| Sleeper Cell | |
|---|---|
Title screen from the second series, Sleeper Cell: American Terror |
|
| Format | Drama |
| Starring | Michael Ealy Oded Fehr Henri Lubatti Melissa Sagemiller |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 18 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Showtime |
| Original run | December 4, 2005 – December 17, 2006 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Sleeper Cell is a one-hour drama on the Showtime network that began airing on December 4, 2005. The tagline for the first season was "Friends. Neighbors. Husbands. Terrorists." and the tagline for the second season was "Cities. Suburbs. Airports. Targets." The series was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Miniseries. The eight-episode second season of the series, titled Sleeper Cell: American Terror, premiered on December 10, 2006. Both seasons of Sleeper Cell were originally aired in an unusual fashion, by filming the entire season ahead of time and then airing the episodes on consecutive nights, such that each brand new season was aired for the first time over a period of less than two weeks. In Australia, both seasons originally aired on the Showtime Australia channel in 2006/2007. Re-runs as of 2008 have screened on the showcase channel (part of the Showtime Australia group of channels).
There are currently (as of May 2011) no definite plans for a continuation of the series. However, Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment for Showtime, was reported in July 2007 to have publicly mentioned the possibility of creating a new installment of the series every few years, similar to the structuring of the British television series Prime Suspect, in that there might be an entirely new cast of characters for each season. In this way, the series could become a way to examine the current state of terrorism, and its evolution over time.
As extra material on the first season DVDs reveal, the show was originally named The Cell.
Contents |
Darwyn Al-Sayeed, a 30-year-old American undercover FBI agent who is a Muslim and embracing Islam as his religion, is assigned to infiltrate a terrorist sleeper cell that is planning an attack in Los Angeles. The cell is run by a Muslim extremist named Faris al-Farik. Darwyn is supervised by FBI senior agent Ray Fuller, also a close friend who worries for Darwyn's safety.
In the second season, Darwyn infiltrates a new cell that has formed to avenge the defeat of the original cell. When his second handler, Patrice Serxner, is killed in Sudan, Darwyn must try to work with yet another handler, Special Agent Russell. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Gayle is drawn deeper into the intrigue when she's caught between Russell, Darwyn and a member of the cell.
The writers once again offered a non-stereotypical mix of cell members, including a white European woman, a Latino-American man and, in a first for American television, a gay Muslim man.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Ealy | Darwyn al-Sayeed (Alias: Darwyn al-Hakim) |
| Oded Fehr | Faris "Farik" al-Farik / Saad bin Safwan |
| Henri Lubatti | Ilija Korjenić |
| Alex Nesic | Christian Aumont |
| Blake Shields | Thomas "Tommy" Allen Emerson |
| Melissa Sagemiller | Gayle Bishop |
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Ealy | Darwyn al-Sayeed (Alias: Darwyn al-Hakim) |
| Oded Fehr | Faris "Farik" al-Farik |
| Henri Lubatti | Ilija Korjenić |
| Omid Abtahi | Salim |
| Kevin Alejandro | Benito 'Benny' Velasquez |
| Thekla Reuten | Mina |
| Melissa Sagemiller | Gayle Bishop |
DirecTV's The 101 Network and DirecTV on Demand began airing the miniseries on January 28, 2009. [1]
| DVD Name | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeper Cell | March 14, 2006 | 10 | The entire first season of Sleeper Cell was released as a widescreen three-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the U.S. on March 14, 2006. It was distributed by Showtime Entertainment. In addition to all the episodes that had aired, it included several DVD extras such as episode commentaries by executive producers Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, behind-the-scenes footage and making-of features as well as deleted scenes with optional commentary. |
| Sleeper Cell: American Terror - The Complete Second Season | March 20, 2007 | 8 | The entire second season of Sleeper Cell: American Terror was released as a three-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the U.S. on March 20, 2007. The box for the DVD mistakenly lists the Season 1 cast on the back. |
| DVD Name | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeper Cell | September 18, 2006 | 10 | The entire first season of Sleeper Cell was released as a widescreen four-disc Region 2 DVD digipak in Europe on September 18, 2006. It was distributed by Tla Releasing. In addition to all the episodes that had aired, it included the same DVD extras as the Region 1 release, such as episode commentaries by executive producers Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, behind-the-scenes footage and making-of features as well as deleted scenes with optional commentary. |
| DVD Name | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeper Cell | August 17, 2006 | 10 | The entire first season of Sleeper Cell was released as a widescreen four-disc Region 4 DVD box set in Australia on August 17, 2006. It was distributed by Road Show Video. In addition to all the episodes that had aired, it included DVD extras such as episode commentaries by executive producers Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, behind-the-scenes footage and making-of features as well as deleted scenes with optional commentary. In addition to the bonus material included on the Region 1 release, the DVD set featured audio interviews with cast and crew members.[1] |