Kiefer Sutherland Set to Return to the Spy Game in New Paramount+ Series

Kiefer Sutherland’s performance as Jack Bauer on “24” remains his signature role, but he’s looking to get back into the action business with a new spy series for Paramount+ slated to air in 2022.

Sutherland most recently starred as a somewhat accidental President Tom Kirkman on three seasons of the ABC and Netflix series “Designated Survivor.” The show found a loyal audience, but it never provided the thrills viewers got from “24.”

The as-yet-untitled show will feature Sutherland as James Weir, a “private espionage operative” who almost certainly learned his trade either in special ops or the CIA, if the history of television is any prediction of the future here.

There will be a battle for democracy, a struggle with the specter of “fake news” disinformation, the surveillance state and, of course, mysterious shadowy figures who secretly control the world. All of these problems seem like a formula for some ass-kicking as time is running out.

Sutherland is a producer on the show alongside writer-directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. Requa and Ficarra have enjoyed a storied career after starting as writers on subversive Nickelodeon cartoon classic “The Angry Beavers.” They co-wrote the screenplays for “Cats & Dogs” and both “Bad Santa” movies before becoming executive producers on the NBC series “This Is Us.” The pair also directed Tina Fey in the Afghanistan War movie “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.”

Related: Meet Kim Barker, the Real Reporter Who Inspired 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot'

Paramount+ is the streaming service owned by ViacomCBS. The service currently hosts several Star Trek shows, including “Star Trek: Picard,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” and “Star Trek: Lower Decks.” Upcoming shows include series based on “Flashdance,” “iCarly,” “Frasier” and “Beavis and Butt-head.” Paramount+ costs $5.99/month or $9.99/month without ads.

Big Kiefer Sutherland fans will remind us that he starred in a remake of “The Fugitive” last year for the ill-fated Quibi mobile-only streaming service. That’s no longer available, but Quibi’s show catalog was sold to Roku and should be available on May 20 on the Roku Channel.

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