CREATOR CHAT

Tara Dilullo Bennett

Tara DiLullo Bennett exclusively chats to Titan Books about the hugely successful 24: Official Companion series, and her experiences on the set of the groundbreaking TV sensation.

I think people love a hero and Jack Bauer has evolved into the quintessential hero over six years. Since the show premiered in 2001, the real world has become a much scarier place and 24, to an extent, provides people with an entertaining, cathartic release to their anxieties. It's comforting to believe that in a terrible crisis there is a Jack Bauer to save the day. The show is also a wonderful thriller with amazing cliffhangers, so it's a lot of fun to watch week after week.

I think fans will enjoy all the new interviews from the creators, producers, cast and crew that detail the behind-the-scenes stories about how the show is made. The personal anecdotes and insight into storylines and characters that worked and didn't work provide fans with a first-hand account of how the show is put together - sometimes by design and other times by fate. Of the two seasons, I enjoyed season three the most because of the return of Nina!

I'm very excited about the season five book, not just because it's my favourite season since season one, but the year was such a milestone for the show too. It finally won a slew of Emmys including Best Dramatic Series and Best Actor! I made several visits to the set over the course of the entire season, so our access was right there when everything was happening. It's also only one season, so there will be plenty of space for even more exclusive, exhaustive interviews from all the Emmy winners and some of the incredible actors that made the season so special.

I do a lot of set visits to gather interviews from everyone on the show from cast to crew. I also follow up with phone interviews. Once I have the interview materials collected, I get to work on the episode guides, reviewing each episode so I can write the episode guide material. Then it's the process of transcribing the many hours of interviews, writing the genesis features and then plugging in all of the behind-the-scenes anecdotes from everyone I've interviewed into the episode guides. It's like a crazy puzzle!

I've always loved telling the creative history of a piece from the perspective of the people actually making a show, movie, comic, etc. With the 24 Companion Guides, I feel like I get to shine a light on all the incredibly talented people that work on the show. They are books celebrating the history of the show, in the words of the people in the trenches making it, so it makes me very proud to be able to share their stories with fans.

I really loved my interview with Greg Itzin [President Charles Logan] for season five and my interviews with Sarah Clarke [Nina Myers] and Xander Berkeley [George Mason].

It's a lot of fun. The cast and crew of 24 are, hands down, the most welcoming people of any set I've been to (and I've been to some good ones!). From creator to grip, they love to share their stories and are very generous with their time as I bug them throughout the year for interviews. I can't thank them enough for their candour and for including me as part of their family.

Kiefer is just as intense as Jack Bauer, especially when he is filming. But at the same time, he is just as loyal, protective and dedicated to his fellow cast and crew as Jack is the country.

Many times! I've been on set and location about ten times now.

There are too many to choose from! I enjoy all of the stories but in particular, I find the story evolution discussions fascinating. Like, who knew President Logan almost had a crazy brother!