10 Greatest TV Shows Of The Decade... So Far

9. Homeland

Broadcasting The Buzz:

Based on Israeli series Hatufim, this pacey remake casts an untrusting eye on US Marine Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), who after a lengthy stint as a prisoner of war in Iraq has returned to suburbia. On the other side of the picket fence is CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), the one person that believes there isn€™t something quite right about this all-American hero. Cue plenty of twists, turns and espionage in a show that will leave your head spinning.

Major Players:

Danes€™ frazzled turn as bi-polar but brilliant Agent Mathison is captivating; you cant help but watch her personal and professional life unravel as she becomes all kinds of entwined with Lewis€™ idealistically iffy grunt. These two are without a doubt the centrepiece of the series. But the success of Homeland also rests on exec producers Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, who following their time on 24 have seemingly snuck the drug that made that show so damn moreish into their own piece of TV escapism.

What Next?

With season three ending on something of a hanger (Brody. The gallows. That star) it€™s hard to see where the series will go from here. But the show must go on and in kind will be returning in October for what could be its difficult fourth. Plot details centre on Carrie taking up her new post in Afghanistan and embarking on a new mission. But the burning question is, will Homeland take that leap from escapist to plain outlandish and somehow bring Brody back? Time shall tell.
Contributor
Contributor

Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing. He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.