"Homeland" season 5 will serve as a soft reboot for the series, which will no longer be set in the Middle East. According to a report from the Collider, the series will be stepping away from Islamabad, the CIA, and the "War on Terror" as it will instead focus on Berlin, Germany.
The official synopsis for the new season states that season 5 will jump two years after season 4, depicting a tired and guilt-stricken Carrie (Claire Danes) who has self-exiled herself in Berlin. She is distancing herself from the CIA and now works for a private security firm.
The series has received a lot of criticism in the past, both good and bad, as cited by Entertainment Weekly, particularly for its depictions of the war in the Middle East as well as how the CIA operates. President Barack Obama stated that he is a fan of the show.
The new change in setting and plot will give the show some breathing space and allow it to reform its viewers opinions regarding its content, for better or worse.
Fans speculate that the new locale will allow the showrunners to inject some old-school Cold War-esque espionage plotlines that haven't been seen in the series before. Instead of dealing with families of terrorists, the characters may instead deal with government espionage programs and undercover political agents.
Collider also points out that Germany is reflective of Danes' character. Both have a history with gruesome acts of war and dodgy politics, and both are trying hard to move past that.
The new season will also be the first time an American TV series will shoot an entire season in Germany. According to Entertainment Weekly, most of season 5 will be produced in Studio Babelsberg in Berlin.
No official release date has been given but it is scheduled for mid-September. Collider has confirmed that the season will be composed of 12 episodes.
