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There Is Nothing Like it on TV
Joel Surnow, gracious even amidst the frantic first days of shooting Season 7, clearly had some serious thoughts on his mind as he talked frankly with us about what makes 24 so qualitatively different from almost everything else on television. He also relished engaging in the show-as-politics discussion, telling us the famous—or infamous--profile of him written by Jane Mayer for the New Yorker (see Chapter 1) was a “hatchet job,” and wondered out loud about whether the series may have run the course of its television life.
Surnow’s creative instincts and his extraordinary ability to translate them to compelling television led him from episodes of shows such as Miami Vice and The Equalizer to the creation (with Robert Cochran) of the award-winning series La Femme Nikita (1997-2001), in many ways an inspiration for 24. He has had eight Emmy nominations and two wins for his work on 24, including the 2006 Outstanding Drama award.
Great acting, good stories, and great writing obviously help to distinguish 24. But, beyond that, people say 24 has changed television forever. Why?
No other show in the history of television has been a suspense thriller. There are dramas -- talking head dramas or police action shows -- but this is suspense. This is John Le Carre on film. Also, terrorism has not been done, nor has there been a character like Jack Bauer, a guy that wins and loses at the same time and who is politically incorrect but taps into everyone’s id. Then, too, there’s the lack of a happy Hollywood ending. That’s what gives 24 a different spin from what has been on television before.
You might add the way the show seems to be ahead of the culture, as was the case when you cast Dennis Haysbert as the nation’s first black president in Season 1.
True, but this was a creative decision, a way to raise the stakes, and not one based upon political correctness. We were writing the first season in the aftermath of Rodney King [the L.A. motorist beaten by white police officers whose subsequent acquittal in 1991 sparked the worst riot in U.S. history]. It was also a time when people started talking about Colin Powell as a potential presidential candidate. So there was this confluence, and the time seemed right for our story telling purposes to use this context to make the stakes bigger.
You and your fellow producers often remind fans and detractors alike that the show has no political agenda. It’s simply entertainment—amped-up entertainment. Nevertheless, the issues raised by the stories are politically charged.
I don’t think there is a political angle to it when I say that all of us who were outraged by 9/11 feel to some degree that we are in a war, and that the rules of engagement are a little different. The show doesn't originate from that idea but as we get into the stories and our characters find themselves in these urgent situations, we don’t default to some politically correct idea that doesn't make sense in the context of the story. If there is a nuclear bomb going to off in a city and a guy can tell you where it is, I don't know how you don't do what we do. If you extrapolate that into a political argument you can say that's a false premise, and I would agree with you. I also agree that you should pay the price if you do violate human rights. But there there’s the letter of the law, and then there’s the reality of the street, as any cop can tell you. You may have to do something illegal, but you do it anyway, because that's just the rule of the jungle. We’re just showing a really hardcore guerrilla war that's being fought on the streets of America, and you do what it takes to save innocent life. This is neither a left or a right approach….
…. For the rest of Joel Surnow’s interview see chapter 3 of Secrets of 24.