Executive producer Howard Gordon has confirmed that season 8 of “24″ is a go! It’s literally just around the corner.

“We’re gearing up for a May start date. I’m with the writers now just putting our heads together, coming up with an idea. Unless we fail to come up with an idea that’s satisfactory, you’ll see an eighth season.” says Gordon.

In other great “24″ news, Annie Wersching is confirmed to be returning for season 8, which mean love may be in the air for Jack Bauer! Gordon also gave us a little tease that season 8 could include a death. Who’s? Jack’s?

“We may decide ultimately if there’s not a movie [story] worth telling, Jack may see his last day on television. He could die in the series…I think that’s possible,” Gordon said.

Are you excited about season 8?

Source: E! Online

Image Credit: ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Kelsey McNeal/FOX

Comic Con is officially in full swing, and 24 took main stage earlier tonight.  Present were Kiefer Sutherland and Carlos Bernard, along with executive producer’s Jon Cassar, Howard Gordon and David Fury.  They spoke briefly about 24: Exile, their working relationships and the upcoming seventh season, but for now, I’ll just post about Exile.

Howard Gordon initially did not think that doing a two hour movie was a good idea, but after some prodding he came around to the idea.  The writers’ strike gave them time to work the kinks, and according to Kiefer, “When we went to Africa, we arguable had the best script we’ve ever had.”

When asked if he’s had a favourite episode to shoot, Kiefer exclaimed, “I have to tell you that the stuff we did in Africa is up there.”

24: Exile features Jack Bauer in Africa, stuck in the middle of a civil war, protecting a school that provides safety for past child soldiers.  Cast and crew seem really excited about 24: Exile, do you think the prequel is going to live up to lofty expectations fans have now that the show has been off the air for so long?

Come back to 24HQ tomorrow where I’ll tell you about how Carlos Bernard is a smart ass, and why we never see Jack Bauer take a bathroom break.

*Thanks to Nikki Katz for all the great Comic Con reporting.  You rock!

Photo’s of the panel coming soon! Until then, check out the official 24: Exile photo’s released by Fox.

iF Magazine recently spoke to 24 executive producer Howard Gordon about the upcoming season 7 prequel, and how it’ll fit into the chronology of the show. Gordon told them that the prequel “will be a standalone movie that takes place almost a year after the sixth season ended, and will set up the story that launches the seventh season. It will be entirely new material.”

However, he didn’t give an answer to the question most readers on this blog want to know, if the prequel will follow the time structure of the show. I guess only time will tell.

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The writers’ strike may be behind us now, but the Hollywood community is still feeling the affects, particularly the financial ones. That’s why the writers of your favorite shows, including Howard Gordon of 24, have banded together to host a benefit poker tournament in Hollywood today.

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Last year there were rumors circulating that season seven was going to be very different than anything 24 had done before. First we heard that Jack Bauer was headed to Africa, and then he wasn’t. Then shooting was delayed, and the first few episodes were completely rewritten, much to our confusion. The Wall Street Journal recently spoke to the creators of 24, and Fox executives about how season seven came to be. For me, the most interesting part was hearing in detail what that Africa plot would have been about. Here’s an excerpt:

On May 31, the show’s head writers went in for a meeting at the studio to present their first big idea: sending Jack to Africa. In various incarnations, Jack would begin the season digging ditches, building houses, tending to orphans, providing security for an embassy or escorting around a visiting dignitary. “One of the themes we discussed was penance, that Africa was a place Jack had gone to seek some kind of penance. Some sanctuary too, but also penance for things he’s done in his life,” Mr. Gordon says.

Ms. Walden and Gary Newman, chairmen of 20th Century Fox Television, were receptive but believed it was too much of a departure. “It felt like we were throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” says Ms. Walden. The Africa plot also had several glaring problems, the first of which was that at some point Jack would have to fly back to the U.S. The writers proposed that for the first time ever, “24″ would break from its real-time conceit; the show would skip the period when Jack was on his 14-hour flight.

Wow, we dodged a bullet with that one, didn’t we? Thankfully the writers headed back to the drawing table and hammered out the plot that we now know, Jack’s on trial for past offenses, CTU is gone, and Tony is the big bad.

I encourage everyone to read the WSJ article as it goes into detail about how current events have affected the show so much, and how torture acted as a catalyst for so many changes.

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24 Executive Producer Howard Gordon has taken part in a recent WGA initiative, Why We Write.  Posted on Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily, Why We Write is a series of essays written by prominent Hollywood writers talking about why they write.  Gordon wrote essay #3 in the series.  His essay is below:

I remember being in a writers’ room a few years ago, and someone - a brilliant and famous writer whose name I’ll keep to myself for now - rhapsodized about the exquisite ecstasy of the writing process. “Don’t you love it when you get lost inside the story, and the characters start speaking for themselves, and you look up and realize eight hours have passed?” I nodded dumbly, and smiled. Because I had no idea what the fuck he was talking about.

I’ve never had that experience. Never. Me, I’m a grinder. And a second-guesser. Since I can remember, I have suffered from some undiagnosed combination of OCD and ADD which causes me to spend hours on a preposition. Which is a long-winded way to describe this simple truth: I hate writing. I really do. Even writing this short essay is excruciating. Every word weighs on me like a millstone. Every. Single. Word.

What makes the process even more excruciating is that I am my own worst critic. No one has more contempt for my work than me. So studio and network notes are usually a cakewalk. Whatever they dish out, chances are I’ve already dished out for myself and come back for seconds.

So why do I write? Because as much as I hate writing, I love having written. All the pain suddenly falls away when the dialogue turns from a bunch of words under a character name into the living voices of real people, and the plot becomes more than just a series of events, but a story worth telling. However we get there, if we’re lucky, eventually we get there. Word by word. Line by line.

I write because it’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. Not a day goes by that I don’t appreciate what a privilege it is to be a member of this profession. I suppose in some way, being a writer is the buy-in that allows me to enjoy the company and respect of my fellow writers. To count so many professional writers as friends and colleagues is one of my proudest accomplishments. I may not enjoy the creative process as much as my unnamed colleague, but I’d wager my WGA pension that I get every bit as much pleasure from my final draft – which only makes me want to belly up to the laptop and do it all over again.