Janis Gold is a fictional character on the TV series 24

24 (TV series)

24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...

. She is portrayed by Janeane Garofalo

Janeane Garofalo

Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...

. Gold is an FBI agent, and was first introduced in season 7

24 (season 7)

Season Seven, also known as Day 7 of the American serial television series 24, was to premiere on January 13, 2008, but was delayed for one year due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. On November 23, 2008, Fox aired 24: Redemption, a two-hour TV movie set between seasons. Season...

.

Concept and creation

Garofalo initially turned down the role because of the way the show depicted torture. She later changed her mind, saying in an interview: "being unemployed and being flattered that someone wanted to work with me outweighed my stance [on torture].” As portrayed, Janis does show her anger and disapproval in incidents where human rights are presumably violated in the fight against terror threats, only to have her beliefs contradicted by the end of the season, as torture saves the day yet again in the final episode.

Characterization

Gold's offers a counterpoint to Chloe O'Brian

Chloe O'Brian

Chloe O'Brian is a fictional character played by actress Mary Lynn Rajskub on the US television series 24. An analyst at CTU Los Angeles , she is Jack Bauer's most trusted colleague, often doing unconventional and unauthorized favors for him, even at personal risk to herself...

. Gold, an F.B.I.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 agent, is suspicious of her new office mate O'Brian who is the resident tech-savvy computer analyst. The rivalry between Chloe and Janis is designed to lighten the often-grim, high-pressure thriller with a touch of humor. Garofolo decided that Janis would come from a place "where anxiety and irony collide" and said that she’s very self-aware. Whereas Mary Lynn (Chloe) doesn’t quite understand what impact she’s having on people.” Since the two characters of Gold and O'Brian met in the February 16th episode, they have shared a rivalry over who is the better computer hacker. During their introduction, Chloe tells agent Moss, "Whoever set your network up that way didn’t know what they were doing." To which Moss replied, "I set our network up that way."

While discussing the addition of a foil for the Chloe character, Gordon said: "Chloe was the slightly out-of-sync person who was strangely competent but lacked certain social cues. She had a really unique charm that could be set against the deadpan urgency of the show." The rivalry is purely an on-screen, in character development however, as Garofalo and Mary Lynn Rajskub

Mary Lynn Rajskub

Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...

, who plays O'Brian, are actually friends off camera.