Fox's '24' Canceled After Eight Seasons

The clock is ticking down on 24.

Ending months of speculation, Fox officially canceled the hit action series on Friday. The current eighth season will be the show's last, with the final episode airing on May 24.

"This has been the role of a lifetime, and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation to everyone who made it possible," series star Kiefer Sutherland, who plays counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer, said in a statement. "While the end of the series is bittersweet, we always wanted 24 to finish on a high note, so the decision to make the eighth season our last was one we all agreed upon. This feels like the culmination of all our efforts from the writers to the actors to our fantastic crew and everyone at Fox."

24 debuted on Fox on Nov. 6, 2001, utilizing a ticking clock to represent the countdown for each hour of the season's 24-hour storyline.

Fans of the groundbreaking series have likely not seen the end of Jack Bauer and his fellow CTU agents. A feature film based on the show is currently in development.