24 originally aired on the U.S. broadcast network Fox.
The action-drama series was created for Fox by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran. It premiered on 6 November 2001, after its planned October launch was delayed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Fox initially ordered the series as a 13-episode project before commissioning the remainder of its first season.
The show’s format was unusual for broadcast television: each season generally followed 24 consecutive hours in the life of counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer. Episodes used real-time narration, split screens, and a digital clock, while the network’s scheduling eventually placed many seasons in a continuous January-to-May run.
The original series aired on Fox from 2001 through 2010. It later returned as the 12-episode limited series 24: Live Another Day in 2014, also on Fox. A separate spin-off, 24: Legacy, premiered on Fox in 2017. NBC, CBS, and ABC were major U.S. broadcast networks, but none was the original home of 24.