The last time there was any major news about Homeland, the new big drama pilot from US cable channel Showtime, it was the fact that the executives were trying to convince Ben Affleck to direct it.That task clearly failed, since LIE director Michael Cuesta has the job, but they did get one name they were after – Claire Danes will take a lead role.
Homeland is being loosely adapted from an Israeli series called Prisoners of War by former 24 writing/producing collaborators Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa. The basic plot finds two US soldiers going missing during the 2003 invasion of Baghdad. One of them turns up years later in Afghanistan after a drone attacks an Al Qaeda settlement. Though he’s given a hero’s welcome back in the States, he has to deal with the after-effects of his experiences.
Plus there’s a troubled CIA agent named Carrie Anderson (the part Danes has taken) who receives a tip that the veteran might be hiding something.
Danes’ film career has been ticking along quietly recently, but it’s on TV where she’s really found acclaim. Her big break was on My So-Called Life and just this year she scored an Emmy for her performance as autistic livestock behaviour expert Temple Grandin. So you can sort of see the appeal for her taking a longer-term job on telly.
While the show doesn’t yet have a full series commitment, the shorter schedule of cable shows means that even if it does work out, she’ll still have plenty of time for film work in between seasons.