Having written mostly in prose fiction, Cochran was new to the format and began gravitating towards a career in screenwriting, eventually leaving consulting to work in Hollywood.
In 1997 Cochran and his writing partner Joel Surnow created and produced the spy series La Femme Nikita starring Peta Wilson, also serving as the show's consultants.
[4] The concept for 24 initially came from Surnow: a TV show where each episode would play out in real time and the entirety of the first season would cover a 24-hour period.
Cochran was unconvinced until they met the next day and fleshed out the idea of an action-espionage series with a dramatic race against the clock.
That same year, Cochran and David Ehrman wrote and executive produced the TV spy movie Company Man starring Jason Behr and Stana Katic.