When Barton Fink actress Judy Davis dropped out of 24: Live Another Day last week, Fox was left scrambling to find a replacement so that they could keep to their tight filming schedule. With the 12-episode miniseries event set to bow in May, time is one luxury that Fox does not have at the moment. Luckily, the network has secured another actress to take on Davis’s large role: Game of Thrones‘ Michelle Fairley.
Fairley, who played the ill-fated Catelyn Stark on the HBO high fantasy series, will take on the role of Margot, a British arms dealer and the widow of a dangerous terrorist. Davis, who lives in Australia, pulled out of the role, citing problems with the time she would be required to spend on the series’ London set in light of recent family matters. Fox is extremely lucky that Fairley was available, given that Davis’s exit came just a few weeks before she was due to jet to England and film her scenes. And considering the brilliant work she did on Game of Thrones, I’m very excited about Fairley’s involvement with the project. If anyone can play a vengeful, grieving wife with staggering dramatic pathos, it’s her.
All else appears to be moving smoothly for 24: Live Another Day. The much-touted return of 24 was promoted with a gritty, effective teaser during the Super Bowl, and the rest of the series’ cast has been locked into place for a while.
Kiefer Sutherland returns as Jack Bauer, still an international fugitive four years after the events of the show’s eighth season. When Bauer learns that a nefarious plot is being hatched in London, he finds himself thrown back into the fight against global terror. However, even as he races to prevent a catastrophe, the government agents on his trail grow progressively closer.
Sutherland is rejoined by Mary Lynn Rajskub, playing former CTU analyst Chloe O’Brian, Kim Raver as Jack’s love interest Audrey Raines (last seen in a coma, but evidently recovered) and William Devane as Audrey’s father, Secretary of Defense James Heller. 24: Live Another Day also features a large assortment of fresh faces to the series, including Yvonne Strahovski, Stephen Fry, John Boyega, Giles Matthey, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Benjamin Bratt, Tate Donovan and Michael Wincott.
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24: Live Another Day kicks off on Fox with a two-hour launch on May 5.