MacNicol joins 24, but stays on Numb3rs

Here's something you don't usually see: an actor joining a show as a series regular, but staying on his current show, on another network, also as a series regular.

Peter MacNicol will join the cast of 24 in the fall. He'll play a top government official on the spy drama when it comes back in January. But MacNicol is going to stay as a regular on Numb3rs, where he plays mentor and friend to Charlie.

Maybe Charlie can make a guest appearance on 24. He can help Jack Bauer solve an international conspiracy with, um, math or something. I mean, the show does have a number as its title.