Homeland First Impressions
Though the official premiere of Homeland is still weeks away, this latest dramatic offering from Showtime is already garnering some attention. The pilot episode has found its way around after originally being put up on the show’s website, watchcareful.ly, and is now available on YouTube, albeit with some slight censoring (DirecTV subscribers will also be able to see it, unedited, this Sunday on the Audience network). Whether you want to take a peek early or would rather wait until October before jumping into the series, here is what you can expect from Showtime’s psychological thriller.
Homeland is certainly a “sign of the times” piece, tapping into the fears of national security that hardly existed just ten years ago. Which is not to say it’s exploitative, or solely reliant on the audience’s paranoia to hook them in. There is dramatic weight behind the plot at the forefront, and a cast with enough talent to keep viewers in their seats even when the characters aren’t spying on each other. Not without its flaws, the pilot still did an excellent job of drawing me into the story, and if the episodes that follow can overcome what issues the show does have, Showtime could have a real winner on it’s hands.
