Death becomes Tony.

Has absence made hearts grow fonder? Every day, somebody asks me when “24,” which lost a whole season to the writers strike, will be back. And now, there’s an answer: Fox has set Jan. 11 as the season premiere date for “Day 7,” with a two-hour episode that night, Sunday, and a second two-hour installment on Monday that will include the show’s 150th episode. (The “24″ movie, a prequel to the season, airs Nov. 23.) Here’s Fox’s summary of the premiere. I particularly enjoy the understatement “Bauer’s day takes an unexpected turn…” when Tony comes back from the dead!

Set in Washington, D.C., “Day Seven” opens with CTU dismantled and JACK BAUER (Kiefer Sutherland) on trial. Bauer’s day takes an unexpected turn when former colleague TONY ALMEIDA (Carlos Bernard) returns after being presumed dead. Meanwhile, President ALLISON TAYLOR (Cherry Jones) leads the country alongside White House Chief of Staff ETHAN KANIN (Bob Gunton) and First Gentleman HENRY TAYLOR (Colm Feore). An unthinkable national security crisis prompts an investigation by a team of FBI agents including Agent JANIS GOLD (Janeane Garofalo), Agent RENEE WALKER (Annie Wersching), Agent LARRY MOSS (Jeffrey Nordling), Agent SEAN HILLINGER (Rhys Coiro) and security specialist MICHAEL LATHAM (John Billingsley). Although CTU no longer exists, CHLOE O’BRIAN (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and BILL BUCHANAN (James Morrison) are back for another momentous day of shocking events.