Mr. Jack Bauer himself, Kiefer Sutherland, is set to star in an untitled spy series from John Requa and Glenn Ficarra that has been picked up by Paramount+.
Sutherland will play James Weir, "a private espionage operative who finds himself in the midst of a battle over the preservation of democracy in a world at odds with misinformation, behavioral manipulation, the surveillance state and the interests that control these extraordinary powers."
Eh, sometimes it's best to just keep a logline out of the press release and leave the plot up to our imagination. You had me at "Kiefer Sutherland spy series," Paramount! Less is more, in this case. And why is that?
Because Kiefer Sutherland is a modern TV legend. He kicked an unholy amount of ass on 24 over the years and I also enjoyed his recent Quibi series The Fugitive, which I predict will enjoy a second streaming life somewhere soon. Armed with a gravelly voice and an intense stare, Sutherland just makes for a great authority figure... or a guy who rebels against authority. Either way, he's The Man.
“I’ve been an admirer of John Requa and Glenn Ficarra’s unique body of work for some time, and I’m thrilled to be working on this exciting new project with them and Paramount+,” Sutherland said in a statement.
“Kiefer Sutherland and powerful, heart-pounding dramas go hand in hand,” added Julie McNamara of Paramount+. “We’re thrilled to have him and master storytellers John Requa and Glenn Ficarra at the helm, taking us on a very personal ride to uncover the truth."
“From the moment we conceived this paranoid thriller, we immediately thought of Kiefer,” said Requa and Ficarra, who signed a broadcast-only deal with Fox last October. The duo directed the Steve Carell-Ryan Gosling comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love and they also wrote movies including Bad Santa and Jungle Cruise. On the TV side, Requa and Ficarra directed the pilot for This Is Us and their next project is Apple's limited series WeCrashed starring Oscar winners Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. Here's hoping they make the most of Sutherland's particular set of skills, and that Paramount+ gives them the budget to do so.