Synopsis:
Homeland (stylized as HOMƎLAND) is an American espionage thriller television series developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa based on the Israeli series Prisoners of War (Hebrew: חטופים, romanized: Hatufim, literally "Abductees") which was created by Gideon Raff, who serves as an executive producer on Homeland. The series stars Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a CIA officer with bipolar disorder, and Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody, a Marine Corps Scout Sniper. Brody was held captive by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war, and Mathison becomes convinced that he was "turned" by the enemy and poses a threat to the United States. The series storyline grows from that premise, together with Mathison's ongoing covert work.
The series was broadcast in the U.S. on cable channel Showtime, and was produced by Fox 21 Television Studios (formerly Fox 21). It premiered on October 2, 2011. The first episode was made available online more than two weeks before the television broadcast, with viewers having to complete game tasks to gain access. The series' eighth and final season premiered on February 9, 2020. The finale aired on April 26, 2020.
The series received largely positive reviews, with its first two seasons gaining near universal praise. It won several awards, including the 2011 and 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama for its first two seasons, and the 2012 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for its first season. Danes won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice (from five nominations), and Lewis won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series once (from two nominations). Supporting cast members Mandy Patinkin, Morena Baccarin, Rupert Friend, and F. Murray Abraham also received Emmy acting nominations.
The first season of the American television drama series Homeland premiered on October 2, 2011, on Showtime and concluded on December 18, 2011, consisting of 12 episodes. The series is loosely based on the Israeli television series Hatufim (English: Prisoners of War) created by Gideon Raff and is developed for American television by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa. The first season follows Carrie Mathison, a CIA operations officer who has come to believe that Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine Sergeant, who was held captive by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war, was turned by the enemy and now poses a significant risk to national security.
The season received universal acclaim, scoring a Metacritic rating of 92 out of 100 from 28 critics. TV Guide named it the best TV show of 2011 and highly applauded the performances by Damian Lewis and Claire Danes. Metacritic determined Homeland to be the second-best TV show of 2011 according to major TV critics, by aggregating the critics' year-end top ten lists. The series won both the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for this season.
The original broadcast of the pilot episode on October 2, 2011, received 1.08 million viewers, becoming Showtime's highest-rated drama premiere in eight years. The episode received a total of 2.78 million viewers with additional broadcasts and on demand views. The finale episode of season one received 1.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched season finale of any first-year Showtime series.The series also performed well in the UK, where it aired on Channel 4, with the pilot episode drawing 3.10 million viewers, and the finale drawing 4.01 million viewers.
Cast:
- Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a CIA operations officer assigned to the Counterterrorism Center
- Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine sergeant who was rescued by Delta Force after being held by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war for eight years
- Morena Baccarin as Jessica Brody, Nicholas Brody's wife
- David Harewood as David Estes, the Director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center and Carrie's boss
- Diego Klattenhoff as Mike Faber, a U.S. Marine Captain. He was Nicholas' best friend who, assuming he was dead, started having an affair with Jessica Brody.
- Jackson Pace as Chris Brody, Nicholas Brody's son
- Morgan Saylor as Dana Brody, Nicholas Brody's daughter
- Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson, the CIA's Middle-East Division Chief and Carrie's old boss and mentor
