There's good news and bad news, Kiefer Sutherland fans. The bad news is, Touch has been cancelled. The Tim Kring drama has been suffering in the ratings, and a shift to Friday nights probably didn't help its situation. On the bright side, the series' cancellation will likely free Sutherland up for the possible 24 revival at Fox. Yes, that's the good news. It's been reported that Fox is looking at a return for 24 as a limited series.
THR shared the news about Touch, stating that Fox has opted to cancel the high-concept drama after two seasons. The series starred Sutherland as the father of a child who doesn't talk but is trying to communicate through numbers, which connect people all over the world. The drama was originally supposed to return for Season 2 in October of last year, but was then pushed back to February of this year. The ratings dipped after the first couple of episodes and the show failed to secure more than three million viewers an episode after that. So its cancellation isn't a complete surprise, though it is unfortunate.
What is a surprise is talk of 24's return! Deadline says that no deals are in place for this yet, but Fox is reportedly looking at bringing 24 back as part of their recent push into the limited series (or miniseries) format.
There's been a lot of talk of a 24 movie, though some of the more recent reports suggested that the film wasn't likely to happen anytime soon. Among the list of TV shows that might be revived, 24 is one of the few that I think really needs to happen, if only to give Jack Bauer a more resolved ending than the one he got when the series wrapped up a few years back.
Deadline says 24 showrunner Howard Gordon pitched the plan to Fox. New 24 would start from scratch with a new story arc. And Kiefer Sutherland is in talks to return to his role as CTU agent Jack Bauer.
Of course, the real-time format may be an issue here, if they're looking at "limited series" meaning possibly fewer than 24 episodes. Personally, I wouldn't complain about a shorter season, 24 is a lot of episodes for a drama on today's television - unless it's a procedural. Some would disagree and others might complain about the title not working otherwise. Let's agree to bicker over the technicalities if and when this situation is set in stone.
