Premiered almost four years to the day after the end of the original TV series. This gap is acknowledged in the show's plot when Steve Navarro mentions that Jack Bauer has been on the run for four years.
This was originally announced in 2006 and was to be filmed between the sixth and seventh seasons. Due to the demands of the TV series, the film was delayed until after the final season. Shooting was to start in 2010 but was delayed due to script problems. Filming was then to begin in 2012 after the first season of Kiefer Sutherland's series, Touch (2012). But the producers balked due to the budget limitations set by Fox.
This is the fourth time that William Devane has played the president of the United States. He previously played President John F. Kennedy in the historical drama The Missiles of October (1974). He also played President Hayes in three episodes of the TV series Stargate: Kommando SG-1 (1997), as well as one spin-off TV movie. And finally, he played the unnamed U.S. president in the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises (2012).