Karen Hayes is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

on the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

program '' 24'' portrayed by actress

Jayne Atkinson Jayne Atkinson (born 18 February 1959) is a British-American actress. She is best known for the role of Karen Hayes on '' 24'', as well as her Tony Award–nominated roles in '' The Rainmaker'' and '' Enchanted April''. She has also appeared in ...

. She appeared as a recurring character in twelve episodes of the fifth season and a main cast member in eighteen episodes of the sixth season.

Concept and creation

Actress

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

was originally cast as Karen Hayes before being replaced by

. Producer

Howard Gordon Howard Gordon (born March 31, 1961) is an American television writer and producer. He is well known for his work on the Fox action series '' 24'' alongside the Showtime thriller ''Homeland'', which he co-developed with Alex Gansa and Gideon ...

praised Metcalf's acting abilities, but said "the role was not the right fit for the actress" and they mutually agreed to recast the part.

Characterization

Before joining the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...

, Hayes was an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

agent. She worked within the FBI's

Counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

Division, eventually becoming Senior Agent and later a Special Agent in Charge. Hayes has a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. Atkinson says that her character is cautious especially when it comes to "civil liberties and profiling a certain population."Supporting players get to shine
/ref>

Appearances

24: Season 5

Hayes is the Division Director of the

's Los Angeles branch at the time of

Day 5 ''Day 5'' is an American post-apocalyptic drama web series created by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Josh Flanagan, and Chris Demarais. It premiered on Rooster Teeth's website on June 19, 2016. New episodes premiered exclusively on Rooster Teeth site v ...

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Hal Gardner authorizes her to absorb and essentially replace the workers at CTU -

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

after a major terrorist attack leaves many of CTU's original employees dead. Hayes takes operational control of CTU. She decides to keep the survivors on staff until the crisis is over, against the advice of her assistant Miles Papazian. After the nerve gas is secured, Hayes vouches for CTU, but is ordered by the Vice President to fire them and fully absorb CTU into Homeland. She gradually grows suspicious of her superiors when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Charles Logan issues an executive order for the detainment and arrest of

Jack Bauer Jack Bauer is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television series ''24 (TV series), 24''. His character has worked in various capacities on the show, often as a Special agent, federal agent of the Co ...

and later says that he will use the military to capture him. After one of her people from Homeland indirectly aids

, she learns from

Mike Novick The following is a list of characters in the American serial drama television series '' 24'', '' 24: Live Another Day'', and '' 24: Legacy'' by season and event. The list first names the actor, followed by the character. Some characters have their ...

that Logan never contacted the military about Bauer and that no member of the executive office has yet seen Logan's "evidence" against Bauer. Based on the President's actions in the preceding hours, Hayes is convinced that Logan is indeed manipulating CTU in order to kill Bauer. After Jack successfully obtains a confession from Logan, Hayes prepares to leave CTU for the day, under new orders to report to Washington, D.C. to fully report on the day's events. She acknowledges to Buchanan that she will strongly recommend to newly appointed President Gardner that he remain as Special Agent in Charge of CTU. At the end of the day, Buchanan invites Hayes for breakfast, though she asks for a rain check.

24: Season 6

Karen returns to Day 6, now married to Bill Buchanan. She had also been appointed as the White House

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

to President

Wayne Palmer The following is a list of characters in the American serial drama television series '' 24'', '' 24: Live Another Day'', and '' 24: Legacy'' by season and event. The list first names the actor, followed by the character. Some characters have their ...

, several months previously. She frequently argues with Tom Lennox over plans of creating detention facilities and

presidential pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

for

Hamri Al-Assad The following is a list of characters in the American serial drama television series '' 24'', '' 24: Live Another Day'', and '' 24: Legacy'' by season and event. The list first names the actor, followed by the character. Some characters have their ...

. She briefly resigns after

Tom Lennox The following is a list of characters in the American serial drama television series '' 24'', '' 24: Live Another Day'', and '' 24: Legacy'' by season and event. The list first names the actor, followed by the character. Some characters have their ...

threatens to expose the files that show that her husband released Fayed who is revealed to be a terrorist. At one point, she reluctantly fires Bill Buchanan to save her career. However, Karen returns when she learns of a failed assassination plot against Wayne Palmer. She helps

regain power when Vice President Noah Daniels attempts to launch a nuclear attack on the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and when he invokes the

25th Amendment The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability. It clarifies that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, a ...

to become the President. When

Phillip Bauer The following is a list of characters in the American serial drama television series '' 24'', '' 24: Live Another Day'', and '' 24: Legacy'' by season and event. The list first names the actor, followed by the character. Some characters have their ...

offers to trade this component in exchange for his grandson Josh Bauer, Karen decides to defend Josh's rights and opposes the deal. When Tom and Daniels go on to do so, she secretly helps Jack Bauer to intervene. Although she is arrested for insubordination, Tom persuades Daniels to grant a pardon to Karen and Bill who will resign in return.

24: Season 7

She is neither seen nor mentioned in Season 7, though her husband Bill Buchanan returned. However, in TV Guide, Howard Gordon explained that Bill and Karen were still together in Season 7; there was a scene explaining her whereabouts, but it was ultimately cut from the script.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Karen Television characters introduced in 2006 24 (TV series) characters Fictional United States National Security Advisors Fictional Department of Homeland Security personnel Fictional Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel American female characters in television