Tuning In

New, old faces on ‘24’

Jack’s back with a whole new set of friends — and enemies.

As Fox’s “24” heads into its fifth adrenaline-filled, sleep-deprived day, producers are restocking the cast with fresh blood, including former “Designing Women” star Jean Smart and up-and-coming stars Connie Britton and 16-year-old Brady Corbet.

Details for the new season are being kept under lock and key — the network wants to make sure nothing leaks before Day Five kicks off in January, according to E! Online. Producers and publicists are not even publicly confirming that series star Kiefer Sutherland will be back as CTU agent Jack Bauer to save the world from yet another dastardly conspiracy. (Surprise: He will.)

Among the confirmed returnees: Gregory Itzen as President Logan and Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida, despite the character’s seeming exit from the show for good at the end of last season, when Tony and Michelle Dessler (Reiko Aylesworth) appeared ready to give up the terrorist-hunting lifestyle to rekindle their marriage.

As for the newcomers, Miss Smart, an Emmy winner for two guest stints on “Frasier” and most recently seen in the indie film hit “Garden State,” will play Logan’s first lady. Miss Britton, best known for her work on “Spin City,” is apparently going to be Bauer’s latest love interest. (Good luck with that.) And Brady (“Thirteen”) will reportedly play Miss Britton’s son, a teenager who has a strong bond with Bauer early in the season, E! Online says.

Fox declined, however, to elaborate on any plot points for next season.

Job security

Kristin Chenoweth, the multitalented singing star of stage (“Wicked”) and screen (“Bewitched”), will return to her role as communications specialist Annabeth Schott on “The West Wing” for at least nine episodes this season, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Miss Chenoweth says she and the rest of the cast of the NBC drama still have no idea whether the next president will be played by Alan Alda or Jimmy Smits.

“Everybody at ‘West Wing’ is anxious to find out” who will win the election, says the Tony-winning actress.

Luckily for Miss Chenoweth, she may have a job whatever the outcome. Although her character is working for a Democratic White House, it’s never been revealed whether she has partisan leanings or is just a hired gun.

‘Weeds’ takes root

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