It’s OK to cry like Carrie: Showtime has officially confirmed the eighth season of Homeland will be its last.
The announcement was made by network chief David Nevins during the channel’s portion of panels at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills.
The official word comes after star Claire Danes and showrunner Alex Gansa have more than implied the upcoming season would be the last for the prescient political drama.
“I do not want to hear the word cancellation,” Nevins told reporters “Alex Gansa will bring the show to its proper conclusion.”
Based on an Israeli series and developed for American television by Gansa and Howard Gordon, Homeland revolves around former CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) who must contend with matters involving the national security of the United States. It premièred in 2011, just weeks after the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and didn’t waste time establishing itself as the No. 1 drama on the network and racking up awards — even as some critics found it uneven at times.
“Homeland has been the most joyful and rewarding experience of my career,” Gansa said in a statement. “I am sad to see the journey coming to an end, but it is time.”
Production on the final 12 episodes will begin in early 2019, with a location still to be decided. The final season will make its bow in June 2019.
“That show is not limping into the sunset,” Gary Levine, the network’s programming president, told reporters Monday.
When Danes was interviewed about the series, its possible finish line was a topic of discussion.
“I’m always praying for a little relief and peace and grace — something really mundane for her,” Danes said then. “But that’s not going to happen. That I’ve learned.”
Carrey caricatures Trump ‘nightmare’
BEVERLY HILLS, California — Jim Carrey says his cartoons pillorying the Trump administration are a civilized response to what he called an unfolding “nightmare.”
Carrey told a TV critics’ meeting Monday that his sketches might veer into crassness, but are a creative way to express his political opposition.
He stars in the new Showtime series Kidding, about a children’s TV host hit by a family tragedy, which debuts Sept. 9.
Those who have received the Carrey cartoon treatment include U.S. President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Carrey’s sketch of Sanders was blasted as sexist and bigoted by Sanders’ father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Some critics called it ugly, but Carrey says he didn’t use the word and drew Sanders’ essence.
— The Associated Press
Bachelorette Kufrin chooses her partner
LOS ANGELES — The Bachelorette has chosen. Becca Kufrin celebrated her engagement to Garrett Yrigoyen, capping Monday’s finale on ABC following the usual tears and drama.
It came down to Yrigoyen and Blake Hortsmann.
She told Hortsmann he made her “hopeful again” and knew he’d be a partner and teammate. But she thought there was “just a better fit for us out there.”
She said Yrigoyen reminded her of her dad.
— The Associated Press
