It’s a fascinating time to be a writer on Homeland. The pursuit of Edward Snowden and the international scrutiny of the work of the National Security Agency in the US have provided plenty of fodder for the show's creators.
But Alex Cary, executive producer and writer with the TV show tells The Green Room what they care about is telling a great story.
“What we are trying to do is tell stories about characters and not make a documentary on the CIA. We can’t possibly be 100% accurate about how exactly they do things within the CIA.”
The show’s executive producer says while Homeland may not refer explicitly to the whistleblower he “looms in the background of the story.”
It’s clear Cary and the other writers care about the audience's and critic’s response.
“I take the critics' response seriously, particularly if it is a thoughtful one. Listen, I am essentially a fan of filmed drama, so very often I share the feelings of the viewers good or bad.”
The cast are also well aware of the public’s scrutiny of their roles. Cary says young actress Morgan Saylor who plays teenager Dana has a good sense of humour about how her character has been slated on social media. However he says he is also very conscious that it is the young female actors who tend to suffer the greatest abuse on twitter.
Asked about the possibility of one of the main characters being killed off in this season, Cary’s answer is vague.
“You can expect to lose a main character in any episode”.
“I’m being deliberately vague here. We did kill David Harewood’s character David Estes with great sadness because we loved the character and the actor. But part of that is telling the audience how to watch the show.”
While three British actors, Damien Lewis, Rupert Friend and David Harewood have played leading roles in the series there has yet to be an Irish actor cast.
Cary says he would love to have an Irish actor on board, but some of the Irish actors they have looked at are too big for the roles.
“They are such big names. They have to be really significant roles. They can’t be in just two or 3 episodes. That said we would love to have an Irish actor on board”.
Tune into The Green Room with Orla Barry this evening to hear the full interview with Executive Producer and Writer of Homeland Alex Cary.
The Green Room airs on Saturday evenings at the brand new time of 9pm-11pm
also on the show
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- What is Emmy award nominated Irish TV series Beat Girl all about?
- Filmmaker and Puppeteer Raven Kaliana on her childhood in the child porn industry
- Garret Baker and The Random Nouns perform in studio
- Singer Leee John on the revival of 80’s soul funk group Imagination and Lady Gaga
- Ireland’s next group of qualified actors prepare for the stage, as Director of The Lir drama academy explains
