It looks like Showtime’s pilot orders were on the money, because both just got the greenlight from the premium channel. Both will start filming their 12-episode orders this summer.
Homeland stars Claire Danes and follows her CIA agent protagonist, Carrie Anderson, as she explores a giant conspiracy involving missing soldiers, Al Quaeda, and of course a host of her own personal issues. It’s based on a book called Prisoners of War and costars Damien Lewis as a missing U.S. soldier. With Showtime behind it, it’s likely to be a quality show, however, their bread and butter has been and continues to be period pieces (The Tudors, The Borgias) and quirky, sarcastic though often dramatic series that deal with strange circumstances like a drug-dealing soccer mom or a serial killer who works for the Miami police or a writer who has sex with, well, everyone. Personally, I’d like to them get really gritty with this series. There are so many crime dramas and political intrigues that abound, but few tend to get really down and dirty when it comes to mainstream television. Here’s hoping they shake it up with Homeland.
House of Lies seems more in line with typical Showtime fare. Don Cheadle stars as Marty, a mega successful management consultant who tends to get his way by any means necessary. At his side is the perky and sometimes sharp-tongued Kristen Bell, who plays “a razor-sharp, Ivy-League graduate.” There’s little else to go on, but I’m guessing it will be another one of those fast-paced, unconventional, tongue-in-cheek half hour shows that we know and love.
All in all, it looks like we’ll have some interesting programming to try out when fall finally rolls around.
Source: Deadline
