric, Rebecca is at risk of being pulled right back into the middle of things. And she can't even fully tell her husband about it.

Neither Eric nor Rebecca know who they can trust. And that emotion will be very familiar to fans of 24, old and young.

24: Legacy also stars Teddy Sears, Dan Bucatinsky, Anna Diop, Ashley Thomas, Charlie Hofheimer, Coral Pena, Gerald McRaney, Raphael Acloque, Sheila Vand and Carlos Bernard, who will be reprising his role as Tony Almeida from the original series.

Sutherland always has insisted that he never was the star of 24, but rather the format was the star. I guess we're going to find out. Certainly a lot of characters are introduced in the first two hours, so the producers haven't downloaded the weight of the entire franchise onto Hawkins' shoulders immediately.

“To talk about a different project, when Dre wanted me to play him in a movie, no one knew what it was going to be, the stakes were very, very, very high," Hawkins recalled. "You had to do it right, because if you didn't do it right, I don't know if I'd ever be able to go back to California again, or L.A.

“So all things considered, the natural instinct is to run in the complete opposite direction and just not do it and see what happens with it."

That's not what Jack Bauer would do, though. And apparently Eric Carter is cut from the same cloth.

“When they offered me this, they sent the script, and thankfully the script was good," Hawkins said. "I mean, that's the first hurdle you gotta get over. And it was a page-turner.

"But my mind just started going immediately, not to, 'How am I going to fill Kiefer's shoes, or Jack Bauer's shoes?' or any of that. My mind just went to, 'This is really good and I would love to see where this opportunity can take me in terms of this character and in terms of who he is and in terms of his day.' ”

There are certain questions that fans of the original series always will have, though. Specifically, is Jack Bauer ever coming back? And if so, when? His story certainly could be picked up again.

“(The return of Jack Bauer) is not something that I'm thinking of, and certainly not Howard Gordon (24: Legacy executive producer and writer),” said Sutherland, when asked about it while promoting Designated Survivor at the Television Critics Association event last summer.

“The greatest experience I have had as an actor was my experience on 24. Did 216 episodes, I think, of that show. Never once did I feel that I was playing the same character over and over. That character, if you take a look from the very first season to the very end of the last, ninth season, that character was continually evolving. For me, it's one of the most interesting mediums for an actor in the world. It presents great challenges.

“I think this new version of 24 is going to be really exciting, and I wish them the best.”

The thing is, wishing someone “the best” on 24: Legacy is kind of a moot point. Days like these have a little drama and energy to them, you know? Nothing is going to come easily for any of the characters on 24: Legacy, from Eric Carter on down. That's the sizzle. That's the fun.

I couldn't help but ask Corey Hawkins: If his character, Eric Carter, ever met Jack Bauer, what would Eric say?

“Oh, man,” Hawkins said, overwhelmed by the question. “Oh God ... ”

Well, then let's try this: Who would win in a fight?

Hawkins answered, “I don't know, but we'll see about that.”

Not right now. But maybe someday. When it comes to 24, one frantic day always follows another.

Twitter: @billharris_tv

bharris@postmedia.com

***

BUILDING A NEW CTU

ATLANTA – For many years on 24, the Counter Terrorist Unit was one of the most important sets on television, both literally and figuratively.

And now it has been updated for 24: Legacy, the latest instalment in the 24 franchise, which debuts after the Super Bowl, Sunday, Feb. 5 on Fox and City, with another new episode on Monday, Feb. 6.

The most stunning aspect of the new CTU at Atlanta Metro Studios is the big screen, which is made up of hundreds of smaller screens. It's like something you'd see at a state-of-the-art football stadium. In fact, they showed an episode on the big screen recently for the cast and crew to enjoy.

“I have a feeling that when the real people at the real places (national security employees, etc.) watch this, I don't think they're going to feel like, 'Oh, this is crazy,'” said Craig Stearns, production designer. “I think they're going to say, 'Oh, that's kind of a cool setup.'

“I'm sure they have reasons why they're (seated) in rows and all that kind of stuff. But this (movable desks, chairs and computers) is much more interesting to look at.”

But then Stearns added, “People who work in this world have told me, 'Anything you can do on the show, we can actually do.' ” Gulp.

Other things to watch for on 24: Legacy: Stearns said they went for a very “clean” look at CTU, with no personal effects. And if you gaze even more closely, there are no computer, phone or lighting wires visible.

Hallways are incredibly important at CTU: “They're always walking up and down hallways,” Stearns said with a laugh. “We never can have enough hallways.”

And finally, something that exists on the set which you likely never will see: “I built a little room at the back, a little kitchen where (CTU employees) would make coffee,” Stearns said. “And we've never used it.

“It was a bad idea. No one at CTU has time for coffee.”

- Bill Harris

***

GET YOUR CHANNELS RIGHT FOR 24

ATLANTA – Just a reminder of the idiosyncrasies of Super Bowl Sunday in Canada:

The big game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons will be shown on Fox and CTV on Sunday, Feb. 5. But while 24: Legacy originates on Fox in the United States, City owns Canadian rights to the show, not CTV.

What that means is, if you're watching the Super Bowl on a Fox channel, you'll see 24: Legacy after the game.

And City will commence showing 24: Legacy when Fox does.

But if you're watching the Super Bowl on a CTV channel, you'll see Letterkenny after the game.

So make sure you choose the channel where you want to be!

There's another new episode of 24: Legacy on Monday, Feb. 6, but no such complications. It can be seen on Fox and City.

- Bill Harris

 

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