Shows Like 24
Counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer fights the bad guys of the world, a day at a time. With each week's episode unfolding in real-time, "24" covers a single day in the life of Bauer each season.
Ranked by shared creators, cast, themes, genre, and network — not just generic recommendations.
24 JAPAN
Official Japanese remake of 24, same creators Surnow & Cochran, identical real-time CTU format and premise.
La Femme Nikita
Created by the same duo (Surnow & Cochran); spy action-drama with undercover agent, secret org, and serialized thriller tone.
Alias
Same era, same network-TV action-spy formula: double agent, CIA, serialized plot twists, LA setting, high-stakes missions each episode.
Homeland
CIA counterterrorism, political intrigue, mole/traitor arcs — the closest tonal and thematic heir to 24 on premium cable.
Lioness
CIA special-ops undercover mission, tight serialized pacing, counter-terrorism stakes; same serious action-thriller register as 24.
The Night Agent
White House conspiracy, FBI agent in over his head, propulsive real-time-style pacing and political intrigue matching 24's DNA.
Spooks
British counterterrorism procedural airing alongside 24; same serialized spy-thriller tone, high body count, morally grey choices.
The Night Manager
Undercover operative, arms dealer, espionage — prestige spy thriller with the same tense infiltration stakes as 24.
The Day of the Jackal
Cat-and-mouse between elite assassin and intelligence officer; political assassination, high-tension serialized spy action.
Strike Back
Section 20 special-ops team, global counter-terrorism missions, intense action pacing and serialized thriller arcs like 24.
Covert Affairs
Young CIA field operative, undercover missions, serialized conspiracy — same action-spy genre and audience demographic as 24.
Shooter
Military-trained operative exposing a presidential assassination conspiracy; action-thriller with betrayal and government intrigue.
The Terminal List
Navy SEAL on a vengeance mission against a government conspiracy; intense lone-operative action with serious dramatic weight.
Designated Survivor
Presidential assassination, political intrigue, and counterterrorism investigations — direct thematic overlap with 24's political thriller core.
The Old Man
Ex-CIA operative forced back into action, betrayal, lone-wolf survival — same hardboiled spy-action register and prestige production.
Citadel
Spy action with amnesia hook and secret-organization conspiracy; shares 24's action-espionage genre but lighter in tone.
Taken
CIA operative origin story, action-thriller format; thematically adjacent to 24 but lighter serialization and lower stakes execution.
Reacher
Military-trained loner dismantling a conspiracy; action-drama with government corruption but more episodic/pulpy than 24's real-time urgency.
Countdown
Homeland Security murder investigation with multi-agency task force; shares 24's LA setting and counterterrorism-adjacent action format.
Dark Blue
LA undercover task force, gritty action drama — tonal cousin sharing the LA crime-action world but lacks 24's political/terrorism scope.
How Good Is 24?
Ratings across IMDb and TMDB, plus our verdict.
Where to Watch 24
Streaming, rental, and purchase options across 40+ countries.
United States
USStream
3
Disney Plus
Hulu
Sun NxtBuy
4
Apple TV Store
Fandango At Home
Amazon Video
Amazon DVD / Blu-rayAvailable in 125 countries
Frequently asked about 24
Common questions people search for, with answers written by us at MoviesPack.
Why does Jack Bauer so frequently go rogue and defy CTU orders?
Jack operates on a utilitarian moral code that prioritizes saving lives over institutional rules and legal constraints. He has repeatedly witnessed bureaucratic hesitation and political interference cost innocent lives, leading him to trust his own judgment over chain-of-command decisions. His willingness to use extreme measures and disobey orders is portrayed as the tragic cost of effectiveness in counterterrorism work.
How did Teri Bauer's death at the end of Season 1 affect Jack's character going forward?
Nina Myers, who had been Jack's trusted partner and former lover at CTU, shot Teri after being revealed as a mole working for the Drazen family. Teri was killed in the final minutes of the season after surviving the day's ordeal, making her death a cruel twist that stripped Jack of a stabilizing personal anchor. This loss drives Jack's increasingly isolated, sacrifice-oriented behavior in later seasons and deepens his distrust of those around him.
What is the significance of the ticking clock format to the show's plot structure?
Each season takes place over exactly 24 hours in real time, with each episode representing one hour, creating constant narrative urgency and preventing characters from resting or regrouping. This structure forces plots to escalate continuously and means threats must be resolved before midnight — any unresolved thread carries existential stakes. The format also makes conveniences like travel and interrogation feel compressed, which the show acknowledges through occasional 'silent clock' moments to mark especially grave events.
Who was behind the assassination conspiracy against David Palmer in Season 1, and what was their motive?
Victor Drazen and his sons Andre and Alexis orchestrated the plot against Senator David Palmer as revenge for a covert U.S. operation called Operation Nightfall. In that mission, Jack Bauer led a strike in Kosovo intended to kill Victor Drazen, but the bombing accidentally killed Drazen's wife and daughter. The Drazens wanted Palmer dead because, as a senator on the intelligence committee, he had authorized the original operation.
What happened to Tony Almeida and why did he appear to return as a villain after his apparent death?
Tony was fatally stabbed in Season 5 but was secretly kept alive by a rogue organization that later recruited him by exploiting his grief over Michelle Dessler's murder. By Season 7, Tony was working with a domestic terrorist group, driven by a desire to expose and destroy the conspirators responsible for Michelle's death rather than by ideological alignment with them. His arc represents one of the show's most morally ambiguous trajectories — a formerly heroic character consumed by vengeance to the point of crossing into terrorism.