FOX decided to end the clock on its hit action series ’24’ on March 26, but hopes to bring federal agent Jack Bauer to the big screen, Reuters is reporting. The series, currently in its eighth season, has been one of the most successful dramas in the network’s history, but has seen a decline in ratings this year.

The two-hour series finale is set to air on May 24, with new episodes premiering every Monday until then. The show’s star, Kiefer Sutherland, said in a statement that the show has been the role of a lifetime. “…I will never be able to fully express my appreciation to everyone who made it possible,” he added. Sutherland also said that he looks forward to working on the film version of the show with executive producer Howard Gordon, should that arise.

The premise of ’24’ is that Bauer fights assassins and terrorists to save the world. The show is shown in real time, with each one-hour episode portraying an hour in Bauer’s life. Every season had 24 episodes to represent a full day. One famous feature has been the split screen to show two events happening in different places at one time, with a clock showing the time Bauer has left to complete his task.

When the show first premiered, ’24’ was one of the most popular series on any network. During its run, it has won 68 Emmys, including best drama series in 2006. Sutherland has also been nominated for best actor seven times, winning once. However, the last new episode that aired this season only drew in a little under 9 million viewers. While that is still an enormous feat after eight seasons, especially since many new series are lucky if they draw in 2 million viewers per episode, ’24’ drew in a little more than 13 million viewers last season.

Written by: Karen Benardello