Tag Archives: Homeland

Status update #4 on your favorite new and returning shows

Before we close out the year, let’s take one more look at the survival status of your favorite shows.

CBS is a fan of the high-flying Supergirl so much so that it’s granted the Greg Berlanti-produced superhero series a full season order. The DC Comics-based drama will run for 20 episodes in its debut season.

NBC can’t get enough of Raymond Reddington. The network has renewed the James Spader vehicle The Blacklist for a fourth season ensuring its comeback next fall. The high-octane drama took a daring turn into more serialized storytelling this year and it’s reaping the rewards in the creative department. Also on the Peacock’s nice list is Dick Wolf’s latest spinoff Chicago Med; the medical procedural has been given a five-episode back order bringing its first season tally to 18 hours. Remember, ChiMed debuted late in November, so this can be considered a full season order. On its naughty list is Neil Patrick Harris’ primetime variety show Best Time Ever; it won’t be coming back for more.

Fox‘s summer breakout Wayward Pines will in fact return for a 10-episode second season. The M. Night Shyamalan-produced mystery drama based on author Blake Crouch’s novels hooked viewers with its jaw-dropping twists, fun action sequences, and most of all, its homages to The Twilight Zone and Twin Peaks. Shyamalan will return to EP, but showrunner Chad Hodge is handing off the reigns to Mark Friedman (Believe).

For more, jump after the break. Continue reading Status update #4 on your favorite new and returning shows

9 premieres to look out for in October: ‘Homeland,’ ‘The Leftovers,’ ‘AHS: Hotel,’ ‘The Walking Dead’ & more

We’ve made it through premiere week, and now as we enter October there’s more than a handful of cable offerings you cannot miss. Popular series like Homeland and The Walking Dead make their highly anticipated returns this month. On Halloween, Ash vs. Evil Dead raises hell (literally) as the iconic Sam Raimi creation comes to the small screen. And there’s so much more debuting in-between. Check out my picks after the break. Continue reading 9 premieres to look out for in October: ‘Homeland,’ ‘The Leftovers,’ ‘AHS: Hotel,’ ‘The Walking Dead’ & more

‘Homeland’ season 5 teaser reunites Carrie & Saul in Europe

Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) gets kidnapped in the first teaser trailer promoting Homeland‘s fifth season. Also, Saul “The Bear” Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) calls Carrie “naive and stupid” to which Carrie replies, “I’m not atoning. I’m just trying to do good work.” And don’t fret–Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) will find himself in the crossfire this go-around, too. A brief synopsis of events follows:

Premiering this fall, Homeland will pick up two years after Carrie Mathison’s ill-fated tenure as Islamabad station chief. Struggling to reconcile her guilt and disillusionment with years of working on the front lines in the “war on terror,” Carrie finds herself in a self-imposed exile in Berlin, estranged from the CIA and working as the head of security for a German philanthropist.

Homeland returns to Showtime in September.

Showtime renews ‘Homeland’ & ‘The Affair’, TBS wants more ‘American Dad’

Showtime and the creative team behind Homeland have done a spectacular job rebooting the series. In seasons past, Damian Lewis’ Nicholas Brody played a major role opposite Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes). Intertwining plots would shift between Carrie’s work at the CIA and Brody’s involvement with terrorists. Brody’s emotional demise at the end of last season also meant the phasing out of his family since they, ultimately, served to support his character. Now the show focuses solely on Carrie and the relationships she has formed over the past three seasons with Saul (Mandy Patinkin), Quinn (Rupert Friend), and Fara (Nazanin Boniadi). That small anti-terrorism group is expanding this year with more input from Senator Lockhart (Tracy Letts) and newcomer Laila Robins (she plays US ambassador Martha Boyd). Homeland has managed to let go of its typically trotting plotlines (read: Dana Brody) and refocus squarely on Carrie. The show is as intense as ever, and every episode thus far has kept me on the very edge of my seat. #SaveSaul

The premium cable network is celebrating Homeland‘s recent creative successes by renewing it for a 12-episode fifth season. Additionally, Showtime has granted a second season to freshman The Affair. The subtle drama about an intermarital affair swiftly proved to be an addictive character piece with unique storytelling and scenic direction. Though I’m not sure what another season would explore, I have faith in creators Sarah Treem and Hagai Levi to continue this uniquely captivating love affair.

“In its fourth season, Homeland has brilliantly reinvented itself. It continues to capture the attention of a devoted fan base, and has provided an enviable platform for the successful launch of The Affair,” said Showtime head David Nevins. “With thought-provoking, relevant and addictive storylines, both series have been embraced, dissected and much debated week after week. We’re excited to see more from these complex shows in 2015.”

Elsewhere, TBS has proven to be a fine home for Seth MacFarlane animated series American Dad since it left Fox for the cable network; it’s been renewed for a 22-episode 12th season. Also of note, CBS cancelled Will Arnett/Margo Martindale sitcom The Millers.

TV reminder: 4 premieres to look out for in October

Now that the big four networks have open the flood gates to the new fall season, it’s prime time for cable to release its heavy hitters. Jump after the break to learn when Showtime’s Homeland, FX’s American Horror Story, and AMC’s The Walking Dead return to the schedule. Continue reading TV reminder: 4 premieres to look out for in October

‘Homeland’ stars discuss upcoming new season

Homeland stars Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, and Nazanin Boniadi take time during their promotional photoshoot to talk season 4. In addition to a brief glimpse at this season’s shooting location (Cape Town, South Africa will stand in for parts of the Middle East), this new clip does a fine job at teasing the upcoming Brody-less season just as the “First-Look” trailer did before it.

Homeland returns October 5 to Showtime with a two hour premiere.

‘Homeland’ showrunner teases season 4 (first trailer inside!)

I can guarantee that Dana Brody will not be back for Season 4.”

Let’s start with that choice quote from Homeland executive producer Alex Gansa at the TCAs on Friday. Moving on…

With the demise of the show’s male lead Damian Lewis (who so elegantly played Nicholas Brody), Homeland‘s fourth season serves somewhat as a series reboot. This time around the action takes place in the Middle East and it follows Claire Danes’ Carrie Mathison in the field dealing with political ramifications that comes with US troops withdrawing from the area.

“It’s about seeing Carrie Mathison for the first time doing the job she was trained to do — being a case officer in a foreign capital,” Gansa shared in an interview with EW. “We’re going to see what an intelligence officer does on the ground. How she recruits assets, how she deals with the foreign government and her country team — the people she works with in the embassy — and the host country’s intelligence services. That is a complicated and murky world, one that we hope is filled with intrigue and drama and adventure.”

What else? “About six months” have passed since season 3 ended; Carrie’s had her baby but it’s left back in the States so, no, you won’t be seeing her balancing motherhood and taking down terrorists. In terms of her mental stability, “she’s quite stable,” says Gansa. “Where she is managing her grief about her loss of Brody is a different question.” Speaking of Brody, Gansa says it isn’t outside the realm of possibility for Lewis to reprise his role via flashbacks. “He was such as significant part of Carrie’s life that just to drop him completely would feel wrong, because Carrie is grieving for his loss.”

Gansa also commented on the status of fan favorites Saul Berenson and Peter Quinn. “Saul plays a central role this season, albeit a different role, a reversed role. Saul in the past was Carrie’s boss. Now that he’s in the private sector he finds himself working underneath her and at her behest, so there’s a role reversal that takes place there.” And then: “Everybody is clamoring for a relationship between [Quinn and Carrie]. And it is certainly something we’re toying with. However the question is whether Carrie is in any kind of emotional state to be open to a romance of any kind and does Quinn realize that’s the case. But it’s enough to say he watches over her this season because he cares about her so much.”

For more on season 4, check out the interview with Gansa in full at EW.

Now, jump after the break to glimpse what’s in store. It’s true: There’s no place like Homeland. Which returns October 5 on Showtime. And how incredible is that season 4 key art hanging above? Best one yet. Continue reading ‘Homeland’ showrunner teases season 4 (first trailer inside!)

Showtime renews ‘Homeland’ & ‘Masters of Sex’

Showtime has renewed Homeland and Masters of Sex for a fourth and second season, respectively. The Emmy-award winning Homeland is the network’s #1 rated show averaging 6.5 million weekly viewers. The CIA drama is exploring new avenues this season with intense character studies of its two main protagonists Carrie Mathison and Nicholas Brody, both of whom are experiencing extreme isolation as they remain worlds apart from each other. Some think it to be too slow, but I am appreciating the shift in pace and the focus on character. If you’re caught up you know the game has changed with a surprise twist so things are expected to ramp up in terms of sheer fast-paced action Homeland is famous for.

Freshman Masters of Sex has proven to be a hit as well, averaging 5.4 million viewers. Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan, who portray real-life human sexuality pioneers William Masters and Virginia Johnson, lead a great cast in a show that everybody knew would be sexual and risqué yet also addicting and very intriguing.

Homeland continues to prove its strength for Showtime, and is one of television’s most exciting, provocative and widely-discussed shows. It has grown its audience significantly in each of its three seasons,” said Showtime President David Nevins. “And, the critical and audience reaction to Masters of Sex since its great launch has been incredibly gratifying. It’s a privilege to get to work with such talented and creative people as Alex Gansa and Michelle Ashford, as well as their tremendous casts. They have each created truly original shows, with distinctive voices that are among the most admired series on television.”

Homeland and Masters of Sex air Sunday nights starting at 9PM on Showtime.

Fill in Brody’s gap with ‘Homeland’ audiobook

Brody was finally reintroduced into Homeland last Sunday after being absent from the first two hours of the new season. Viewers found him nearly fatally shot in the abdomen but he was saved by international colleagues of Carrie Matheson in Caracas, Venezuela. How did he get that gunshot wound? What happened between the time he left Carrie in the woods at the end of season 2 and his stay at the Tower of David? Executive producer Alex Gansa says the show won’t tell that story in flashbacks but there is a way for fans to be filled in.

Enter Homeland: Phantom Pain, a 30 minute audio book narrated by Brody’s portrayer Damian Lewis that reveals Brody’s untold story of crossing the border.

Emmy Award-winner Damian Lewis, who stars as Former Congressman and U.S. Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody in the hit series Homeland, narrates this original Homeland story of Brody’s journey into exile. Picking up at the end of Season 2 after he has parted from Carrie at the border, Brody relates, in the form of a letter to Carrie, his desperate escape by sea and land as the world’s most-hunted fugitive. Guided off the grid by a former CIA analyst and a battle-scarred French mercenary, he stays in the shadows…both physically and emotionally. But wherever he goes and whoever he meets, he cannot stop thinking about Carrie.

“The audible book is specifically designed to tell that interstitial story,” Gansa told the New York Post. “There’s also a bit of interstitial information on the Season Two DVD, in which you see Brody at the border in the scene where he’s wounded.”

But why not include this backstory in the show itself?  “Our feeling was that it’s a fairly straight narrative line between Brody being dropped off [at the Canadian border] and how he got to Venezuela,” Gansa explained. “He’s been on Carrie’s underground railroad…and ran into some difficulty at a border crossing. Maybe people feel differently, but our goal was to reveal Brody in an interesting way, rather than showing him being shot. He’s carried into the [camera] frame and there he is with his head lolling about and blood spilling from his gut. That was the most impactful and narrative way [to show Brody] after not seeing him in the first couple of episodes. One of the men [guarding Brody] does allude to ‘those Colombians’ and the fact that Brody didn’t have a pleasant border crossing. I don’t know if it had to be explicated beyond that.”

Though it may not be key to Homeland‘s season 3 arc, fans are gobbling up this bonus material rating the audiobook 4.3/5 stars on Audible.com. Click here to download the book for free and shine a light on Brody’s backstory.

Homeland airs Sundays at 9PM on Showtime.

[Via NYP]

TV reminder: ‘Homeland’ & ‘Masters of Sex’ premiere Sunday on Showtime

Brody is on the run and Carrie and Saul are left to deal with the aftermath of the cataclysmic CIA bombing in the season 3 premiere of Homeland. Pledge allegiance to the poster hanging above and tune in at 9PM on Showtime.

Following the return of Homeland is the series premiere of Masters of Sex at 10PM, a risqué dramedy starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as the real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality, William Masters and Virginia Johnson. Watch the stimulating trailer after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Homeland’ & ‘Masters of Sex’ premiere Sunday on Showtime

‘Homeland’ season 3 injected with more teasers plus a series recap

Following that somber full-length trailer, Homeland is letting a few more videos creep onto the scene before Showtime unveils the third season on September 29. Above, the main cast of talented actors discuss the state of the show with brand-new, never-before-seen footage placed throughout. After the break, two new teasers titled “Haunted” and “Who Do You Trust” reside along with a welcome “From The Beginning” recap.

And now I ask you, dear readers, who do you trust? Continue reading ‘Homeland’ season 3 injected with more teasers plus a series recap

‘Homeland’ season 3 gets a somber full-length trailer

Have you been itching to find out what happens next on Showtime’s award-winning Homeland? Here is your first look at the drama’s highly anticipated third season. Carrie is depressed (again), Brody is back sporting a whole new look, Saul is heavily involved with senate hearings following the CIA bombing, Quinn is playing with fire(arms), and Dana makes a bad decision (again) but also surprises with one major revelation revealed. The trailer, set to The Cinematic Orchestra’s “To Build a Home,” is somber in its own right and sets that tone for the season.

Homeland returns September 29.