Showtime is the Funny People of channels. Its shows start strong, but go on for too long. Dexter was great for three of its first four seasons; the final four years were one long treadmill scene. Every time Weeds moved, the less we cared about the Botwins. Californication slowly turned into Showtime’s Entourage, where Hank Moody’s gross actions never truly had consequences.
Homeland nearly suffered from “too long” syndrome, but the political thriller righted itself in a fantastic season four, and season five was nearly as good (read our finale review). Showtime’s most awarded series, including an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy, has already been renewed for season six — which will be set in New York City “between election day and inauguration day” — and seasons seven and eight are reportedly in the works, too.
Showtime CEO David Nevins announced Wednesday that the network is in final talks with Fox 21 Television Studios to renew the series for a seventh and eighth season, [which will] include star Claire Danes and showrunner Alex Gansa. Nevins also confirmed that Homeland won’t return to the schedule until 2017, with production on the sixth season set to start later in the summer. (Via)
Nevins added that Gansa might have an “end game,” but Homeland “is a show that’s constantly reinventing itself, it’s not on a straight character trajectory path since it’s very much about this intelligence world and changes itself pretty dramatically, season to season, so I think this is a show that more than most has an open-ended expiration date.”
Homeland isn’t the sensation it was in 2012, but it’s still a dependably exhilarating show, with strong performances from Claire Danes, Rupert Friend, and Mandy Patinkin. Plus, Carrie hasn’t turned into a lumberjack.
Yet.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
