HUGE 24 Casting News!

I’ve got a major scoop on the upcoming season of 24. Usually over the summer/fall, we’ll learn some stuff about the new season before it begins, and up until now, there hasn’t been much. We know that the production of the seventh season got delayed earlier this summer. Plot wise, however, there hasn’t been much to tell.

Fox announced the date of the premiere, which will be Sunday, January 13th. It will be followed by a new episode at its regular time on Monday, January 14th. They followed this announcement with the big news.

If you want to go in fresh, don’t read on…but trust me, if you’re a fan, and particularly if you didn’t like last season, you’re going to want to read this.

Tony Almeida is coming back from the dead.

While the premiere date is bound to be exciting for “24″ fans, that’s nothing compared to the first official confirmation of the return of Tony Almeida. The CTU veteran, played by Carlos Bernard, was one of Jack Bauer’s main allies over the show’s first four seasons, but the character — initially revered for his prodigious soul-patch — was left unceremoniously dead at the hands of a terror suspect in Day 5.

“Tony’s uncertain fate near the end of ‘Day 5′ left the door open for his return,” says executive producer/show-runner Howard Gordon. “And since there was no silent clock at the conclusion of his last appearance — the 24 tribute to a major character’s demise — we always kept this as a possibility.”

Although Tony’s fate didn’t appear so uncertain at the time, fans have kept alive the hope of the character’s eventual return. Producers admitted that one possible ending for the show’s much-maligned sixth season featured Tony showing up as a cliffhanger.

I have been calling this one for years. I absolutely cannot wait.

Source: Chicago RedEye, Zap2It.com