Once a series has gone off the boil a little, it’s rare for it to recover and come swinging back: shows like "Dexter" and "True Blood" started strong before getting steadily worse as the seasons rolled on past the story’s natural lifespan. Some have argued that "Homeland" looked to have been following that path: a terrific first season, before two that felt increasingly like the show was scrabbling for ideas, even if isolated scenes or even episodes remained of the same high quality.
But things have changed: after the death of one of the series’ main characters at the end of season three, the show’s now been retooled and virtually rebooted, with a new setting, new cast members, and a storyline essentially starting from scratch. And though we’re still a few weeks from the season premiere, we’ve now had the best look so far at "Homeland" 2.0 thanks to a new trailer that’s arrived courtesy of EW.
According to the clip, the new run will see Carrie (Claire Danes) as a new and seemingly reluctant mother, who’s brought in to the Pakistan CIA base after a drone strike goes wrong, and the current station chief (Corey Stoll, joining the cast in a break from "The Strain") comes under investigation. "Life Of Pi" star Suraj Sharma also joins the cast, but it’s not all new faces: Mandy Patinkin, Rupert Friend, Tracy Letts and Nazanin Boniadi are all returning in various capacities.
It’s early yet, obviously, but this glimpse definitely hints at a return to the "Homeland" that we initially fell for. We’ll find out if our faith is justified when the series comes back to Showtime on Sunday, October 5th. Watch the promo below.