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‘Homeland’ Up 60% In Season Premiere, ‘Dexter’ Logs Most-Watched Opener Ever

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday October 1, 2012 @ 12:33pm PDTTags: Dexter, Homeland, Ratings, Showtime
Nellie Andreeva

Homeland Season PremiereOn the heels of sweeping the Emmys a week ago, Showtime‘s Homeland opened its second season with 1.73 million viewers at 10 PM last night, up 60% from its series debut last fall and marking a new series high for the terrorism thriller, edging the first-season finale (1.7 million). This was Showtime’s most-watched second-season premiere ever, outpacing Shameless‘ sophomore season opener (1.58 million).

Homeland‘s performance last night was impressive, but how about veteran Dexter posting ratings records in its seventh season? The serial-killer drama drew 2.4 million at 9 PM last night, its most-watched premiere ever, to provide a great lead-in for Homeland. Dexter extended its unprecedented streak, going up in the ratings in every premiere since the series’ 2006 launch — that is six consecutive years of ratings growth. READ MORE »

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2012 Primetime Emmys Analysis: ‘Homeland’ And ‘Modern Family’ Unbeatable While Other Favorites Flounder

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday September 23, 2012 @ 11:11pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Emmys, Homeland, Mad Men, Modern Family
Nellie Andreeva

The streak is over. After four straight years on top, the reign of AMC’s Mad Men as best drama series ended tonight at the hands of hot upstart Homeland. Showtime’s freshman terrorism series swept the drama field, just like defending comedy champ Modern Family did on the comedy side. Each won for best series, all acting categories in which they were nominated as well as writing (Homeland) and directing (Modern Family).

Related: Nikki Finke: Live-Snarking The 64th Emmys

It was a great night for 20th Century Fox TV, which dominated the comedy and drama series fields with Modern Family and Homeland, produced by the studio’s cable division Fox21. The studio previously boasted both the best comedy and drama winners in 1999 with David E. Kelley’s Ally McBeal and The Practice. It was also a big night for CBS Corp., with the company winning the drama and reality-competition series categories with Showtime’s Homeland and CBS’ The Amazing Race, along with three of the four lead series actors with Homeland‘s Demian Lewis and Claire Danes and Two And A Half Men‘s Jon Cryer, a surprise winner. Homeland delivered the first-ever best series win for Showtime as well as the pay cable network’s first Emmys in the other three categories. With its strong run tonight, Homeland tied Game Of Thrones as the program with the most wins this year. (All of GOT‘s trophies came at the Creative Arts Emmys.) CBS, which also took the best reality program award for Undercover Boss at the Creative Emmys for a sweep of the top reality categories, was the broadcast network with most wins for second straight year with 16. HBO was No. 1 overall with 23 Emmys, paced by Game Change, which won four Emmys tonight, including best movie/miniseries.

Related: 2012 Primetime Emmys: By The Numbers

There were a couple of big surprises tonight, notably the complete shutout of Mad Men and Girls and the almost complete ones of AMC’s Breaking Bad and FX’s American Horror Story. Mad Men‘s drought was the most shocking because it also included the Creative Emmys, leaving the 1960s-set drama with zero wins out of 17 nominations for the biggest shutout in Emmy history. Girls, which won for casting in a comedy series at the Creative Arts Emmys, didn’t get recognition for its creator-director-star, Lena Dunham, who is considered TV’s “it” girl at the moment but, at just 26, she seems destined for Emmy glory. Meanwhile, 30 Rock, created by/starring Tina Fey, in whose footsteps Dunham is following, was shut out completely for a second consecutive year.

Breaking Bad had been heavily tipped as a frontrunner in several categories, including best drama series and best actor Bryan Cranston. Instead, the series’ only win on the night came for co-star Aaron Paul in the supporting actor category. He was able to extend his streak to two consecutive wins in the category after winning the previous time the show was eligible, in 2010. But Cranston’s win streak ended at three. Similarly, FX’s American Horror Story‘s only win tonight came in the supporting actress in a drama series category for Jessica Lange. AHS may have suffered a backlash from the controversial decision to submit itself as a miniseries and not a drama series as the show could only convert two of its 17 nominations — one tonight and one at the Creative Emmys. Meanwhile, Downton Abbey‘s move from the movies/miniseries field, which it dominated last year, to drama series, misfired as the British import only scored one nod tonight for Maggie Smith. Read More »

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2012 Primetime Emmys: Showtime Arrives With ‘Homeland’ Success

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday September 23, 2012 @ 10:07pm PDTTags: Damian Lewis, Emmys, Homeland

Ray Richmond contributes to Deadline’s TV coverage

Sunday was the night Showtime officially entered the Emmy big leagues thanks to its newest signature drama series, the pulse-pounding first-year Homeland. It won the pay-cabler its first Emmys in three different major categories: for top drama series as well as lead actor (Damian Lewis) and actress (Claire Danes). Only Danes’ win was considered a shoo-in. The other two were significant upsets, having broken lengthy winning streaks. The only omen that Homeland could be in for such a big night was its victory back in January for best drama series at the Golden Globes. But rarely is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association a reliable arbiter of future success with the TV Academy.

Related: Nikki Finke: Live-Snarking The 64th Emmys

Few pundits anticipated this kind of dominance for Homeland. But Danes noted backstage that the cast, crew and producers took no special pleasure in having prevented Mad Men from earning what would have been a record fifth consecutive outstanding drama series Emmy. “We didn’t make our show just to undermine Mad Men,” she said. “We’re delighted and thrilled and a little startled by this. No one was expecting to be recognized in this way right off the bat.” Danes paused before adding, “But it feels pretty nice.” Co-creator and executive producer Howard Gordon — coming off a hugely successful run at Fox on 24 — was asked backstage after the big night of wins if having the creative freedom afforded by Showtime made a big difference. “They have been phenomenally supportive and great partners,” he replied, “and they’ve had great patience. They gave us support and time with the characters and let the stories breathe. We’re really grateful.” Homeland‘s Emmy success comes just in time — the series’ second season premieres next Sunday.

Related: Analysis: ‘Homeland’ And ‘Modern Family’ Unbeatable While Other Favorites Flounder Read More »

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2012 Primetime Emmys: ‘Mad Men’s Historic Shutout

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday September 23, 2012 @ 9:58pm PDTTags: Emmys, Homeland, Mad Men
Nellie Andreeva

Mad Men wound up setting a dubious — and surprising — record at the Primetime Emmys this year. Not only did AMC’s slick 1960s-set drama see its four-year winning streak as best drama series snapped by Showtime’s Homeland, it failed to win a single trophy tonight or at the Creative Emmys last week. Heading into the awards with the most nominations, 17, Mad Men went 0-for-17 to set a record for the biggest shutout in Emmy history. It broke the mark of 16 held jointly by Northern Exposure (1993) and The Larry Sanders Show (1997). While there was a consensus that Mad Men had lost its Emmy momentum this year, few could have predicted the nominations frontrunner would be left completely empty-handed. There was a likely warning sign for this year’s drought in 2011, when the praised series was able to convert only two of its 19 nominations to a win.

Related: 2012 Primetime Emmys: By The Numbers Read More »

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2012 Primetime Emmys: Politics Hot Topic With Winning Shows & Backstage Insights

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Sunday September 23, 2012 @ 9:04pm PDTTags: Emmys, Game Change, Homeland, Jimmy Kimmel, Saturday Night Live

In an election year, political shows were big winners at an Emmys ceremony that featured plenty of comments onstage and backstage. HBO’s 2008 election drama Game Change and Showtime’s Washington spy thriller series Homeland swept the longform and drama series categories, respectively. Game Change, about Sarah Palin’s Vice Presidential run, won four Emmys including best miniseries or TV movie, while newcomer Homeland denied Mad Men a historical fifth consecutive win by garnering outstanding drama series. “This isn’t as much about Sarah Palin as the political process,” said Game Change’s Julianne Moore backstage after her outstanding actress in a miniseries or TV movie win for portraying Palin. “In an election year, this was an examination of how we pick our leaders. That to me was what was so compelling about this film.”

Related: Nikki Finke: Live-Snarking The 64th Emmys Read More »

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2012 Primetime Emmys: By The Numbers

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday September 23, 2012 @ 8:23pm PDTTags: Emmys, HBO, Homeland

WINS BY NETWORK
(2 or more; includes Creative Arts Emmys)
HBO … 23
CBS … 16
PBS … 12
ABC … 9
Discovery Channe1 … 6
Showtime … 6
FX Networks … 5
HISTORY … 5
NBC … 5
Cartoon Network … 4
Comedy Central …3
AMC …2
Disney Channel … 2
FOX …2

WINS BY PROGRAM
(2 or more; includes Creative Arts Emmys)
Game Of Thrones … 6
Homeland … 6
Game Change … 5
Hatfields & McCoys … 5
Modern Family … 5 Read More »

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EMMYS: WGA Panel Reveals Angst & Jokes

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday September 19, 2012 @ 10:43pm PDTTags: Emmys, Homeland, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, WGA

The Walking Dead’s executive producer and writer Glen Mazarra moderated the evening. Although the popular AMC zombie show received a few 2012 Creative Arts Emmy nominations, it was dramatically overlooked this year when the primetime nods came out. … Read More »

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TV Teaser: Showtime’s ‘Homeland’ Season 2

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday August 17, 2012 @ 10:09am PDTTags: Homeland, Showtime
Nellie Andreeva

Showtime’s breakout drama Homeland is packing an emotional punch with a first-look trailer for the upcoming second season set to a rendition of The Police’s Every Breath You Take. Claire Danes is back in action, this time both as a blonde and a brunette, joined by co-stars Damian … Read More »

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‘Homeland’ Producer Howard Gordon Notes “Stirrings” On ’24′ Movie: TCA

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday July 30, 2012 @ 6:36pm PDTTags: 24, Homeland, Howard Gordon, Showtime, TCA, TCA Wrap-Up

Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline’s TV coverage.

Claire Danes Damian Lewis Homeland TCAAt today’s TCA panel on Showtime‘s Homeland, co-creator and executive producer Howard Gordon was asked about another on-again, off-again project: Whether there is still a chance of a 24 movie. He says yes — possibly. “My understanding of that is, having gone quiet in a way that I didn’t think boded well for that, there’s been some stirrings recently, so I think it’s something everyone’s gunning for,” said Gordon, also an executive producer of 24. “As far as whether my work on [Homeland] will impede that — not at all. There’s a script that’s been written, and I think the issues now are more about the director’s schedule and Kiefer’s [Sutherland] schedule.”

Related: Intrigue Behind Stopping The Ticking Clock On ’24′ Movie

After the panel, which also included executive producer Alex Gansa and series stars Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and Morena Baccarin, Gordon also had a comment about the failure of the NBC series Awake, on which he was also an executive producer. “I knew it was a very steep challenge,” he said.

But back to Homeland, whose new season will open with two episodes shot in large part in Israel, standing in for Beirut. Aside from questions about the development of the lead characters, questions arose about whether Danes’ pregnancy would affect production. “We’re about midway (through Season 2), we’re shooting Episode 6; this hasn’t run into any interference,” Danes said. She added that the physicality of her role had her a “little concerned” at first, but “it’s proven to be a non-issue. All is well and Carrie remains fervently nonpregnant.”

Related: Comic-Con: ‘Homeland’ Heading Back To Middle East For Season 2 Read More »

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EMMYS ANALYSIS: Big Year For ‘Downton Abbey’, ‘Homeland’, ‘Girls’ & ‘Veep’; Not So Good For Commercial Broadcasters

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday July 19, 2012 @ 12:32pm PDTTags: Downton Abbey, Emmys, Homeland, Mad Men
Nellie Andreeva

“I didn’t think this was gonna happen,” Mad Men creator Matt Weiner said in his acceptance speech when the AMC period drama won its fourth consecutive best drama series Emmy last September. Weiner should be even more concerned this year as two hot newcomers are entering the drama field: Downton Abbey, which switched from the movie/miniseries to the drama series category, and Homeland, which has dominated 2012 awards races to date. Mad Men kept its title as most nominated series with 17 noms but by a hair, with Downton Abbey right behind it with 16. Mad Men‘s other serious rival, Breaking Bad, had 13 nominations, followed by fellow best drama series nominees Boardwalk Empire (12), Game Of Thrones (11) and Homeland (9).

Related: 2012 EMMYS NOMINATIONS

A total of four first-time series contenders entered the Emmy race in a big way this year — Downton Abbey, Homeland and new HBO comedies Veep and Girls. Both comedies landed best series and best lead actress nominations for stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Lena Dunham, who also created Girls, and helped bring new blood to all series lead acting categories. Newbies Veep and Girls ended The Office‘s streak of six consecutive best comedy series nominations (and a win in 2006). The NBC comedy failed to make the top comedy category for its first season without original star Steve Carell. Also falling out was Greg Daniels’ other NBC series, Parks And Recreation, which didn’t make the cut after scoring its first best series Emmy nom last year. The rest of the best comedy series field was familiar: reigning champ Modern Family, which once again netted the most nominations for a comedy series with 14; HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, back from an 2011 Emmy hiatus; CBS’ The Big Bang Theory; and NBC’s 30 Rock.

Related: EMMY SNUBS: ‘The Good Wife’, ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘Sons Of Anarchy’, John Slattery…

Commercial broadcast TV made a major retreat in the top series categories, from seven nominations last year — all six comedy series noms and a drama mention for The Good Wife — to three this year. Those all came in the best comedy series category, with ad-supported broadcast nets shut out completely in the best drama series category for the first time.

HBO made a strong return to the top series categories with five best series nominees: dramas Boardwalk Empire and Game Of Thrones and comedies Curb Your Enthusiasm, Girls and Veep. It was the best showing for the pay cable network in the two categories and the first time it has landed three best comedy series contenders. Overall, HBO’s tally slid to 81 nominations this year from 104 in 2011, but it still led the network pack. Among the studios, 20th Century Fox TV was tops with 62 noms.

Downton Abbey and Modern Family dominated the series acting categories, with Downton scoring noms in all four categories, and Modern Family, whose actors submit themselves as supporting, once again getting its entire adult cast nominated.

Related: EMMYS: ‘Downton Abbey’ Makes Successful Leap With Drama Series Nomination Read More »

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Israeli Drama To Become Hulu’s First Foreign-Language Exclusive Series In U.S.

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday July 13, 2012 @ 6:51am PDTTags: Homeland, Hulu

The distinction goes to Keshet Broadcasting’s Prisoners Of War (Hatufim), which was written and directed by Gideon Raff and became the country’s highest-rated TV drama. The story line will be familiar to fans of Showtime’s Homeland– it was based on … Read More »

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Will ‘Community’ and ‘Homeland’ Critics Choice Television Awards Upset Wins Mean Big Things For Emmy?

By PETE HAMMOND | Tuesday June 19, 2012 @ 12:55am PDTTags: Breaking Bad, Community, Critics' Choice Television Awards, HBO, Homeland, Modern Family
Pete Hammond

“The Emmy win was more like a high school popularity contest. This is from the critics!,” said Julie Bowen, the Critics’ Choice Television Awards’ newly named Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series winner — who also happens to be the reigning Emmy winner in the same category. But she seemed to be placing more importance on this award than even the Emmy when we talked right after Monday night’s ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. When I repeated her opinion to her Modern Family co-star and fellow Critics Choice winner — and reigning Emmy winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy — Ty Burrell, he agreed, saying the recognition from the critics has enormous meaning for him.

Related: Critics’ Choice TV Awards: ‘Homeland’, ‘Community’ & ‘Sherlock’ Double Winners

Of course it doesn’t hurt that these awards, now in their second year, are strategically positioned to happen right smack dab in the middle of Emmy voting, so tonight’s impressive turnout of nominees, winners and presenters was not suprising. Exposure at this crucial time in the process is everything, and unlike movie awards season there aren’t nearly as many opportunities for a photo op or acceptance speech as the Broadcast Critics Association offers with their nascent TV awards. If attention is as much the prize itself then these awards could not have been better for the Emmy chances of third-season critical favorite Community, which was the big surprise winner over favored Modern Family for Best Comedy Series, and Showtime’s first-season drama Homeland, which won Best Actress in a Drama for Claire Danes and Best Drama Series over favored vets like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. The latter did win Actor in a Drama for three-time Emmy winner Bryan Cranston and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Giancarlo Esposito, while Mad Men’s sole win was for repeat victor Christina Hendricks in Supporting Drama Actress. Does this relative shocking showing for two new, not widely viewed shows outside of critical circles mean a potential earthquake at the Emmys, where Mad Men has won the Best Drama Series award for all four of its seasons and Modern Family has done the same in the comedy category for its first two years on ABC? Read More »

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Critics’ Choice TV Awards: ‘Homeland’, ‘Community’ & ‘Sherlock’ Double Winners

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday June 18, 2012 @ 9:53pm PDTTags: Community, Critics' Choice Television Awards, Homeland, Sherlock

Homeland Critics Choice Television AwardsShowtime’s Homeland took best drama honors and a best drama actress award for Claire Danes at the 2nd annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards tonight at the Beverly Hilton. PBS’ Sherlock was also a big winner, taking best miniseries/movie and best actor for Benedict Cumberbatch. On the comedy side, NBC’s Community took best series honors and Parks And Recreation‘s Amy Poehler split the best comedy actress nod with New Girl‘s Zooey Deschanel. NBC walked away with the most wins overall for a network with 5, including best reality competition series with The Voice. ABC and AMC had three wins apiece, with the later scoring a pair of Breaking Bad wins for lead drama actor Bryan Cranston and supporting actor Giancarlo Esposito. Stay tuned for Pete Hammond’s take on the results. Here’s the full list of winners:

Related: Will ‘Community’ and ‘Homeland’ Upset Wins Mean Big Things For Emmy? Read More »

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Chip Johannessen Inks Overall Deal With 20th TV, Upped To EP On ‘Homeland’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday June 14, 2012 @ 10:18am PDTTags: 20th Century Fox Televsion, Chip Johannessen, Homeland
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Homeland co-executive producer Chip Johannessen has signed a two-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV, whose cable division Fox 21 produces the hot Showtime drama. Under the pact, Johannessen will continue on Homeland, where he will be upped … Read More »

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‘Homeland’ Co-Creator Alex Gansa Signs Overall Deal With 20th Century Fox TV

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday June 13, 2012 @ 9:57am PDTTags: 20th Century Fox Televsion, Alex Gansa, Big Deals TV, Homeland
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Alex Gansa, who developed Showtime’s hot freshman drama Homeland with Howard Gordon, has signed a two-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV, which developed the … Read More »

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EMMYS: ‘Homeland’s Damian Lewis

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday June 8, 2012 @ 7:26pm PDTTags: Awardsline, Damian Lewis, Emmys, Homeland

Matt Webb Mitovich is Editor-at-Large at TVLine

Just as Nicholas Brody received a hero’s welcome upon being rescued from captivity in Afghanistan, Damian Lewis of Showtime’s Homeland has been met with plaudits for his riveting portrayal of the conflicted Marine sergeant, husband,Damian Lewis father and… would-be terrorist. Lewis — going for his first Emmy nomination this year, having previously been nominated for the 2012 Golden Globes for playing Brody on this series and in 2002 for his role in HBO’s Band of Brothers — reveals how he makes the potentially reprehensible relatable.

AWARDSLINE: Your character for much of Season 1 had to keep us guessing about his agenda. How much did the producers share with you up front?
DAMIAN LEWIS: They gave me a pretty good outline, but what wasn’t explicit from the outset was whether Brody was actually going to try and do something. They never said, “This guy is a terrorist and he will act in a devastating way.”

AWARDSLINE: Actors can get caught up in the idea of playing a likeable character — certainly not an American-bred terrorist. How’d you get past any such concerns?
LEWIS: It was a crackling script. Also, I don’t mind playing unlikeable roles. One of the things you should seek to achieve as an actor is that your character is understood somehow. If people then like what they find, that’s their choice. But I had one contention: Is there a way of finding in Islam a force for good, a nurturing thing in his life? Plenty of people think that if you’re a Muslim you want to blow people up, which is nonsense. We were at great pains to find motivations for him, and they successfully did that. Read More »

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TCA Nominates ‘Homeland’ For Best Drama, New Show, Program Of The Year

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday June 6, 2012 @ 8:15pm PDTTags: Downton Abbey, HBO, Homeland, TCA Awards

HomelandThe new series Homeland from Showtime and star Claire Danes figured prominently among nominees announced tonight for the 28th annual Television Critics Associations Awards. In addition to Homeland and Danes, the nominees for achievement in drama included Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, AMC), Peter Dinklage (Game Of Thrones, HBO), Jon Hamm (Mad Men, AMC) and Jessica Lange (American Horror Story, FX). Homeland joined Girls and its star-creator Lena Dunham, New Girl, Revenge and Smash as contenders for Outstanding New Program. HBO leads all shows with with eight nominations, AMC has six, NBC and PBS each have 5; and CBS and FX each have 4. Read More »

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EMMYS: Showtime’s ‘Homeland’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday June 2, 2012 @ 6:17pm PDTTags: Alex Gansa, Emmys, Homeland, Howard Gordon

Diane Haithman contributes to Deadline’s TV coverage.

If critical acclaim carries weight at Emmy time, then Showtime’s Homeland, developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa — also producers of Fox’s Emmy-winning drama 24 — is sure to make a showing when the 2012 Emmy nominations are announced on July 19th. The conspiracy thriller stars Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a bipolar CIA agent with suspicions bordering on paranoia about the loyalties of a Marine returning home from eight years as an Iraq POW (Damian Lewis as Sgt. Nicholas Brody). Among the reviews that earned it a sterling 91 score (out of 100) on metacritic.com was this New York Times review: “Carrie is hard to like, but Homeland is almost impossible to resist.”

And if the show were to win the Emmy for best dramatic series, it would be the first ever drama or comedy series win for Showtime, confirms David Nevins, entertainment president for the pay cable channel. “We’ve had nominations, but we haven’t had a win,” Nevins says, referring to such series nominees as the multi-year drama nominee Dexter and the comedies Nurse Jackie and Weeds. “It would be a breakthrough for the network. It’s nice to be nominated, but a win marks a new threshold.”

That being said, Nevins insists that he didn’t have Emmy® in mind when Gordon and Gansa – who based the series on Gideon Raff’s Israeli series Hatufim (Prisoner of War) and remain part of the series’ team of executive producers – brought the project to him.
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Zuleikha Robinson To Recur On ‘Homeland’, Wanda De Jesus On ‘Sons Of Anarchy’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 29, 2012 @ 5:00am PDTTags: Homeland, Sons of Anarchy, Wanda De Jesus
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Rome and Lost alumna Zuleikha Robinson has booked a major recurring role on the upcoming second season of Showtime’s thriller drama Homeland. She will play Middle Eastern woman Roya Hammad, a field journalist with a special relationship to Abu … Read More »

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