Kiefer Sutherland returns in rebooted 24

Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland will be back playing super-agent Jack Bauer on a rebooted 24 to be broadcast in May 2014.

Sutherland’s outing as the father of an autistic boy in Fox series Touch was cancelled after its second season.

But as the American networks announce their fall seasons this week, Sutherland is back on Fox with a 12-part version of 24: Live Another Day, with each episode running two hours. Unlike the original series, which ran from 2001-10, 24: Live Another Day will jump hours instead of running in "real time."

Fox, which announced its upcoming season on Monday, promised 11 new series for fall and winter 2013-14 and also announced it was putting a lot of investment into new mini-series, following the trend set by ratings winners such as Hatfields & McCoys.

Among the new offerings:

• M. Night Shyamalan to create Wayward Pines starring Matt Dillon, a thriller mini-series about the search for missing federal agents in an Idaho town.
• Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane will be producing a live-action sitcom, Dads, about  best friends whose fathers become their new roommates. Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi are to star.
• Lost creator J.J. Abrams to produce Almost Human, an action series set 35 years in the future, when officers are teamed with humanlike androids.

American Idol is facing ebbing ratings and Fox is promising a reboot, though it wouldn’t say much about how it will revamp its most successful franchise. With the departure of original judge Randy Jackson, it did say three judges are more likely for the coming season.

Michael J. Fox sitcom

NBC plans a major overhaul of its programming, with 17 new series announced Sunday, spanning drama, comedy, reality and mini-series.

Canadian actor Michael J. Fox's returns to sitcom territory on NBC, playing a sportswriter who heads  back to work after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. The Michael J. Fox Show mirrors his long public battle with Parkinson’s.

Among the other new NBC shows:

• Crossbones with John Malkovich playing the 18th Century pirate Blackbeard.
• Dracula, a drama beginning in the fall about the longlived vampire, now living a double life in London as an American businessman.
• The Blacklist, which stars James Spader as a fugitive who volunteers to help the FBI catch a terrorist;
• A new Ironside, with Blair Underwood as a New York City detective who uses a wheelchair.

NBC saw its ratings plunge this past year and has cancelled the newsmagazine Rock Center, Friends star Matthew Perry's new series Go On and comedies The New Normal, Up All Night, Guys With Kids, 1600 Penn and Whitney.

However, Community, which was put on hiatus earlier this year, will continue after a fan outcry in favour of the comedy.

Joss Whedon's Marvel series

ABC is expected to launch its full season Tuesday, but announced new programming plans over the weekend.

Among the prominent new shows:

• The Avengers director Joss Whedon is creating Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., based on Marvel comics superheroes.
• More fairy tales in a spinoff from Once Upon a Time called Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
• Comedy Super Fun Night written and starring Rebel Wilson of Bridesmaids.
• Maggie Wilson and James Caan in Back in the Game about a single mom and her  son who move back in with her cranky, ex-athlete dad.

CBS is to announce its fall lineup later this week.