US drama Homeland treads familiar territory
The series, starring Clare Danes and Damian Lewis, bears some resemblance to 24
Damian Lewis seems to be the go-to guy for US dramas about tortured souls with a secret past. In Life, he played Charlie Crews, a detective released from prison after 12 years for a crime he didn’t commit, and in Homeland (Channel 4, Sun, 9.30pm), he’s Nicholas Brody, a US marine presumed dead in Iraq after eight years MIA.
Arriving home to a hero’s welcome (except from the wife who started fooling around with his best buddy), CIA operative Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), still haunted by an oversight she made on 9/11, puts surveillance on Brody’s home after being tipped off that an unnamed American soldier may have been turned against his country.
It won’t come as too much of a surprise to discover that the show is partly created by a 24 executive producer and after waves of paranoia and suspicion have been laid on thick atop the opening couple of episodes, the first ‘didn’t see that coming’ shock arrives. Except you can tell it’s on the cards for at least half an hour beforehand. This is the curse of 24, with shows such as Homeland having the watcher constantly on the look-out for red herrings and leftfield revelations. Though it’s unlikely that anyone would have second-guessed Brody indulging in a ‘Bad Lieutenant moment’.