Claire Daines – Damian Lewis

Homeland Series Finale Acknowledges Brody – April 26, 2020

On April 26, 2020April 29, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Arm in Arm in Espionage: Series Finale Recap

by Bill Keveney | USA Today | April 26, 2020

When “Homeland” grabbed the public’s attention and six Emmys, including best drama series, for its spellbinding first season in 2011, the relationship between CIA super spy Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and military hero and suspected terrorist Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) took center stage.

Over eight seasons, many ups and some downs and the death of Brody in Season 3, the central dynamic shifted to Carrie, a brilliant operative struggling with mental illness, and her savvy CIA mentor, Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin).

That bond frayed at times, as Carrie broke every rule in the book twice, but never has it been as endangered as it was going into the series’ final episode, which aired Sunday, after Russian agent Yevgeny Gromov (Costa Ronin) gave Carrie only one way to secure the black box flight recorder, evidence that can prevent a possible nuclear war: “Kill Saul.”

Here’s how the finale played out:

Continue reading Homeland Series Finale Acknowledges Brody – April 26, 2020

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Homeland Declassified: An Oral History of Never Told Tales – Jan 16, 2020

On January 16, 2020 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Battles, Backlash, CIA Meetings

by Michael O’Connell | Hollywood Reporter | January 16, 2019

Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, Damian Lewis and the creators of the era-defining Showtime drama — now entering its eighth and final season — reveal in The Hollywood Reporter’s oral history never-told tales of a show that smashed records, captivated presidents and predicted everything from terrorist attacks to Russian election hacks.

“What keeps you up at night?” That’s the question Homeland showrunner Alex Gansa annually posed to Washington insiders before putting fingers to keyboard on a season of his Emmy-winning Showtime drama.

What began as a slick spy thriller driven by a potent sexual chemistry, courtesy of leads Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, evolved into an exposé on the greatest dangers to an America that finally had some distance from 9/11. Threats from ISIS, the surveillance state and Russian interference punctuated clandestine meetings with the intelligence community — part of a yearly writers and cast symposium in D.C. affectionately dubbed “Spy Camp.”

The series, loosely developed from an Israeli format by Gansa and longtime collaborator Howard Gordon (24), became an instant and bona fide success when it premiered in 2011 to 2.8 million viewers and unanimous critical acclaim. Boasting a murderers’ row of writers, each a showrunner at one time, the drama catapulted Showtime and studio Fox 21 to an echelon of prestige TV they previously couldn’t reach. It swept its first Emmys (with six awards total) and those first seasons had both the Obamas and Clintons soliciting screeners.

Continue reading Homeland Declassified: An Oral History of Never Told Tales – Jan 16, 2020

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Five Star-Crossed TV Lovers That Make Our Hearts Hurt – Oct 2, 2018

On October 2, 2018October 2, 2018 By Gingersnap Comments Off

Love Conquers All…Right?

by Helen Whitaker | Cosmopolitan | October 2, 2018

“You and meee could write a bad romance,” sang Lady Gaga. And anyone who’s fallen for the wrong person – again and again – can relate. While this can suck IRL, on TV, the against-all-odds couple is irresistible. Inspired by the forbidden passion in our new TV obsession, here are five of our favourite star-crossed couples.

Homeland: Carrie and Brody

You’re a troubled CIA workaholic who finally meets the perfect guy and he turns out to be married with kids. Oh, and a recently-released military hostage who may or may not be a terrorist. But somehow, between the cat and mouse chase, Claire Danes’ award-winning cry-face and Damian Lewis’s double (and then triple) agent duplicity, we were rooting for the effed-up duo… for a while. While clandestine romance can be addictive, there’s only so many dates in secret grubby bunkers a girl can take.

Read the rest of the original article at Cosmopolitan

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Emmys 2018: 10 Biggest Snubs – July 12, 2018

On July 12, 2018July 12, 2018 By Gingersnap Comments Off

**From Billions to an ‘Atlanta’ MVP – The Most WTF Snubs in this Year’s Emmys Nominations**

by Brian Tallerico | Rolling Stone | July 12, 2018

The annual Emmy square dance is here – per usual, it’s a routine of three steps forward, two steps back.

This year even allowed more room than usual for the unexpected as several major players from last year – Veep, Master of None, Better Call Saul, House of Cards – took this awards season off.

And to be sure, the Television Academy has undeniably improved in their taste as a voting body over the years. Still, they still had us scratching our heads a few times. Where the hell is Will and Grace? And Bojack Horseman? And Brendan Fraser in Trust? And … and…

So with all 122 (!!) categories announced, let’s pick out the most notable snubs of the year. From Billions to Alison Brie, these were the M.I.A. nominees that shoulda been contenders.

Billions
Showtime had a rough morning. Sure, Shameless star William H. Macy got in again, but regular nominees like Homeland‘s Claire Danes and Ray Donovan‘s Liev Schreiber will have to save their sound bites. (See also: our Twin Peaks entry) But the real crime was completely ignoring the chance to finally invite Billions to the party. With shows like Better Call Saulmissing from the ballot, why not turn to a show that’s only gotten better each year, turning in its best season to date earlier in 2018? Even just a single nod or two for great performers like Damian Lewis and Asia Kate Dillon could have opened a few doors for more nominations in the future. Get this one right, next year, Emmys. It’s starting to get embarrassing.

Continue reading Emmys 2018: 10 Biggest Snubs – July 12, 2018