Clock Ticking for "24" This Fall, After All?

Don't get too excited. 24 won't launch this autumn (FOX is sticking to its plans to launch Day Seven in full, come January 2009), but fans might just get a brief Jack Bauer fix before Season Seven kicks off this winter.

The Hollywood Reporter has reported that FOX is developing a two-hour 24 prequel that will bridge the gap between Day Six (remember back all the way to the 2006-07 season?) and Day Seven, which finds Jack Bauer dealing with the first female president (Cherry Jones) and the return of a familiar face from his past.

While FOX and studio 20th Century Fox Television had no comment about the story, The Hollywood Reporter claims that the network plans to air the 24 prequel sometime this fall and producers are hard at work to secure talent deals for the prequel's cast members.

Let's just hope those cast members don't include that damned cougar.