There is a commonsense notion today that 24 ... is a show that tells us something about contemporary life. ...

Is 24 a political show? If so, in what ways is it political?

...

24 is a political show, but for entirely different reasons than might be assumed at the outset. 24 is political because the show embodies in its formal technique the essential grammar of the control society, dominated as it is by specific network and informatic logics.

This essay is unfortunately burdened by academic jargon, but the ideas are of interest nonetheless.

See also, The Politics of the Man Behind '24', from The New Yorker earlier this year, about which Decius wrote, "This article is more important than it sounds."