By the end of the year, Universal Studios, which owned the show, assigned Surnow to The Equalizer, as Supervising Producer, about a CIA officer turned vigilante.

Surnow was the co-creator and executive producer of the 1997–2001 television series La Femme Nikita, which was the top-rated drama on basic cable its first two seasons.

In addition to being Supervising Producer and writing for The Equalizer and serving as executive story editor on the first season of Miami Vice, he has written scripts for a number of other TV series, including Nowhere Man and Wiseguy.

Following La Femme Nikita, Surnow's most successful work was on the TV series 24, which he co-created and also executive produced with Robert Cochran.

[2] In 2006, the duo made partnership with Howard Gordon, another 24 producer to develop projects at Fox under his Real Time Productions company.

The show followed the story of SpyGirl as she attempted to save Gurnee, Illinois (the park's location) from the evil Max Condor in just 24 minutes.