’24: Legacy’ premiere: What should Fox expect from the ratings?

Tonight, there is more to look forward to than just a Super Bowl showdown between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons; after all, you’re also going to get a chance to see the much-anticipated premiere of “24: Legacy.” Corey Hawkins is going to be starring as the new hero in Eric Carter, who hopefully will be able to live up to the high standard set by the original series lead by Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer.

So how popular should you expect this show to be? We’re long past the age of shows routinely getting more than 20 million viewers an episode, but for shows that air after the big game, this is still a milestone that can be reached. Last year, the “Late Show” episode ended up drawing more than 21 million viewers for CBS — therefore, we anticipate that “24: Legacy” will do the same thing.

There are two things in particular that are going in this show’s favor leading out of the game.

The genre – This is an action series, and presumably the same sort of people who love NFL football are going to love this. There’s a nice cross-section of viewers, and this is a great way to escape into something new and exciting regardless of whatever happened over the course of the game.

The franchise – The “24” brand is huge all over the world, and the original is still known as one of the best shows of its kind ever. This name carries with it instant brand recognition, so people who watch are going to know exactly what they are going to get. There’s also an added benefit to watching this show in that there is no required understanding of the original series in order to watch this one. Even if Bauer is mentioned, this story is not dependent on anything that happened in “Live Another Day” or any other edition of the show.

Tonight’s episode will be followed by another tomorrow night, so you do have a lot of good stuff to look forward to if you’re a member of the “24” faithful.

Are you planning to watch “24: Legacy” tonight? Share some of your thoughts now with a comment, and head over here to get an extended preview of the event and some of the characters you’re going to see! (Photo: Fox.)