Introduction

The first season of the American television drama series Homeland premiered on 02 October 2011 on Showtime and concluded on 18 December 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 US 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.

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Outline

The first season follows Carrie Mathison, a Central Intelligence Agency operations officer who, after conducting an unauthorised operation in Iraq, is put on probation and reassigned to the CIA’s Counter-terrorism Centre in Langley, Virginia. In Iraq, Carrie was warned by an asset that an American prisoner of war had been turned by al-Qaeda. Carrie has also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a fact that she conceals from the CIA. She surreptitiously receives medication for the disorder from her sister.

Carrie’s job grows complicated when her boss, Director of the Counter-terrorism Centre David Estes, calls Carrie and her colleagues in for an emergency briefing. Carrie learns that Nicholas Brody, a US Marine Sergeant who had been reported as missing in action since 2003, has been rescued during a Delta Force raid on a compound belonging to terrorist Abu Nazir. Carrie comes to believe that Brody is the American prisoner of war whom her asset in Iraq was talking about. However, the federal government and her superiors at the CIA consider Brody a war hero. Later, another Marine captured at the same time, Tom Walker, is also found to be still alive, casting doubt on which of the Marines is the suspected spy.

Realising it would be nearly impossible to convince her boss to place Brody under surveillance, Carrie approaches the only other person she can trust, her mentor, Saul Berenson. The two must now work together to investigate Brody and prevent another terrorist attack on American soil. Eventually, Brody plans to assassinate the Vice President with a suicide vest but falters at the last moment after an emotional conversation with his daughter Dana. Carrie becomes more paranoid that Brody plans to carry out a terrorist act.

Cast

• Main:
  • Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a CIA operations officer assigned to the Counterterrorism Centre.
  • Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody, a US 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 US 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.
• Recurring:
  • Jamey Sheridan as William Walden, Vice President of the United States and former director of the CIA.
  • Navid Negahban as Abu Nazir, a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda.
  • David Marciano as Virgil Piotrowski, Carrie’s contact aiding in the surveillance of Brody.
  • Maury Sterling as Max Piotrowski, Virgil’s brother who also aids in the surveillance of Brody.
  • Afton Williamson as Helen Walker, Tom Walker’s wife.
  • Amy Hargreaves as Maggie Mathison, Carrie’s older sister and a psychiatrist.
  • Alok Tewari as Latif Bin Walid.
  • Omid Abtahi as Raqim Faisel, Aileen’s husband who is also part of a sleeper cell.
  • Marin Ireland as Aileen Morgan, an anti-American terrorist part of a sleeper cell.
  • Hrach Titizian as Danny Galvez, a CIA agent of Guatemalan and Lebanese origin.
  • Sarita Choudhury as Mira Berenson, Saul’s wife who is often out of the country.
  • Chris Chalk as Tom Walker, a US Marine who was captured along with Brody.
  • Ramsey Faragallah as Mansour Al-Zahrani.
• Guest:
  • Nestor Serrano as Major General Tony Trujillo
  • Scott Bryce as Major Foster.
  • Amir Arison as Prince Farid Bin Abbud.
  • Brianna Brown as Lynne Reed, a CIA informant.
  • Melissa Benoist as Stacy Moore
  • Michael McKean as Judge Jeffrey Turner.
  • Lawrence O’Donnell as himself.
  • Gaby Hoffmann as a CNN producer.
  • Annika Boras as Jessica’s friend.
  • James Rebhorn as Frank Mathison, Carrie’s father.
  • Waleed Zuaiter as Afsal Hamid.
  • James Urbaniak as Larry.
  • Sherman Howard as Chip Shooter Haigh.
  • Marc Menchaca as Lauder Wakefield, a former Marine.
  • Reggie Austin as Matt.
  • Jaden Harmon as Lucas Walker.
  • Linda Purl as Elizabeth Gaines, the Vice President’s chief advisor
  • Sammy Sheik as Imam Rafan Gohar.
  • Billy Smith as Special Agent Hall.
  • Rohan Chand as Issa Nazir.
  • Trent Dawson as Kyle Galyean.
  • Remy Auberjonois as William Pritchar.
  • Nasser Faris as Bassel “The Tailor”.
  • Charles Borland as Sanders.
  • Elizabeth Franz as Isabel Samler.
  • Larry Pine as Richard Halsted.

Trivia

• 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 02 October 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.

Homeland Series

• Episode 01: Pilot.
• Episode 02: Grace.
• Episode 03: Clean Skin.
• Episode 04: Semper I.
• Episode 05: Blind Spot.
• Episode 06: The Good Soldier.
• Episode 07: The Weekend.
• Episode 08: Achilles Heel.
• Episode 09: Crossfire.
• Episode 10: Representative Brody.
• Episode 11: The Vest.
• Episode 12: Marine One.

You can find a full index and overview of Homeland here.

Production & Filming Details

• Original Network: Showtime.
• Release Date: 02 October 2011 to 18 December 2011.
• Running Time: 46-48 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.