"24," deck chairs, the rearranging thereof

Come January, “Mr. Show” alumni on “24” will outnumber “Lost Boys” veterans: TV Guide is reporting that Janeane Garofalo will join the cast as a government agent.

Clearly, it’s type-casting for the sardonic Garofalo (who, like Mary Lynn Rajskub – who plays the perpetually petulant Chloe – appeared intermittently on “Mr. Show,” the sketch-comedy series that was a cult favorite amongst almost everyone, save those who actually worked for HBO): She played a cop in “Cop Land,” a political operative on “The West Wing,” a patriotic-ish crime fighter named the Bearded Clam on “Freak Show” and, otherwise throughout her career, acerbic, wise-cracking slacker gals who would never seek a government job.

So the “24” guys still may not have a clue as to what the plot will be next season, but at least they’re sure to have an interesting cast, and with Garofalo and Rajskub together again maybe the show’ll become the comedy it’s always threatened to evolve into.