Rotating villain ethnicity is a standard TV strategy to avoid racial stereotyping.

Evidence

The villains on the eight seasons of 24 are Russian, German, Latino, Arab/Muslim, Euro-American, and African, even the fictional president of the United States. Rotating the identity of the “bad guy” is one of the many strategies used by TV dramas to avoid reproducing the Arab/Muslim terrorist stereotype (or any other stereotypes, for that matter). — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 123

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader debate on post-9/11 terrorism representation in media, and the tactic of token diversity as a response to criticism.