Homeland
Homeland ran for 8 seasons from 2011 through 2020 on Showtime and featured Claire Danes as bipolar CIA agent Carrie Mathison. The first three seasons also featured Damien Lewis as a recaptured al-Qaeda prisoner (perhaps one season too much.) The last five seasons changed up the storylines several times. The first season was spectacular and won several Emmy Awards. Later seasons dropped off in quality. Here are a few other shows like Homeland you may have missed that we think you may like.
Shows Like Homeland – Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan ran for 4 seasons on Amazon Prime Video from 2018 to 2022. It starred John Krasinski in the title role as a CIA analyst with a desk job moved into the field. Krasinski follows Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine who all played Jack Ryan in movies.
Jack Ryan is basically the same show as Homeland minus the bipolar lead. Much like Carrie in Homeland, Jack fights bad guys in the Mideast, South America and Russia and disobeys superiors. Jack Ryan did not win a lot awards like Homeland, but Krasinski does an excellent job playing the title character and the consensus reviews are very positive. The absence of storylines about the title character’s personality are a welcome relief from Homeland which at times focused too much on Carrie being bipolar.
We liked this show a lot and believe you will too if you liked Homeland.
See streaming options at Jack Ryan.
Shows Like Homeland – The Americans
The Americans ran for six seasons on FX from 2013 to 2018. It features two KGB intelligence officers (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell) who pose as husband and wife in Virginia. The two seek confidential information while constantly dodging being exposed. The series takes place during the Cold War, from 1981 to 1987. Like many of the shows we recommend, it won many awards and critical acclaim. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, starting with the opening scene in the first episode. Rhys and Russell married in real life in 2021.
We liked this show a lot and believe you will too if you liked Homeland.
See streaming options at The Americans.
Show a Little Like Homeland – The Diplomat
We are cheating a little on this recommendation, as the CIA is only tangentially involved. However, the show does star Keri Russell as the US ambassador to the UK dealing with international crises. The show has had one season on Netflix (2023). Netflix has renewed the show for a second season. Russell won one best actor award.
The show has had generally positive reviews, although with only one season so far, it is hard to tell its longevity.
See streaming options at The Diplomat.
Shows Like Homeland – The Recruit
Like The Diplomat, The Recruit has had one season on Netflix (2022) and Netflix has renewed the show for a second season.. However, without a big name lead, it has generated a lot less buzz. It features Noah Centineo as just-hired CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks who immediately gets involved in the field and international politics and is totally out of his element.
The show has had mediocre reviews, but we enjoyed it a lot. Centineo adds a comical element to his character even though he is scared out of his wits. We are looking forward to the second season.
See streaming options at The Recruit.
These are four shows like Homeland we think you will like and we think you will too.
Want to see shows like The Sopranos? See our post at The Sopranos.
