'24' Will Elect Female Prez in '08

The United States will have a female president next year—and on Fox, no less. The political thriller "24" will feature Tony Award-winning actress Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor when the seventh season of Jack Bauer's technological derring-do kicks off in January. 

The show logged its first Oval Office breakthrough when it featured a black commander-in-chief, David Palmer, in its first season. "We've had an array of presidents on the show; why not a female?" asked co-creator (and Republican media guru) Joel Surnow. Although coinciding with Sen. Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House, producers say there will be no parallels. (More Dennis Haysbert stories.)