No way back for 24 in 2008

The Fox TV network has confirmed there will be no return of Kiefer Sutherland thriller 24 until January 2009.

The U.S. network said it knows fans prefer to see 24 on consecutive weeks and, due to the TV and film writers strike, it did not believe it could get a full season aired before the summer.

Networks don't like their high-profile shows running in summer, when viewers go on vacation.

Eight episodes of this season have been shot and they were to begin airing this January.

But the series, starring Canadian Sutherland as Jack Bauer, became a high-profile casualty of the three-month Hollywood scriptwriters strike.

A January 2009 start will comply with viewers' wishes that a season's episodes run without interruption to conclusion, Fox said on Thursday.

After seven seasons, one of the original creators of the show, Joel Surnow, is leaving as executive producer.

He told Variety he has "decided it was time to see if there were other opportunities I wanted to pursue."