Ranking All Seasons Of 24 From Worst To Best
2. Day 1
The first season of a show will be somewhere at the top of any list, but with 24, Day 1 set the tone for not just the series, but of the genre for years to come. The real-time aspect of the whole series could have fallen apart very easily, but the pacing and charm of the leads - along with the sprawling stories - kept audiences hooked.
Looking back now, the main threat of the first season appears almost small-scale in comparison to future threats, but within this season lay very personal stakes for Jack Bauer and David Palmer. Both main characters have their own internal struggles of trust to contend with, and what brought (or reunited) them together was an interesting twist.
The halfway mark of the first season clearly showed twelve episodes were only intended at first, but what followed was an even bigger and greater thread as twists, turns and revelations within CTU unfold - and audiences got a surprise appearance of the late and great Dennis Hopper as the main antagonist.
The events of the first day shaped the entire show - not just the format of the series, but how things escalate and worsen when they first appear resolved.