Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

‘Homeland’ coming back later than usual for season 6; two-year renewal near

showtime homeland renewal episodic
Showtime
Fans are going to have to wait longer than usual to get more Homeland, but the silver lining is that more is almost definitely coming. Showtime announced today that the political thriller series won’t return for season 6 until January 2017. Softening the blow, however, were assurances from the premium network’s CEO, David Nevins, that a deal to renew Homeland for seasons 7 and 8 is near, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Although sources tell THR that the show typically begins production in the spring, it is slated to start in the summer this year. Apparently, the decision is intended to give showrunner and co-creator Alex Gansa and Homeland‘s writers more time going into the upcoming season. That being the case, it’s hard to complain; presumably, the show will be even better for not having been rushed.

The Homeland Twitter account reminded fans of at least one big question that will be answered when the long wait is over: Will Quinn (played by Rupert Friend) survive after his harrowing experience in season 5?

As for the more distant future, Showtime is in final negotiations with Fox 21 Televisions Studios, according to Nevins. The fact that he shared the news shows his confidence that talks will conclude favorably. He even spoke of the possibility of more Homeland beyond season 8.

“Just because I’m not thinking that far ahead doesn’t mean Alex Gansa and his team aren’t,” he said. “It’s changing itself pretty dramatically each season. I think more than most, this show has an open-ended expiration date.”

Meanwhile, Showtime has released premiere dates of the shows that will be back in the fall. Masters of Sex is set to kick off its fourth season on September 11, while Shameless season 7 will begin October 2. The Affair season 3 will come later, premiering on November 20.

Stephanie Topacio Long
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
The 50 best movies on Netflix right now (May 2024)
Jenna Ortega in Miller's Girl.

It should come as no surprise that this year's hit rom-com Anyone But You has a stranglehold on the top slot of the list of the most popular movies on Netflix. But it is somewhat surprising to see Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver completely disappear from the list. That's going to make Rebel Moon – Part Three very unlikely to happen, and it may even discourage Netflix from committing extremely high budgets to its original sci-fi movies.

More tellingly, two of this week's new additions are modestly budget dramas: Miller's Girl and The Judge. The former features Wednesday's Jenna Ortega, while the latter has great lead performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. So it's not a mystery as to why both of those films are two of the top performers of the week.

Read more
MCU’s Fantastic Four: release date, trailer, cast, plot
The cast of "The Fantastic Four."

It's not a coincidence that one of the first Marvel movies announced after Disney purchased 20th Century Fox's entertainment assets in 2019 was a new reboot of The Fantastic Four. In 1961, Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby launched the Marvel Universe as we know it with Fantastic Four #1, and it was the comic that set the tone for everything that came after.

Because the rights to the Fantastic Four were tied up at Fox for the better part of two decades, FF supporting players like Silver Surfer were withheld from the MCU. Now that the characters are firmly under Marvel Studios' control, the sky's the limit for the upcoming reboot. And we're here to share everything we know about The Fantastic Four so far.
Who has been cast in The Fantastic Four?

Read more
The 50 best shows on Netflix in May 2024
Jeff Bridges in A Man in Full.

Netflix keeps such a regular schedule of updates that there's not much difference in terms of new content between the beginning of the month and any other week. To kick things off in May, Netflix has debuted David E. Kelley's adaptation of Tom Wolfe's novel A Man in Full, while also adding the supernatural thriller Evil.

Neither of these series have broken into the list of the most popular shows on Netflix yet. But that could change by the end of the weekend, especially since A Man in Full is the first Netflix original of the month. Thankfully, it won't be the last, as more new shows are on the way in May. And you can keep up with all of them by checking back every Friday as we update our list of the best shows on Netflix right now.

Read more