The seventh season of the American television drama series Homeland premiered on February 11, 2018, and concluded on April 29, 2018, on Showtime, consisting of 12 episodes. The series started as a loosely based variation of the two-season run of the Israeli television series (; English: Prisoners of War) created by Gideon Raff and is developed for American television by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa.
Plot Carrie has left her job in the White House and is living with her sister Maggie. She takes on the Keane administration to secure the release of the 200 members of the intelligence community who were arrested under President Keane's orders the previous season, only to discover a much wider conspiracy against the President.
Cast and characters
Main
Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, former CIA member and former White House advisor to President Keane now residing in Washington, D.C., with her sister Maggie Elizabeth Marvel as Elizabeth Keane, the current President of the United States Maury Sterling as Max Piotrowski, a freelance surveillance expert Linus Roache as David Wellington, White House Chief of Staff Jake Weber as Brett O'Keefe, a right-wing TV host and provocateur Morgan Spector as Dante Allen, an FBI agent and old friend of Carrie’s who is looking into the hundreds of people President Keane has detained Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson, Carrie's former boss and mentor and the new National Security Advisor
Recurring Amy Hargreaves as Maggie Mathison, M.D., Carrie's sister Dylan Baker as Sam Paley, a maverick United States Senator from Arizona who is leading an aggressive investigation into the Keane administration Ellen Adair as Janet Bayne, Paley's Chief of Staff Mackenzie Astin as Bill Dunn, Carrie's brother-in-law and Maggie's husband who works for the Treasury Department Courtney Grosbeck as Josie Mathison-Dunn, Carrie's niece and Maggie's daughter who is staunchly anti-Keane Lesli Margherita as Sharon Aldright, O'Keefe's assistant Claire and McKenna Keane as Frances "Franny" Mathison, Carrie and Brody's daughter Sandrine Holt as Simone Martin, Wellington's girlfriend who Carrie suspects is an undercover Russian military intelligence officer Matt Servitto as FBI Special Agent Maslin, the commander of the FBI unit searching for O'Keefe Sakina Jaffrey as Dr. Lori Meyer, Carrie's psychiatrist David Maldonado as Bo Elkins, who provides sanctuary to O'Keefe Annie Humphrey as Mary Elkins, Bo's wife Colton Ryan as J.J. Elkins, Bo's son Costa Ronin as Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeny Gromov, a Russian GRU Senior Operations Officer James D'Arcy as Thomas Anson, a former special ops agent who helps Carrie William Popp as Stein, a member of Thomas Anson's team Clé Bennett as Dominique "Doxie" Marquis, also a member of Anson's team Ari Fliakos as Carter Bennet, also a member of Anson's team Catherine Curtin as Sandy Langmore, a former CIA officer, professor and member of Saul's Russia task force Peter Vack as Clint Prower, a computer expert and a member of Saul's task force Beau Bridges as Vice President Ralph Warner Elya Baskin as Viktor Makarov, Ambassador of Russia to the United States Merab Ninidze as Colonel Sergei Mirov, Yevgeny's GRU superior Damian Young as Jim, head of the CIA's Moscow Station
Guest
Robert Knepper as General Jamie McClendon Julee Cerda as Reiko Umon, an aide to President Keane Barbara Rosenblat as Attorney General Hoberman Frederic Lehne as General Rossen Mark Ivanir as Ivan Krupin, a former Russian intelligence agent Jennifer Ferrin as Charlotte, a Russian agent Tricia Paoluccio as Audrey Navarro, Dante's ex-wife Thomas G. Waites as Clayton, a Russian agent Adrienne C. Moore as Rhonda, Carrie's lawyer Marin Hinkle as Christine Lonas, a youth care social worker F. Murray Abraham as Dar Adal Geoff Pierson as Senator Richard Eames, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee
Episodes
Production The series was renewed for a seventh and eighth season in August 2016. For this season, Maury Sterling, Jake Weber and Linus Roache were promoted to series regulars; Sterling has been recurring since the first season, while Weber and Roache both first appeared in the sixth season. The seventh season began production on September 11, 2017, filming in Richmond, Virginia. Filming wrapped in Budapest, Hungary on March 29, 2018.
The writers initially planned for the series' seventh and eighth seasons to comprise a two-season arc, but current events surrounding the U.S. government convinced them to instead continue the arc from Season 6 into Season 7. Showrunner Alex Gansa said "Given the swirl of news about the Administration’s war with its own intelligence community, “It was just hard not to do it. It was hard to say ‘OK, let’s go tell a story in Paris. Let’s go tell a story in South America.’ Something very significant is happening in all our lives right now”.
Reception Critical response The seventh season of Homeland received generally positive reviews from critics, who particularly praised the second half. On Metacritic, the season (based on the first episode only) has a score of 65 out of 100 based on 6 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 81% with an average rating of 7.7 out of 10 based on 140 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, "Though it lacks the series' patented agonizing suspense, Homelands seventh season remains an engaging drama by embracing its pulpier elements and pitting Claire Danes' magnetic protagonist against the White House."
Accolades For the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received two nominations–Mandy Patinkin for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and F. Murray Abraham for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Alex Gansa won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama for "Paean to the People" at the 71st Writers Guild of America Awards.
References
External links