Homeland is winding down and hurtling towards its final season according to the series' showrunner and its star. The series' showrunner Alex Gansa is teasing the final episodes of Season 7. The penultimate episode of what Gansa says is the penultimate season of the series promises to be an interesting one for fans. While teasing how the final episodes will pave the way for the final season, Alex Gansa said the following:
[Season 7 arranges] all the pieces on the chessboard to make that a proper finale for the story we've been telling. We get to play this last season in D.C with the intention of taking us overseas for one last chapter. Season 8 will be overseas somewhere. We get to play a story with larger national stakes in season 7 and we'll go back to a smaller intelligence-based season in 8. We get to pull out all the stops this year and then get to the emotional heart of things in season 8. . . . We're going to start fresh in season 8 and probably do a fairly big time jump between 7 and 8 and put any Trump parallels behind us. We'll tell a very contained story, hopefully in Israel.
Homeland's showrunner teased how the series would retool itself to EW. The news comes as questions surround the longevity of the popular Showtime series. Both Alex Gansa and the series' star Claire Danes have said Season 8 will be the final season of the series. Showtime has yet to confirm that. A series overhaul could be in store if Homeland's central talent opts to move on. It is a lush enough story environment to imagine such a thing happening.
Throughout its seven-season run, Homeland has seen its share of changes. It has jumped timelines and said goodbye to fan-favorite characters. Original cast member and co-lead Damian Lewis left the show in Season 3 when Lewis' Nicholas Brody was killed off. After five seasons, Rupert Friend also departed the show when Peter Quinn was killed off in Season 6. Despite those losses, the show has carried on with original cast members Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin at the helm.
Episode 11 of Season 7 is entitled "All In." Details on it are minimal. What we do know is that that penultimate episode will include Saul's mission getting the green light as the final sands fall through the hourglass of Keane's administration. If you do not want to know anything about the season finale, turn away now.
Spoilers for the Season 7 finale of Homeland are ahead.
According to Showtime, the Season 7 finale ("Paean to the People") will find Carrie and Saul's mission not going as planned while President Elizabeth Keane fights for her presidency. It sounds like there will be even more twists and turns before Season 7 sets up for Season 8.
Since premiering on Showtime in 2011, Homeland has been a critical and ratings success for the premium cable network. Only time will tell if Showtime is willing to let go of one its hottest properties entirely. While the original Homeland may come to an end in 2019, a spinoff is a definite possibility. Stay tuned as news of Homeland's ultimate fate becomes known.
Homeland is not the only show gearing up for its season finale. Check out our complete guide on when the season finales of your other favorites are set to air this year. If you are curious about the new and returning shows coming to Showtime, you can also peruse our guides to TV's midseason and summer premieres.
