Homeland (season 3)

Main cast

Production

On October 22, 2012, Homeland was renewed for a third season, consisting of 12 episodes, which premiered on September 29, 2013.

Production for the third season began in late May 2013, continuing production in Charlotte, North Carolina. The series also filmed in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, which stood in for Caracas, Venezuela. The series was also planning on returning to Israel for additional filming, but filming moved to Morocco, due to ongoing conflicts in Syria.

The third season has three previous guest actors–Rupert Friend, F. Murray Abraham and Sarita Choudhury–promoted to series regulars. Tracy Letts joined the cast playing Senator Andrew Lockhart, Chairman of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as a series regular. Diego Klattenhoff and David Marciano, who portray Mike Faber and Virgil, do not return as series regulars, but return in a recurring capacity.

Barbara Hall joined as co-executive producer, after Meredith Stiehm left. James Yoshimura also joined as a writer and consulting producer. Writer Henry Bromell, who died on March 18, 2013, is credited as executive producer for the whole season. Lesli Linka Glatter, who directed the season 2 episode "Q&A", and former 24 co-executive producer and writer Patrick Harbinson both joined as co-executive producer. Michael Klick, who was credited as producer in the first two seasons, was promoted to co-executive producer. Claire Danes became a producer beginning with the third season. Former series writer Meredith Stiehm rejoined the writing staff near the end of the third season, including co-writing the season finale, after departing Homeland to write for her new TV series The Bridge. Stiehm will continue with the series through the fourth season and potential fifth season as well.

Ratings

In its third season, Homeland became the first series on Showtime to surpass seven million total viewers weekly. The season finale, "The Star", was the highest rated episode of the series to date, with 2.38 million viewers for the original broadcast.

Critical response

The third season received mixed reviews from critics, with many of the criticisms being targeted at the latter half of the season. The first two episodes received a Metacritic score of 77 out of 100, based on 23 reviews, but reviews became more mixed as the season progressed.

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the first two episodes of the season restored his faith in the series, and that the emphasis on Carrie and Saul "has strengthened the series", and that "the writing and acting in the first two episodes are exceptional." Robert Rorke of Newsday wrote that "the third-season premiere Homeland delivers a strong episode that repairs much of the damage done last season to this excellent show" and "In balancing action with character development, Homeland offers something for everyone. The performances, as usual, are excellent." Robert Bianco of USA Today praised that the series is focusing on the aftermath of the CIA bombing, and wrote "The result of that change of focus is a return that's quieter than the tone Homeland set when it left us but just as intense, and—when Danes is on screen—just as emotionally wrenching." Matthew Wolfson of Slate wrote "Showing us the long-term impact of the attack on the lives of these characters, whose deep-seated motivations and fears have gradually been revealed to us over the last two seasons, allows Homeland to transcend its tendencies toward the hyperbolic and gives us a reason to suspend our disbelief."

However, some critics had negative reviews for the season. Morven Crumlish of The Guardian found it tedious: "A half-absorbed piece of fiction will leave the characters floundering in their mid-arc torpor. With no end in sight, though, Carrie and Brody can flounder without me." Gerard O'Donovan of The Daily Telegraph agreed: "The ludicrous plot contortions of this season’s early episodes... had all been such a mess."

Awards and nominations

The season was nominated for Best Drama Series for the 2014 Writers Guild of America Awards. For the 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards, the cast was nominated for Best Drama Ensemble, Claire Danes was nominated for Best Drama Actress, and the series was nominated for Best Stunt Team. For the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Claire Danes was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and Mandy Patinkin was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Home media release

Homeland: The Complete Third Season was released as a widescreen region 1 four-disc DVD and three-disc Blu-ray box set in the United States and Canada on September 9, 2014. In addition to the 12 episodes, it includes deleted scenes, audio commentary for "The Star" and two featurettes—"The Tower of David: Filming in Puerto Rico 3" and "The Last Days: Filming the Season Finale". The same set was also released on September 8, 2014, in region 2 and on September 24, 2014, in region 4.

The season is also available for streaming online via Hulu, as of August 1, 2016.