Showtime renews 'Homeland'

'Homeland'Showtime decision to pick up a second season of its newest drama, "Homeland," came as a no-brainer, and clearly the pay cabler believes the skein has a long future ahead of it. Entertainment president David Nevins reiterated that, although the show is based on the Israeli series "Prisoners of War," the net made some major adjustments bringing it to its air, including adding the CIA offer played by Claire Danes. Because of the different storylines, Showtime doesn't have to simulate "Prisoners" going forward. Keeping audiences and critics in the show's favor going forward is a high priority for Nevins, who clearly realizes the mistakes made by a handful of serialized shows, including AMC's "The Killing," which failed to properly wrap up a storyline that was marketed as being finalized. "There's extreme excitement around this show," Nevins told Variety. "Clearly it has caught some piece of the zeitgeist, and that is resonating with people. Our only anxiety is can they (producers and writers) keep it up and not fall into the serialized traps of other shows?" Ratings have been strong since the Oct. 2 premiere. Starring Danes, Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin, "Homeland" reached 4.4 million viewers (across multiple platforms) its debut and has increased its aud since, with its fourth episode Sunday drawing series-best ratings. Exec produced by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, who adapted Gideon Raff's "Prisoners of War" (from Keshet Broadcasting), "Homeland" will begin production on season two in the spring. Avi Nir, Ran Telem and Michael Cuesta also exec produce. Pay cable rivals HBO and Starz have been quick to renew their own series of late, often without much, or even no, ratings data. Starz recently gave a second-season order to "Boss" before the show even began and HBO has occasionally renewed a series after only one episode. "Homeland" was the first drama greenlit by Nevins -- "Shameless" was given its series order just before he arrived and replaced Bob Greenblatt -- and the terrorism-focused skein has showed a shift in the net's programming taste. "I was always very interested in the material and it seemed a waste to have 'Dexter' alone in the fall," Nevins explains. I was aware this fall would be 10th anniversary of 9/11 and felt 'Homeland' would be perfectly spotted." Nevins reiterated that the core cast would be back for the second season but wouldn't guarantee anything beyond that, nor the length of their deals. Net is currently undergoing contract negotiations with "Dexter" star Michael C. Hall. Nevins is counting on the dispute to be settled long before the new season, if there is one, begins shooting early next summer. Next big challenge for Showtime is to launch dark comedy "House of Lies" with Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell. Skein, from creator Matthew Carnahan, is a scathing look at a self-loathing management consultant from a top-tier firm. Series will debut Jan. 8, along with season premieres of "Shameless" and "Californication." "It's a big glossy show that looks at how American business has been messed up," Nevins said. "It feels very relevant." Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com