Homeland (season 3)

Homeland (season 3)
DVD cover art
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	12
Release
Original network	Showtime
Original release	September 29 – December 15, 2013

The third season of the American television drama series Homeland premiered on September 29, 2013 on Showtime, and concluded on December 15, 2013, 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.^[1]

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a CIA intelligence officer assigned to the Counterterrorism Center.
• Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine Sergeant and a Marine Scout Sniper who was rescued by Delta Force after being held by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war for eight years.
• Rupert Friend as Peter Quinn, a CIA black ops SOG/SAD operative.
• Morena Baccarin as Jessica Brody, Nicholas Brody's wife.
• Jackson Pace as Chris Brody, Nicholas Brody's son.
• Morgan Saylor as Dana Brody, Nicholas Brody's daughter.
• Sarita Choudhury as Mira Berenson, Saul's estranged wife.
• Tracy Letts as Senator Andrew Lockhart, the power hungry, authoritative and commanding Committee Chairman.
• F. Murray Abraham as Dar Adal, a retired black ops specialist.
• Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson, formerly the CIA's Middle-East Division Chief and the new Acting Director. He is Carrie's old boss and mentor.

Recurring cast Nazanin Boniadi as Fara Sherazi, an intelligent, young and professional Persian analyst.[2] Shaun Toub as Majid Javadi, the Iranian Deputy Intelligence Chief who masterminded the Langley bombing.[3] Tim Guinee as Scott Ryan, in charge of CIA special ops.[4] William Abadie as Alan Bernard, an international journalist.[5] James Rebhorn as Frank Mathison, Carrie's father. Sam Underwood as Leo Carras, a new friend of Dana’s with a troubled past. Gary Wilmes as Dr. Troy Richardson, a psychiatrist helping Dana Brody cope with recent events. Jason Butler Harner as Paul Franklin David Marciano as Virgil, Carrie's contact.[6] Maury Sterling as Max, Virgil's brother. William Sadler as Mike Higgins, the White House Chief of Staff. Amy Hargreaves as Maggie Mathison, Carrie's sister and a psychiatrist. Stephen Schnetzer as Dr. Maloney Manny Pérez as El Niño Marcia DeBonis as Abby Jennifer Marsala as Amanda Lambert Martin Donovan as Leland Bennett, a partner in a Washington., D.C. law firm.[3] Mary Apick as Fariba, Majid Javadi' former wife. Donnie Keshawarz as Hafez Azizi Jared Ward as Yousef Turani Walid Amini as Josh Modarres Jaylen Moore as Eric Baraz David Diaan as Masud Sharazi Houshang Touzie as General Danesh Akbari, the Iranian Intelligence Chief.

Special guest cast Navid Negahban as Abu Nazir, a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda. Guest stars Amy Morton as Erin Kimball Pedro Pascal as David Portillo Joanna Merlin as Lois, Chris and Dana's grandmother. Martina Garcia as Esme Diego Klattenhoff as Mike Faber, a U.S. Marine Major (formerly Captain). He was Nicholas's best friend who, assuming Nicholas was dead, began an affair with his wife. Billy Smith as Special Agent Hall Clark Johnson as Detective Johnson Chance Kelly as Mitchell Clausen Vincent Irizarry as Captain Lonza Chris Chalk as Tom Walker, a U.S. Marine who was captured along with Brody.

Plot

The beginning of the season presents the aftermath of a terrorist attack committed by Abu Nazir's people. Carrie is blamed for the CIA's failings as Senator Lockhart grills Saul, now Acting Director of the CIA, in front of the Senate Committee. However it turned out to be part of a bigger plot, as Saul had Carrie seemingly disavowed by the CIA to lure a senior Iranian intelligence officer Majid Javadi (who financed the Langley bombing) into becoming a CIA asset. He later relayed the information to Carrie that the main perpetrator of the bombing was still in the US, and the CIA acted to bring the real bomber and the officer's lawyers in for questioning. As Brody's family struggles to live within their means while he is being hunted as a terrorist, Brody himself is in hiding in Caracas, Venezuela, effectively being held prisoner by his captors until Saul's arrival. Following a gunshot wound to the torso, Brody becomes addicted to the heroin given to him as a painkiller. Saul eventually rescues him, detoxifies him, and recruits him for a mission: to go to Iran and use his notoriety as the "Langley Bomber" to get close to the current head of the Revolutionary Guard, Danesh Akbari, to assassinate him. After Brody publicly declares that he is seeking asylum in Iran, he is taken to meet Akbari but fails to get close enough to assassinate him. Assuming that Brody will never have another opportunity to complete his mission, senior CIA officers order his assassination, however with help from Carrie, Brody escapes and goes to meet Akbari himself, claiming to possess sensitive information about Javadi. During the meeting, Brody strikes Akbari and suffocates him to death. Carrie takes him to a safehouse but Lockhart, now CIA Director, gives up their location to the Revolutionary Guard in order to increase Javadi's chances of being promoted. Brody is then publicly hanged. Lockhart refuses to place a star on the memorial wall to commemorate Brody, so Carrie draws one on the memorial wall.

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (millions)
25	1	"Tin Man Is Down"	Lesli Linka Glatter	Alex Gansa & Barbara Hall	September 29, 2013	3WAH01	1.88[7]
26	2	"Uh... Oh... Ah..."	Lesli Linka Glatter	Chip Johannessen	October 6, 2013	3WAH02	1.83[8]
27	3	"Tower of David"	Clark Johnson	Henry Bromell & William Bromell	October 13, 2013	3WAH03	1.81[9]
28	4	"Game On"	David Nutter	James Yoshimura & Alex Gansa	October 20, 2013	3WAH04	1.77[10]
29	5	"The Yoga Play"	Clark Johnson	Patrick Harbinson	October 27, 2013	3WAH05	2.00[11]
30	6	"Still Positive"	Lesli Linka Glatter	Alexander Cary	November 3, 2013	3WAH06	2.00[12]
31	7	"Gerontion"	Carl Franklin	Chip Johannessen	November 10, 2013	3WAH07	1.85[13]
32	8	"A Red Wheelbarrow"	Seith Mann	Alex Gansa & James Yoshimura	November 17, 2013	3WAH08	1.78[14]
33	9	"One Last Thing"	Jeffrey Reiner	Barbara Hall	November 24, 2013	3WAH09	1.94[15]
34	10	"Good Night"	Keith Gordon	Alexander Cary & Charlotte Stoudt	December 1, 2013	3WAH10	2.06[16]
35	11	"Big Man in Tehran"	Daniel Minahan	Chip Johannessen & Patrick Harbinson	December 8, 2013	3WAH11	2.09[17]
36	12	"The Star"	Lesli Linka Glatter	Alex Gansa & Meredith Stiehm	December 15, 2013	3WAH12	2.38[18]

Production

On October 22, 2012, Homeland was renewed for a third season, consisting of 12 episodes,^[19] which premiered on September 29, 2013.^[20]

Production for the third season began in late May 2013,^[21] continuing production in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[22] The series also filmed in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, which stood in for Caracas, Venezuela.^[23] The series was also planning on returning to Israel for additional filming, but filming moved to Morocco, due to ongoing conflicts in Syria.^[24]

The third season has three previous guest actors–Rupert Friend, F. Murray Abraham and Sarita Choudhury–promoted to series regulars.^[25][26] Tracy Letts joined the cast playing Senator Andrew Lockhart, Chairman of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as a series regular.^[27] Diego Klattenhoff and David Marciano, who portray Mike Faber and Virgil, do not return as series regulars, but return in a recurring capacity.^[6][28]

Barbara Hall joined as co-executive producer, after Meredith Stiehm left.^[29] James Yoshimura also joined as a writer and consulting producer.^[30] Writer Henry Bromell, who died on March 18, 2013,^[31] is credited as executive producer for the whole season.^[32] Lesli Linka Glatter, who directed the season 2 episode "Q&A", and former 24 co-executive producer and writer Patrick Harbinson both joined as co-executive producer.^[33] Michael Klick, who was credited as producer in the first two seasons, was promoted to co-executive producer.^[33] Claire Danes became a producer beginning with the third season. Former series writer Meredith Stiehm rejoined the writing staff near the end of the third season, including co-writing the season finale, after departing Homeland to write for her new TV series The Bridge.^[34] Stiehm will continue with the series through the fourth season and potential fifth season as well.^[34]

Reception

Ratings

In its third season, Homeland became the first series on Showtime to surpass seven million total viewers weekly.^[35] The season finale, "The Star", was the highest rated episode of the series to date, with 2.38 million viewers for the original broadcast.^[18]

Critical response

The third season initially received generally positive reviews, with a Metacritic score of 77 out of 100, based on 23 reviews,^[36] but reviews became more mixed as the season progressed.^[37][38]

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the first two episodes of the season restored his faith in the series, and that the emphasis on Carrie and Saul "has strengthened the series", and that "the writing and acting in the first two episodes are exceptional."^[39] Robert Rorke of Newsday wrote that "the third-season premiere Homeland delivers a strong episode that repairs much of the damage done last season to this excellent show" and "In balancing action with character development, Homeland offers something for everyone. The performances, as usual, are excellent."^[40] Robert Bianco of USA Today praised that the series is focusing on the aftermath of the CIA bombing, and wrote "The result of that change of focus is a return that's quieter than the tone Homeland set when it left us but just as intense, and—when Danes is on screen—just as emotionally wrenching."^[41] Matthew Wolfson of Slate wrote "Showing us the long-term impact of the attack on the lives of these characters, whose deep-seated motivations and fears have gradually been revealed to us over the last two seasons, allows Homeland to transcend its tendencies toward the hyperbolic and gives us a reason to suspend our disbelief."^[42]

However, some critics had negative reviews for the season. Morven Crumlish of The Guardian found it tedious: "A half-absorbed piece of fiction will leave the characters floundering in their mid-arc torpor. With no end in sight, though, Carrie and Brody can flounder without me."^[43] Gerard O'Donovan of The Daily Telegraph agreed: "The ludicrous plot contortions of this season’s early episodes... had all been such a mess."^[44]

Awards and nominations

The season was nominated for Best Drama Series for the 2014 Writers Guild of America Awards.^[45] For the 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards, the cast was nominated for Best Drama Ensemble, Claire Danes was nominated for Best Drama Actress, and the series was nominated for Best Stunt Team.^[46] For the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Claire Danes was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Mandy Patinkin was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.^[47]

Home media release

Homeland: The Complete Third Season was released as a widescreen region 1 four-disc DVD and three-disc Blu-ray box set in the United States and Canada on September 9, 2014.^[48] In addition to the 12 episodes, it includes deleted scenes, audio commentary for "The Star" and two featurettes—"The Tower of David: Filming in Puerto Rico 3" and "The Last Days: Filming the Season Finale".^[48] The same set was also released on September 8, 2014, in region 2^[49] and on September 24, 2014, in region 4.^[50]

References

1. "Homeland – Listings". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
2. Bricker, Tierney (May 9, 2013). "Spoiler Chat: Glee, The Vampire Diaries, The Office, Arrow and More!". E! Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
3. O'Connell, Michael (July 16, 2013). "'Homeland' Casts Martin Donovan, 'Iron Man' Actor for Season 3". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
4. Guinee, Tim (May 8, 2013). "Nice news today #Homeland is bringing me back.". Twitter. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
5. "‘General Hospital’ Adds William deVry, William Abadie Joins ‘Homeland’". Deadline. July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
6. Andreeva, Nellie (April 11, 2013). "David Marciano Departs ‘Homeland’ As Regular, Preps Cable Prison Drama". Deadline. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
7. Bibel, Sara (October 1, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Breaking Bad' Wins Big, 'Talking Bad', 'Homeland', 'Boardwalk Empire','Masters of Sex' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
8. Kondolojy, Amanda (October 8, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' & 'Thursday Night Football: Special Edition' Tie for Lead + 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
9. Bibel, Sara (October 15, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Witches of East End', 'Homeland, 'Boardwalk Empire' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
10. Kondolojy, Amanda (October 22, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night + 'Talking Dead', NASCAR, 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Guy's Grocery Games' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
11. Bibel, Sara (October 29, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Homeland', 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Witches of East End' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
12. Kondolojy, Amanda (November 5, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Rules Again + 'Talking Dead', 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
13. Bibel, Sara (November 12, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Homeland', 'Killing Kennedy' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
14. Kondolojy, Amanda (November 19, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night + 'Talking Dead', 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', NASCAR & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
15. Bibel, Sara (November 26, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Homeland', 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Witches of East End' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
16. Kondolojy, Amanda (December 4, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, + 'Talking Dead', 'Soul Train Awards', 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
17. Bibel, Sara (December 10, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' & 'Bonnie & Clyde' Win Night, 'Naked and Afraid', 'Shahs of Sunset', 'Homeland' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
18. Kondolojy, Amanda (December 17, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' Tops Night + 'Homeland', 'Bar Rescue', 'Psych' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
19. "Showtime® Orders Season Three of Homeland". Showtime. October 22, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
20. Ng, Philiana (January 12, 2013). "Showtime Moves 'Dexter' to Summer, Sets Premieres for New Dramas". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
21. Janes, Théoden (May 28, 2013). "Homeland shoots third season in uptown". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
22. "'Homeland' to film in Raleigh". WRAL. Capitol Broadcasting Company. May 29, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
23. "Puerto Rico Makes Debut on "Homeland"". Caribbean Journal. September 29, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
24. O'Connell, Michael (September 17, 2013). "'Homeland' Moves Israel Shoot to Morocco Amid Syria Debate". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
25. Bibel, Sara (April 30, 2013). "Showtime Releases Premiere Dates for Original Series Including ‘Masters of Sex’, ‘Homeland’ & ‘Ray Donovan’". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
26. Sepinwall, Alan (May 9, 2013). "Exclusive: 'Homeland' adds F. Murray Abraham and Sarita Choudhury as regulars". Hitfix. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
27. Andreeva, Nellie (May 29, 2013). "Tracy Letts Upped To Regular On Showtime’s ‘Homeland’". Deadline. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
28. Ausiello, Michael (January 18, 2013). "Homeland Exclusive: Diego Klattenhoff Not Returning as a Series Regular In Season 3". TVLine. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
29. Rose, Lacey; Belloni, Matthew (February 20, 2013). "'Homeland' Adds 'Judging Amy's' Barbara Hall as Co-Executive Producer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
30. Rose, Lacey (February 12, 2013). "'Homeland' Adds First New Writer For Season 3 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
31. Braxton, Greg (March 19, 2013). "Henry Bromell, 'Homeland' executive producer, dies at 65". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
32. Malcolm, Shawna (June 28, 2013). "Henry Bromell’s Legacy Looms Large Over ‘Homeland’". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
33. Saylor, Morgan (June 12, 2013). "Juicy @showtime". Instagram. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
34. Rose, Lacey (November 19, 2013). "Showrunner Shakeup: 'The Bridge's' Meredith Stiehm Departs for 'Homeland'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
35. Kondolojy, Amanda (December 16, 2013). "'Homeland' Third Season Finale Draws Record 2.4 Million Viewers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
36. "Homeland : Season 3". Metacritic. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
37. Ryan, Maureen (October 20, 2013). "‘Homeland’ Review: What The Heck Is Going On With This Show?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
38. Dietz, Jason (October 21, 2013). "TV Critics Are Getting Fed Up With Homeland. Are You Still On Board?". Metacritic. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
39. Goodman, Tim (September 25, 2013). "'Homeland' Season 3: TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
40. Rorke, Robert (September 27, 2013). "‘Homeland’ repairing damage done by last season". Newsday. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
41. Bianco, Robert (September 26, 2013). "'Homeland' is worth a visit; 'Betrayal' is best avoided". USA Today. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
42. Wolfson, Matthew (September 24, 2013). "Homeland: Season Three". Slate. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
43. Crumlish, Morven (October 28, 2013). "Homeland has no end in sight, and I'm throwing in my cards". The Guardian. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
44. O'Donovan, Gerard (November 17, 2013). "Homeland, series three, episode seven, Channel 4, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
45. Ausiello, Michael (December 5, 2013). "Breaking Bad, Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards Lead 2014 WGA Nominations". TVLine. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
46. Ausiello, Michael (December 11, 2013). "SAG Award Nominations: Breaking Bad, Big Bang, 30 Rock Lead the Pack, Kerry Washington, Mayim Bialik Sneak In; Orange, Mad Men Shut Out". TVLine. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
47. Lowry, Brian (July 10, 2014). "2014 Emmy Awards: ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Fargo’ Lead Nominations". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
48. Lambert, David (July 1, 2014). "Homeland - Official Fox Press Release for 'The Complete 3rd Season' on DVD, Blu". TVShowsonDVD.com. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
49. "Homeland - Season 3 [Blu-ray]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
50. "Homeland: Season 3". EzyDVD. Retrieved May 15, 2014.

External links

• Official website
• List of Homeland episodes at the Internet Movie Database
• List of Homeland episodes at TV.com