Kiefer Sutherland confirmed he will return for the 8th season and said the show’s future also hinges on its writers’ ability to shape its story. In a recent interview for ITN posted on YouTube, Kiefer Sutherland revealed that the starting timeline for season 8 will begin very quickly after the end of season 7,however recent conflicting information has described the timeline as being pushed further into the future, making Jack's granddaughter, Teri, old enough for meaningful dialogue. The only confirmed cast members so far to reprise their roles are Kiefer Sutherland, Cherry Jones, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Annie Wersching, Elisha Cuthbert and Bob Gunton. Additional cast members include Anil Kapoor (as a Middle Eastern leader named Omar Hassan), Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) and John Boyd (The Notorious Bettie Page) who were confirmed on the day production was slated to begin.Westfeldt will play journalist Meredith Reed, while Boyd will play CTU systems analyst Jonah Schwartz.
Season Eight will begin and end at 4:00PM, unfolding in New York City amidst the shadows of the Statue of Liberty and the United Nations where CTU has been upgraded and is run by the MBA-schooled Brian Hastings (Mykelti Williamson). Cole Ortiz (Freddie Prinze Jr.), an ex-Marine who wants to follow in Jack Bauer’s footsteps, runs the division’s Field Operations. Expert data analyst Dana Walsh (Katee Sachoff) collaborates with systems analyst Arlo Glass inside CTU. Rob Weiss serves as President Alison Taylor’s new chief of staff, and Meredith Reed is an ambitious journalist with ties to the unfolding situation.