Award-winning US thriller series Homeland begins on Channel 4 this weekend, starring Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin, and David Harewood.

From the executive producers of 24, Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, Homeland centres on an American soldier taken prisoner during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Left for dead, the soldier (Lewis) miraculously returns to the U.S. after years in captivity. Carrie Mathison (Danes), a driven CIA officer battling her own psychological demons, becomes convinced that the intelligence that led to his rescue was a setup, and that this national hero may be connected to an Al-Qaeda plot to be carried out on American soil.

Episode 1 airs at 9.30pm on Sunday 19th February on Channel 4.

Find out who’s who…

Sergeant Nicholas Brody

Missing in Action for eight years and presumed dead, Marine Sergeant Nicholas “Nick” Brody is rescued in Afghanistan and brought home a hero. But Brody does not return the same man.

The victim of years of torture and abuse at the hands of Al Qaeda, he is physically scarred and emotionally plagued by harrowing flashbacks of his captivity. The question is, has he also been turned by his captors to carry out a terrorist act on U.S. soil?

Carrie Mathison

Crack CIA agent Carrie Mathison is not above using unorthodox methods to do her job – uncovering terrorist threats in the Middle East. But a recently botched mission has left her unpopular within the Agency, and stripped her of her authority in the field.

Carrie is haunted by her inability to predict the 9/11 attacks and determined to not let that happen again. Her apparently unfounded suspicions of Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody and her unauthorised investigation of him put her career, her reputation, and possibly even her judgment to their ultimate test.

Saul Berenson

Carrie’s long-time mentor in the CIA is Middle East Division Chief emeritus Saul Berenson. He has gone in to bat for Carrie with her boss David Estes more than once. Saul also still has considerable pull within the Agency, and Carrie convinces him to use it to help her make her case against Brody.

But Carrie’s questionable investigative methods alienate Saul and threaten to land them both in hot water.

David Estes

A rising star in the CIA, Carrie’s boss David Estes is the youngest director of the Counterterrorist Center in the Agency’s history.

He makes no effort to hide his dislike for Carrie, and he thwarts her attempts to do her job at every turn. But is Estes’ antagonism based on Carrie’s professional conduct, or other, more personal reasons?

Jessica Brody

Nicholas Brody’s wife Jessica is shocked to learn of the discovery and return of her husband. Even though she held out hope that he was still alive, she has been struggling to raise their two children, now teenagers, on her own.

She is also in a relationship with Nick’s close friend and co-worker Matt Faber, and is suddenly torn between her love for him and her allegiance to her long-lost husband. Reincorporating this virtual stranger back into her life is not going to be easy.

Are you looking forward to Homeland? Let us know below…

> Buy the Season 1 boxset on Amazon.

Watch the trailer…