The upcoming sixth season of the Showtime drama will tackle issues involving the Iran nuclear deal and Muslim community in the U.S. among other things.
- Aug 12, 2016
AceShowbiz - Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) is staying on "Homeland" for at least two more years. The political thriller has been renewed for season 7 and 8 by Showtime. The two-season pickup was announced Thursday, August 11 at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills.
The show, which usually airs in the fall, has been pushed to 2017 for its sixth season. It will premiere Sunday, January 15. More details about the upcoming installment were also revealed at the TCA panel. According to the official season 6 description, "After she thwarted a terrorist attack in Berlin, season 6 picks up several months later and finds Carrie Mathison back on American soil, living in Brooklyn, New York."
"She has begun working at a foundation whose efforts are to provide aid to Muslims living in the U.S. Season six will tackle the after effects of the U.S. presidential election, with the entire season taking place between election day and the inauguration. It's a strange, transitional time in the halls of government filled with anxiety and different competing interests, where a very fragile and complex transfer of power takes place between the outgoing president and the incoming president-elect."
While the U.S. presidential election will be happening later this year, "Homeland" is careful not to be "counter-factual" or "irrelevant, so this year we're sort of hedging our bets in terms of our president," said showrunner Alex Gansa. Thus, the new president on the show will not be based on only one presidential candidate. "Although she's a woman, she's a little bit Hillary Clinton, a little bit Donald Trump, and a little bit Bernie Sanders," Gansa added.
Explaining further how the new president would be, he shared, "If you listen to Donald Trump, he says that there are these people that run the government from administration to administration and they have completely screwed the world up over the last 25 years, so I think there's part of that in our president-elect - who is skeptical of the people that have gotten us into the mess that we're in. I think there's a little bit of Bernie in terms of the more progressive agenda, and then there's a little bit of Hillary in terms of just being a pragmatist and looking at the world as she sees it from the inside. Also, our new president happens to be from New York, she's a junior senator, so there's a little bit of Hillary obviously in that."
Besides the new president, the sixth season would tackle issues involving the Iran nuclear deal and the Muslim community in the U.S. Gansa dished on, "We talked a lot about the Iran nuclear deal, because a lot of that business gets conducted in New York City in terms of the sanctions and banking. That's a fairly big part of the show. And also, frankly, about how law enforcement in this country is treating the Muslim community right now, and how they've been treating the Muslim community since 9/11. There are some very strong feelings on both sides of that issue, and it's an issue that Carrie's character will be very, very involved with."
He added, "And also, lastly, we talked about new presidents, and what is the responsibility of the intelligence community to educate those people coming into office. We heard some fascinating anecdotes about the transition during the Obama administration, when Obama came into office and what that period looked like between election and inauguration day. This season will be about educating a new president and what the intelligence agency's responsibility is in terms of making this new person aware of the dangers of the world."
Gansa also confirmed that Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) is indeed alive after suffering a brain hemorrhage that left him in a vegetative state in the fifth season finale. "Well, Quinn is alive, I can say that much, but we really want to be careful about revealing what his condition is," he said. "I would just say that he suffered a major stroke last season. So you're going to see a very changed and altered Quinn this year."
"Homeland" isn't the only show that has been renewed by Showtime. The network announced on the same day a fifth season renewal for "Ray Donovan", with production set to begin next year. Meanwhile, "Billions" starring "Homeland" alum Damian Lewis is set to return for its second season on Sunday, February 19.
