New and Returning Characters for Day 6 of 24

Day 6 of FOX's counterterrorism thriller "24" is refreshing its cast in the wake of last season's massive character deaths. In addition to the previously announced casting of Peter MacNicol ("Ghostbusters 2" and the FOX series "Ally McBeal"), Regina King ("Jerry Maguire" and "Ray") will be joining the series this season as the suddenly sister Palmer, whose brothers would then be the assassinated former President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) and the new President of season six Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside), which is big character development news in and of itself.

On a very interesting note, Eric Balfour ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake and FOX's series "The O.C."), who made an appearance in season one for a brief stint as a CTU consultant and then vanished from even the background with no explanations, will be returning to reprise his role as Milo Pressman as a regular next year when the show returns in January. Carlo Rota ("La Femme Nikita" and "Queer As Folk"), who played Chloe's husband Morris this past season, will be back as well. Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine") will also appear as a villain this season. The plot thickens already with an intriguing build in the cast itself, and the season's start is still several months away.