Get ready for a new face or two when Jericho (a.k.a -- The Little Show That Could) returns to the CBS primetime schedule early next year. One of those faces will be Esai Morales'.

The former NYPD Blue and Vanished star will appear in a recurring role for six of the seven episodes that have been ordered for the new season. Hmm, in the real world that would seem like a regular rather than occurring role. Semantics aside, Morales will play Colonel Hoffman, a career military officer and Iraq War veteran who has not seen or heard from his wife since the day of the attacks.