Homeland (season 4)

Homeland (season 4)

Season 4 promotional poster
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 12
Broadcast
Original channel Showtime
Original run October 5, 2014 – December 21, 2014

The fourth season of the American television drama series Homeland premiered on October 5, 2014, and concluded on December 21, 2014, on Showtime, consisting of 12 episodes.[1][2] 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.[3]

Cast and characters

Main cast

Recurring cast

Plot

The fourth season is set in Islamabad and Kabul,[4] half a year after the end of the third season,[5] with Carrie Mathison assigned to the CIA station in Kabul.[6]

Episodes

No. in
series		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production
code		 U.S. viewers
(millions)
371"The Drone Queen"Lesli Linka GlatterAlex GansaOctober 5, 20144WAH011.61[7]
382"Trylon and Perisphere"Keith GordonChip JohannessenOctober 5, 20144WAH021.61[7]
393"Shalwar Kameez"Lesli Linka GlatterAlexander CaryOctober 12, 20144WAH031.22[8]
404"Iron in the Fire"Michael OfferPatrick HarbinsonOctober 19, 20144WAH041.35[9]
415"About a Boy"Charlotte SielingMeredith StiehmOctober 26, 20144WAH051.52[10]
426"From A to B and Back Again"Lesli Linka GlatterChip JohannessenNovember 2, 20144WAH061.54[11]
437"Redux"Carl FranklinAlexander CaryNovember 9, 20144WAH071.55[12]
448"Halfway to a Donut"Alex GravesChip JohannessenNovember 16, 20144WAH081.66[13]
459"There's Something Else Going On"Seith MannPatrick HarbinsonNovember 23, 20144WAH091.77[14]
4610"13 Hours in Islamabad"Dan AttiasAlex Gansa & Howard GordonDecember 7, 20144WAH101.95[15]
4711"Krieg Nicht Lieb"Clark JohnsonAlexander Cary & Chip JohannessenDecember 14, 20144WAH112.11[16]
4812"Long Time Coming"Lesli Linka GlatterMeredith StiehmDecember 21, 20144WAH121.92[17]

Production

On October 22, 2013, Homeland was renewed for a fourth season, consisting of 12 episodes.[1] Production and filming for the fourth season began in June 2014, shifting production to Cape Town, South Africa.[18] Executive producers for the fourth season are Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff, Alexander Cary, Chip Johannessen, Meredith Stiehm, Avi Nir, and Ran Telem.[6]

Casting

Nazanin Boniadi, who had a recurring role in the third season as Fara Sherazi, was promoted to series regular for the fourth season.[19] Several actors were cast for the fourth season in June 2014, including new series regular Laila Robins, as well as Corey Stoll, Suraj Sharma, Raza Jaffrey, and Michael O'Keefe, who all have recurring roles.[20][4][21] In July 2014, Nimrat Kaur, Mark Moses and Art Malik were additionally cast in recurring roles.[22]

Reception

Critical response

The fourth season has received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, it has a score of 74 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.[23] On Rotten Tomatoes, the season received an 82% rating based on 49 reviews with an average rating of 8.0/10. The critical consensus reads "Homeland is back on top, with a renewed energy and focus not seen since its first season."[24] Verne Gay of Newsday gave it an "A+" grade and wrote that the season "feels as fresh, important and relevant as yesterday's news -- or tomorrow's news. A bracing, intelligent start."[25] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe noted it has improved over its previous seasons, and wrote, "The rebooted Homeland promises to be an engaging, streamlined CIA thriller with a few big ideas about America and the war on terrorism."[26] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times also noted the series improvement and wrote, "Early episodes are strong, if not as shattering as the inaugural season."[27] The season finale was well-received, with Rotten Tomatoes giving the episode a 100% rating based on 12 critic reviews, saying "Subverting expectations, "Long Time Coming" makes for a smart, sharp, and satisfyingly subdued finale for an excellent season of Homeland."[28]

Accolades

For the 21st 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.[29] For the 72nd Golden Globe Awards, Danes was nominated for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.[30] For the 67th Directors Guild of America Awards, Lesli Linka Glatter won for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for the episode "From A to B and Back Again", and Dan Attias received a nomination in the same category for directing "13 Hours in Islamabad".[31][32]

Pakistani reaction

According to media reports, Pakistani officials were unhappy over the depiction of Pakistan in the fourth season. Nadeem Hotiana, spokesperson of Pakistan Embassy, said, "Maligning a country that has been a close partner and ally of the US is a disservice not only to the security interests of the US, but also to the people of the US."[33] A source was quoted as saying, "Islamabad is a quiet, picturesque city with beautiful mountains and lush greenery. In Homeland, it’s portrayed as a grimy hellhole and war zone where shootouts and bombs go off with dead bodies scattered around. Nothing is further from the truth."[33]

The officials also lashed out at "absurd" portrayal of terrorist treatment in Pakistan, saying, "Repeated insinuations that an intelligence agency of Pakistan is complicit in protecting the terrorists at the expense of innocent Pakistani civilians is not only absurd but also an insult to the ultimate sacrifices of the thousands of Pakistani security personnel in the war against terrorism."[33]

Washington, D.C. based journalist Chidanand Rajghatta, while describing the controversy, wrote that despite these claims by the Pakistani establishment, US officials have directly accused Pakistan of fostering terror groups, a policy that has been well-chronicled and well-established over the years.[34]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hibberd, James (October 22, 2013). "'Homeland' renewed for fourth season". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ Hibberd, James (July 18, 2014). "'Homeland' season 4 intense first trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Homeland – Listings". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Snierson, Dan (June 5, 2014). "'Life of Pi' star Suraj Sharma joins 'Homeland' for season 4 -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  5. ↑ Bernstein, Abbie (October 5, 2014). "HOMELAND Season 4 scoop from co-creator Alex Gansa – Interview". Assignment X. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The Multi-Award Winning Showtime(R) Drama "Homeland" Set to Begin Production in South Africa This Summer" (Press release). Showtime. April 4, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kondolojy, Amanda (October 7, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: MLB Baseball Tops Night + 'The Strain', 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey', 'Alaska: The Last Frontier' + More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  8. ↑ Bibel, Sara (October 14, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Homeland' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  9. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (October 21, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Tops Night + 'Talking Dead', 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey', 'NFL Countdown', NASCAR Coverage & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ Bibel, Sara (October 28, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Real Housewives of New Jersey', 'Homeland' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  11. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (November 4, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Walking Dead' Tops Night + 'Talking Dead', 'Skyscraper Live', 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ Bibel, Sara (November 11, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', 'Homeland', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  13. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (November 18, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Tops Night + 'Talking Dead', 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta', NASCAR & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ Bibel, Sara (November 25, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'The Walking Dead' Wins Night, 'Talking Dead', 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', 'Homeland', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  15. ↑ Bibel, Sara (December 9, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Eaten Alive' Wins Night, 'Real Housewives of Atlanta', 'The Librarians', 'Homeland', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  16. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (December 16, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Tops Night + 'Kourtney & Khloe Take the Hamptons', 'The Librarians' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  17. ↑ Bibel, Sara (December 23, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Wins Night, 'Watch What Happens Live', 'The Librarians', '90 Day Fiance', 'Homeland' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  18. ↑ Bacle, Ariana (April 4, 2014). "'Homeland' moves production to South Africa for season 4". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  19. ↑ Seikaly, Andrea (March 14, 2014). "'Homeland' Makes Nazanin Boniadi a Series Regular". Variety. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  20. ↑ Snierson, Dan (June 3, 2014). "'Homeland' recruits two actors for season 4, including 'House of Cards' alum". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  21. ↑ O'Connell, Michael (June 11, 2014). "'Homeland' Adds 'Smash' Star, 'Roseanne' Alum for Season 4 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  22. ↑ O'Connell, Michael (July 31, 2014). "'Homeland' Adds Trio to Season 4 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Homeland : Season 4". Metacritic. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Homeland: Season 4". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  25. ↑ Gay, Verne (October 2, 2014). "'Homeland' review: A restart kick-starts the fourth season". Newsday. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  26. ↑ Gilbert, Matthew (October 5, 2014). "‘Homeland’ back on solid ground". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  27. ↑ McNamara, Mary (October 3, 2014). "'Homeland' and Carrie still fighting the good fight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Long Time Coming - Homeland: Season 4, Episode 12". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  29. ↑ Mitovich, Matt Webb (December 10, 2014). "SAG Awards: Modern Family, Thrones, Homeland, Boardwalk, Cards Lead Noms; Mad Men Shut Out; HTGAWM, Maslany and Aduba Get Nods". TVLine. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  30. ↑ Mitovich, Matt Webb (December 11, 2014). "Golden Globes: Fargo, True Detective Lead Nominations; Jane the Virgin, Transparent Score Multiple Nods". TVLine. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  31. ↑ Schwartz, Ryan (January 14, 2015). "OITNB, Game of Thrones, Transparent Among Directors Guild Nominees". TVLine. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  32. ↑ "DGA Awards: Alejandro G. Iñárritu Wins Best Feature Film Director For 'Birdman', TV Winners Include Lesli Linka Glatter 'Homeland' & Jill Soloway 'Transparent'". Deadline.com. February 7, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Schram, Jamie (December 27, 2014). "Pakistani officials furious over ‘Homeland’". New York Post. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  34. ↑ Rajghatta, Chidanand (December 29, 2014). "Pakistan is really upset with US TV series 'Homeland' Season 4". The Economic Times. Retrieved December 29, 2014.

External links