'Homeland'

Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison and Damian Lewis
as Nick Brody in 'Homeland'

The 64th Emmy Awards air on Sunday, one of the television shows nominated this year, is 'Homeland'. It has been nearly one year since this show debuted and what a year it has been. There are only a handful of TV programs that I really truly adore and are must-see for me (in no particular order) these are 'Mad Men', 'The Newsroom', 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Justified' and 'Homeland'.

The premise for 'Homeland' revolves around a returning prisoner of war from Iraq, Nicholas Brody played by Damian Lewis, whose outward demeanor of a returning American war hero may not be all that he appears to be. Claire Danes plays a CIA agent, Carrie Mathison, who suspects Brody has something to hide...and is determined to find out what it is. It is rather surprising that this show was an almost immediate hit when it first aired on Showtime given the current political climate in the US.

The writing is superb, which is supported by a stellar cast which is rounded out by Mandy Patinkin and Morena Baccarin. Memorable episodes in season 1 for me were 'The Weekend' where Mathison and Brody spent a couple of days together finding out more about each other and themselves, amazing. The second standout episode for me is the first season finale 'Marine One', the interaction between Brody and his daughter which took place primarily by phone is intense, suspenseful and heart breaking.

Below is the trailer for season 2 which starts September 30. The choir heard in the trailer singing the Police's 'Ever Breath You Take' is Belgium's Scala & Kolacny Brothers.

Reports are that Claire Danes is the odds-on favourite to win the Best Actress Emmy and hopefully Damian will win Best Actor, they certainly deserve it.