Season 8



Season 8 of 24 premiered in the United States on January 17, 2010 at 8pm on Fox. The premiere was a 2-night, 4-hour event (January 17 and 18 from 9-11pm/8-10pm on FOX/Global).

Season overview
In the eighth season (2010), CTU has been upgraded and is run by MBA-schooled and razor-sharp head honcho Brian Hastings in New York. Cole Ortiz, an ex-Marine who wants to follow in Jack Bauer's footsteps, runs the division’s Field Operations. Expert data analyst Dana Walsh collaborates with systems analyst Arlo Glass inside CTU. Rob Weiss serves as President Allison Taylor's new chief of staff, and Meredith Reed is an ambitious journalist with ties to the unfolding situation.

As President Omar Hassan of Kamistan comes to the United States on a peacemaking mission, his is targeted by a group of Russian terrorists, led by people from within Hassan's own country. CTU has to stop the impending threat, with the help of a reluctant Jack Bauer.

Timeline
Day 8 begins at 4:00pm EST (1:00pm PST), the latest in the day of any season thus far. This is the second season to use Eastern Standard Time (EST) as opposed to Pacific Standard Time (PST). According to Operation Hero, it takes place on May 20.

Major subplots

 * Jack Bauer's attempts to leave New York and be with his family.
 * Dana Walsh's mysterious past as "Jenny Scott".
 * Chloe O'Brian's difficulty in adjusting to the new surroundings of CTU.
 * President Omar Hassan's relationship with Meredith Reed.
 * Hassan having to deal with the fact that his brother was involved in his assassination attempt.
 * Arlo Glass' feelings for Dana Walsh.
 * Renee Walker being reactived, despite being fired from the FBI.

Starring

 * Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer (9 episodes)
 * Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian (9 episodes)
 * Anil Kapoor as President Omar Hassan (8 episodes)
 * Annie Wersching as Renee Walker (6 episodes)
 * Mykelti Williamson as Brian Hastings (9 episodes)
 * Katee Sackhoff as Dana Walsh (9 episodes)
 * Chris Diamantopoulos as Rob Weiss (9 episodes)
 * John Boyd as Arlo Glass (9 episodes)
 * with Freddie Prinze Jr. as Cole Ortiz (9 episodes)
 * and Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor (8 episodes)

Special guest stars

 * Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer (2 episodes)

Guest starring

 * Nazneen Contractor as Kayla Hassan (8 episodes)
 * Clayne Crawford as Kevin Wade (8 episodes)
 * Akbar Kurtha as Farhad Hassan (7 episodes)
 * David Anders as Josef Bazhaev (6 episodes)
 * Juergen Prochnow as Sergei Bazhaev (6 episodes)
 * Necar Zadegan as Dalia Hassan (5 episodes)
 * Gene Farber as Oleg Bazhaev (4 episodes)
 * Michael Filipowich as Nick (5 episodes)
 * Doug Hutchison as Davros (4 episodes)
 * T.J. Ramini as Tarin Faroush (4 episodes)
 * Jennifer Westfeldt as Meredith Reed (4 episodes)
 * Jordan Marder as Dimitri (3 episodes)
 * Benito Martinez as Victor Aruz (2 episodes)
 * Paul Wesley as Stephen (2 episodes)
 * with Callum Keith Rennie as Vladimir Laitanan (3 episodes)
 * and Bob Gunton as Secretary of State Ethan Kanin (4 episodes)

Airings
The following episodes were broadcast as back-to-back as two-hour episodes:


 * Episodes 1 and 2; "4:00pm-5:00pm" and "5:00pm-6:00pm" on January 17, 2010
 * Episodes 3 and 4; "6:00pm-7:00pm" and "7:00pm-8:00pm" on January 18, 2010
 * Episodes 15 and 16; "6:00am-7:00am" and "7:00am-8:00am" on April 5, 2010
 * Episodes 23 and 24; "2:00pm-3:00pm" and "3:00pm-4:00pm" on May 24, 2010