When our followers on Twitter learned that Asahi TV was making 24 Japan – a Japanese version of the original hit US series – the general reaction was: “Huh? Someone’s re-making 24 in the Year of Our Lord 2020?!”
I was a little less skeptical. When I originally posted about this series, I saw the potential value in it – especially with the updates the show’s producers had made. But we’re now on the seventh episode and it’s clear from its ratings that the show is in freefall.
And what’s worse is, there’s nothing that Asahi TV can do to change course. It’s stuck making all 24 episodes of this bomb as originally planned.
What went wrong?
24: A Movie Made for Television
As someone who watched the original 24[1] when it aired, I remember the excitement that surrounded the show. It was a heady time in television. HBO was making one of the best dramas ever seen on TV – The Sopranos – and would soon follow it up with another hit, The Wire. Shows like The Sopranos – with their large budgets, on-point scripts, great casts, and grand, sweeping storylines that crossed whole seasons – would end up redefining TV drama.
Like The Sopranos, 24 redefined TV dramas for future generations. The basic conceit of the show was simple. It tells a story of espionage and national security in real-time – a full chronological day, counted down in hour-long segments across 24 episodes. The show even displayed a ticking clock in its commercial interstitials. It became a constant reminder to the viewer that their beloved characters were slowly running out of time.
When it aired, 24 was one of the most original and thrilling things on TV. To this day, critics praise its direction, acting, writing, and production values as “cinematic”. It is routinely included in lists of the United States’ best dramas. And yes – the show has a dedicated cadre of fans in Japan as well.
Remaking it, in other words, is a pretty ballsy decision.
Asahi TV Might Have Pulled It Off. But…
However, if any Japanese TV station was going to tackle 24, Asahi TV was likely the most suited to do it.
