The fifth season of the American political thriller TV series “Homeland” will be premiering on Showtime in September this year and shall focus on bringing America’s ‘war on terror’ to Europe.
From its Middle East setting in Season 4, the fifth season of “Homeland” shall move and be filomed entirely in Berlin, Germany as the series will have Europe as the focal point of its storylines, reports Venture Capital Post.
Thus, “Homeland” will go down in history as the first American TV series to shoot a full season in Germany.
Showtime executives have disclosed that production for Season 5 of “Homeland” shall begin in June and that filming will be made at Studo Babelsberg in the German capital city of Berlin.
Problem with Middle East storylines
The series has received some criticisms for its Season 4 because it focused too much on its Middle East storylines which were rather touchy issues considering the present state of relationship of the US and some Middle Eastern countries and also in light of the sporadic ISIS attacks on US allies in the region.
David Nevins, president of Showtime, in a recent press conference, told the media that “Homeland” will work on addressing its Muslim extremists’ plots as some Middle Eastern people feel that it is inappropriate to even talk about it, much more turned into a TV series, given the current situation in the region.
By moving to Germany and shifting the series’ focus from the Middle East to Europe, Nevins said that it is part of the answer to the legitimate concerns of some responsible and knowledgeable people in the region.
Nevins said that the show will not stay and focus forever on the US relations in the Muslim world. The series will be ultimately about US foreign policy and American intelligence in the 21st century amid a difficult and trying times in the international intelligence community.
He added that real franchise of “Homeland” is to show the whole world how difficult it is to be America in the 21st century and how tough the choices the country has to make and do so that its decision will redound for the greater good of the majority.
Humble beginnings
“Homeland” was developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa based on the Israeli series “Hatufim” (which means “Prisoners of War”) that was created by Gideon Raff.
Claire Danes leads the cast of the show as Carrie Mathison, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer with bipolar disorder. From Seasons 1 to 3, she is supported by actor Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody, a US Marine Corps Scout Sniper.