The stream of movie stars headed to television continues to look more like a flood every day.
Word arrives that James Cromwell – who already had a healthy TV career with work on the likes of Six Feet Under and The West Wing – will add to his collection of beloved show guest appearances by appearing in the sixth season of 24.
He’ll play Philip Bauer, whose name should be a dead giveaway from the start. That’s right, he’s Jack’s dad! Apparently daddy and his terrorist-stomping spawn (Kiefer Sutherland) haven’t exactly seen eye-to-eye over the years, so their relationship isn’t exactly the stuff that happy family albums are made of.
In addition to Cromwell, Eddie Izzard has signed on to play a villainous accomplice, Darren McCarthy. The likes of Kal Penn (Superman Returns), Peter MacNicol and Alexander Siddig (Syriana) have also joined up.
Those who have yet to see the end of Season Five look away now – the sixth series takes place 20 months later, after Jack was carted off by Chinese agents to an unknown fate. David Palmer’s brother Wayne is now President and – wouldn’t you know it? – there is a group of nasty sorts plotting attacks on America. Looks like it’ll be another dodgy day for our Jack.
And while we're excited to see Cromwell and Kiefer arguing, there's just the tiniest part of ourselves that thinks the idea of Donald Sutherland showing up as Jack's dad is slightly higher on the cool-o-meter.
Finally, in related news of quality telly, fans of top crime drama The Wire will be delighted to learn that US cable channel HBO has renewed the series for a fifth and final year. The fourth, which takes a critical peek into Baltimore’s crumbling inner city education system, has just started across the pond to huge critical acclaim and the fifth series will focus on the media.