Miranda Otto as former CTU boss Rebecca Ingram in 24: Legacy.

Miranda Otto played a double agent who was killed on the fifth season of Homeland, but in her new TV drama, 24: Legacy, she's hoping to stay alive.

"I guess you never really know on this show where your character is going to go," the Aussie actress says. "But I feel like she's a good guy this time, so we will see."

24: Legacy takes place three years after the events of 24: Live Another Day (the 2015 limited series starring Kiefer Sutherland) and is set in Washington, DC.

Miranda Otto says Homeland's Claire Danes has broken down barriers for female actors.

Former ex-Army Ranger Eric Carter (Corey Hawkins) has led a mission to kill terrorist leader Sheik Ibrahim Bin-Khalid and finds himself targeted for assassination in retaliation when he returns home. He's forced to turn to CTU for help and former CTU boss Rebecca Ingram (Otto) must come back and help him stop a large-scale terror attack about to take place on American soil. 

READ MORE:
*24: Corey Hawkins takes over from Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer
​*Clock stops on hit TV show 24
*Miranda Otto shows her true colours

"We are keeping the whole idea of it being in real time, and the ticking clock and the themes of the show," Otto says. "But it is obviously a different show and we have got a new class of CTU agents and a different group of characters to play with.  

Corey Hawkins plays ex-Army Ranger Eric Carter in 24 Legacy.

"Rebecca was transitioning towards leaving when this happens," she continues. "She is supporting her husband's (Jimmy Smits) presidential campaign on a very important day when she gets drawn back in because she is the only person who can actually deal with this secret situation." 

Otto says this creates a conflict in their relationship too. "Rebecca has promised her husband she'd be there for him, because he'd previously taken a back seat for her career and didn't pursue a Presidential campaign earlier," she elaborates. "Now it's time for her to be his first lady and stand by him but this happens."

The 12-episode series (that will jump forward at some point to cover 24 hours) continues to follow the evolving world of terrorism, which has changed dramatically since the original 24 series launched just weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks. 

"This show really reflects the changing picture of work in counter terrorism because the whole landscape is different," Otto says. "We are also dealing with the more random nature of terrorism these days and obviously a lot of it is fiction but, as with the original 24, we ask the question, 'What if this thing really happened? What kind of technology do we have and how would people deal with this situation?'"  

Otto, who is married to Aussie actor and former Neighbours star Peter O'Brien and has a 10-year-old daughter Darcey, is filming in Atlanta, Georgia and commutes back to Los Angeles each weekend to be with her family. 

She says her Homeland co-star Claire Danes, also a wife and mother, has been a big inspiration for her strong roles on TV. 

"Claire has been breaking down barriers for women on this show for a while," she adds. "It's great to see these kind of characters proving to Hollywood that we can have women leads on a show who are not just maternal figures." 

WHO IS COREY HAWKINS?

24: Legacy star Corey Hawkins has big shoes to fill since the 'legacy' in the title refers to his iconic predecessor, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). 

But the 28-year-old actor is confident his character, ex-Army Ranger Eric Carter, will make his own mark.

"Over the course of the season he is going to be forced to make a lot of morally questionable choices in the same way that Jack Bauer did," explains Hawkins, whose credits include the films Straight Outta Compton and Iron Man 3 as well as a recurring role on the TV drama The Walking Dead.

"But I think the difference is that he is a soldier, and he is not used to dealing with the rules of engagement at home, so he'll struggle with protecting his home and family but also honouring his responsibility to his country."

24: Legacy, TVNZ 2, starting Tuesday February 14.

Read more TV Guide stories on our page or connect with us on Facebook.

 - TV Guide