UPDATE: It was recently confirmed that Homeland Season 4 will premiere on Showtime on Oct. 5 at 9pm ET.
The new Homeland Season 4 teaser trailer has just been released, giving viewers a glimpse into the future for the show. As a word of warning, there will be plenty of spoilers ahead.
Indeed, the show's creators have the daunting task of revamping the entire series especially after killing off the show's leading man Nicholas Brody in Season Three.
Here is a rundown of three things to expect before the show's premiere date, which is scheduled to return to Showtime in the fall.
Season Four Mainly Takes Place in the Middle East
From what has been revealed so far, the series' plot will bring the setting overseas - namely to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Scenes in previous seasons were primarily situated in the United States, even though the storyline included areas such as the Middle East and South America.
"It's about seeing Carrie Mathison for the first time doing the job she was trained to do - being a case officer in a foreign capital," Homeland showrunner Alex Gansa confirmed in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
"We're going to see what an intelligence officer does on the ground. How she recruits assets, how she deals with the foreign government and her country team - the people she works within the embassy - and the host country's intelligence services," Gansa explained. "That is a complicated and murky world, one that we hope is filled with intrigue and drama and adventure."
It is interesting to note that Carrie's story began in Middle East, where she operated as a CIA field operative. Carrie is disgraced in the Pilot episode, after causing a diplomatic incident when she sneaks into an Iraqi prison to get information from a condemned-terrorist.
This action leads Carrie to discover that the terrorists have "turned" an American prisoner-of-war, and are involving him in an attack on U.S. soil. At the same time, her actions cause her to be confined to a desk-job back in the United States. Carrie eventually deduces that the possible sleeper agent is none other than returned war-hero Nicholas Brody.
Homeland's first three seasons focuses on Carrie's and Brody's cat-and-mouse game, which eventually leads to ill-fated romance between the two. Brody switches over to the CIA, in large part thanks to Carrie's efforts.
Carrie Leaves Behind Here Lovechild, and Possibly Motherhood
Life as a CIA field agent is not easy, and Carrie's situation is no different. In Season Three, Carrie discovers herself pregnant with Brody's child. Unfortunately, Brody is captured and publically executed while on his first-and-last CIA mission in Iran.
Showtime released a film-still that was later published on EW. In that frame, Carrie is clearly seen without child. In the third season, the bipolar CIA agent contemplates giving her unborn child up for adoption upon birth.
Ultimately, Carrie's father offers to adopt the child so that she can continue her career. Near the end of the Season Three finale, Carrie is promoted to Istanbul station chief in Turkey. Whether the show will explore Carrie's motherhood in the next season is unclear at this time.
"The story finds Carrie in an emotional space that is very much a continuation of last year's story, and the specter of Brody is still felt very strongly," Homeland executive producer Howard Gordon said to TV Guide back in June. "This year [2014] tells the story of Carrie and her evolution as CIA officer, but also as a woman who now turns out to be a mother."
However, Alex Gansa told EW that Carrie may end up avoiding her baby entirely.
"She [Carrie] has given birth to the child and I'd rather not give away where the kid is, but I will say probably one of the reasons she's found herself in Afghanistan and Pakistan is it's a place where you're disallowed from bringing a dependent," Gansa said.
It will be very interesting if Carrie's decision will have any effect on her in the new season.
New Cast Members Added, and Old Characters Revisited
As part of the show's overhaul strategy, Homeland will add an all-star lineup of cast members that include Suraj Sharma, Michael O'Keefe, Corey Stoll, and Laila Robins.
Suraj Sharma -- better known for his leading role in "Life of Pie"-- will play a Pakistani medical student who crosses paths with Carrie in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Corey Stoll, formerly a series regular in "House of Cards", will take on the role of the careerist Islamabad station chief.
"In Treatment" star Laila Robins will portray the ambitious foreign diplomat who clashes with Stoll's character.
Michael O'Keefe will star as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Islamabad. O'Keefe portrayed Danny Noonan in the 1980 comedic cult-classic, "Caddyshack". Gansa described O'Keefe's character as someone "who's been around forever, but have been passed over for the role station chief all his career, but is incredibly capable."
Characters such as Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) and Carrie Mathison (Claires Danes) will have redefined roles as well.
In previous seasons, Saul is Carrie's CIA boss and mentor. Saul loses his job after events in Season Three, and winds up working in the private sector. Homeland creators have made it clear that Saul will be working underneath Carrie in a reversal of roles.
Carrie's struggle with being bipolar was a greatly explored in prior seasons. Series creator Alex Gansa confirmed that Carrie has more or less come to terms with her illness, and becomes "quite stable" in Season 4.
Official Homeland Season 4 Teaser Trailer
