We haven't seen Jack Bauer for over a year now, but this fall he'll be back, as the TV-Movie 24: Exile premieres. Exile is a prequel to the seventh season of the series, which will premiere in January, following a full year delay caused by the writers' strike.

The main story of Exile follows Jack in Africa, where he and an old friend (played by Robert Carlyle) end up teaming to stop a brutal militia group. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., we follow what is occurring as the new president (Cherry Jones) is inaugurated.

This past week the press spoke to Kiefer Sutherland about Jack's return in Exile; how it connects to Season 7, and how the actor views the series and his iconic character, several years into 24's run.

Q: What is Jack like when we catch up with him at the beginning of 24: Exile? It seems like it must be very different to see him outside the U.S.

Kiefer Sutherland: At the end of Season 6, he was so disillusioned that there was something wonderful about shifting to Africa – that he had actually found a kind of peace and a calm there with his friend and the dynamic between Bobby Carlyle, who's an old friend of his, that he'd been working with in Special Forces some 15 years ago. Bobby Carlyle's character has started a school that is trying to give a safe haven and rehabilitate the children of African wars.

It's the first time that you saw this character kind of in a place where he felt like he was giving back for a lot of the things where I guess he felt like he'd been a part of the problem. This was an opportunity for him to kind of [atone]. So it's on an emotional level, not only physical, it was a really nice way to start for that character.