After going to all the effort of a massive world premiere of 24’s seventh season in New York’s Time Square, bosses behind the show may have to scrap the whole series due to the current US writers strike.

Fox announced on Wednesday that the new season won’t commence until it can air uninterrupted.

“The viewers have told us that this is a show that needs to be digested with minimal, if any, interruptions,” said Fox scheduling chief Preston Beckman.

The show could conceivably start later in the spring, should the strike be resolved, however, the delay could mean that 24 will miss the year entirely and shift its seventh cycle to the 2008-09 TV season.