SHOCKER: Fox Entertainment President Says This Season of '24' Could Be Its Last iFmagazine.com

Kevin Reilly, Fox Entertainment President, said that the upcoming season of “24” might be its last. Kudos to iFmagazine.com for breaking this story.

The upcoming season of “24” is the last covered by the show's current contract, and although Kiefer Sutherland remains enthusiastic, Reilly is unsure of the show's fate. However, he says there is still a chance of the show continuing past this season or the making of a '24' movie.

“It’s our last contractual season of '24',” Reilly said, discussing the issue with iF's contributing writer Abbie Bernstein at the TV Critic's Association's summer press tour in Pasadena. “There are a lot of moving parts, so we’re not sure what will happen after that.”

“We haven’t made any decision whether it’s back or not [after this upcoming season],” says Reilly. “The producers are passionate, Kiefer is passionate and we don’t have any of them looking to jump ship. It’s a show we’re really proud of. It’s going to come down to a business decision. It’s not an inexpensive show on the network books and we also want to finish strong. This is not a show we want to prop up. It will be a whole creative and business discussion and something we’ll have to deal with over the next few months.”

While there has been some slippage in '24's' ratings, the show is coming off one of its strongest seasons yet, creatively. Furthermore, according to Forbes, of all the shows on TV in primetime, only "American Idol"--also on Fox--gets higher ad rates for its commercials than does "24.".

Howerer, there is no doubt '24' is expensive, and the networks are facing a poor ad market.  

--Alex Jacobius and Chuck Ross