The first season of the TV show “24” has 24 episodes. It originally aired on Fox from November 6, 2001, through May 21, 2002, covering one fictional day in the life of counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer.
The season’s real-time structure is central to the show’s identity: each episode generally represents one hour, while the complete season follows 24 consecutive hours. The story begins at midnight on the day of a California presidential primary and ends at the following midnight.
The season stars Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, alongside Leslie Hope, Sarah Clarke, Elisha Cuthbert, and Dennis Haysbert. Its format helped establish the series’ signature use of split screens, digital clocks, and multiple simultaneous plotlines.
A common mix-up is confusing the first season’s 24 episodes with the show’s later limited series, “24: Live Another Day,” which had 12 episodes. The original series ultimately aired 204 episodes across nine seasons, plus the television film “24: Redemption.”