'Redemption' Song

When TV audiences last saw Jack Bauer, the rogue counter-terrorism agent played by Kiefer Sutherland on Fox's dramatic series "24," President George W. Bush was still negotiating for more Iraq-war funding and Barack Obama had just announced his intent to seek the 2008 Democratic nomination for president. Eighteen months and one presidential election later, Mr. Sutherland's tenacious character finds himself operating in a drastically different political and social climate. "24" returns to the small screen Nov. 23 with the two-hour television movie "24: Redemption" and the show's four-hour seventh-season premiere Jan. 11 and 12.

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Cherry Jones as newly elected President Allison Taylor in '24'

"We've obviously been sensitive to and aware of how the world has changed and in many ways, this upcoming season is a response to that," says Howard Gordon, "24" executive producer and head writer. Mr. Gordon says the coming season will be set in Washington, D.C., instead of Los Angeles and will begin with Jack on trial for war crimes. "Obama is articulating a sentiment that has obviously been building in the political and public mind and in light of this incredible political season, we've been mindful of that," says Mr. Gordon. The adaptation of "24" to the new political zeitgeist is being watched closely because of the series' prior focus on plotlines involving torture and national security issues. Co-created by self-described conservative Joel Surnow in 2001, the show came under intense scrutiny during its last season, when critics accused it of glamorizing torture. The program lost a third of its audience, ending the season with 11 million weekly viewers, after an earlier average of 16 million. (Mr. Surnow chose to leave the series in February.)

After acknowledging the season's flaws ("It wasn't our finest creatively, but I don't think it was as bad everyone says it was"), Mr. Gordon, who has run the show since season five, and his writing team took time to deliberate about the direction of the series, a period that was extended by the writer's strike. The strike, which pushed the seventh-season premiere to January 2009, also opened the door to "24: Redemption," a two-hour, made-for-TV movie requested by Fox executives to keep the series in the public eye.

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Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer

Shot on location in South Africa earlier this summer, "24: Redemption" finds Jack in the fictional nation of Sangala, evading a U.S. subpoena to come home and testify about his use of torture in the line of duty. Already well into production on the regular season, Mr. Gordon initially resisted doing this prequel, which he saw as an exercise in brand-management. He later came to appreciate the opportunity to better set up the initial eight episodes -- which were written and shot before the writer's strike -- and enrich new characters meant to challenge Jack's "whatever it takes" worldview, including newly elected President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones), whose inauguration is featured in "24: Redemption."

Ms. Jones, a veteran of the Broadway stage who had never seen an episode of "24" before being offered the role of President Taylor, notes that her character is "adamantly opposed to torture, as blessedly our two presidential candidates were."

"We purposely gave voice to the argument against things like illegal detention and detainee abuse, in the form of President Taylor, who's incredibly articulate and impassioned," says Mr. Gordon. "The conundrum for us as writers, of course, is that Jack can't turn around and say, 'I've been a terrible person because I've tortured people,' because it's not faithful to the character. So we dealt with the challenge by introducing Allison Taylor and a new young FBI agent [Renee Walker, played by Annie Wersching] who has to ask herself the questions Jack asked himself once upon a time."

Write to Michelle Kung at michelle.kung@wsj.com