'Homeland' Officially Ending With Season 8 at Showtime

The story of Claire Danes' Carrie Mathison will end next year, Showtime said Monday. Homeland will finish its run with season 8 in June 2019.

Showtime president and CEO David Nevins told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour Monday that Danes and showrunner Alex Gansa started discussing the endgame for Homeland last season, reports Variety.

Homeland "is not limping into the sunset. Last season was one of its best ever," Showtime programming president Gary Levine chimed in.

"Homeland has been the most joyful and rewarding experience of my career," Gansa added, reports Entertainment Weekly. "Not many have been as lucky as me — partnered with the miraculous Claire Danes, supported to the ends of the earth by Fox and Showtime, and working in the company of some of the most gifted writers, actors, and filmmakers in the business. I am sad to see the journey coming to an end, but it is time."

The news is not a complete surprise as both Danes and Gansa have teased the show ending soon. In a recent interview with Howard Stern, Danes said she was looking forward to a "reprieve" from playing the emotionally fractured Carrie.

Gansa told Entertainment Weekly in April that season seven puts the "chessboard" in place to ultimately set up a proper finale. He also said season eight would take place outside the U.S.

"We get to play a story with larger national stakes in season 7 and we'll go back to a smaller intelligence-based season in 8. We get to pull out all the stops this year and then get to the emotional heart of things in season 8," Gansa said in April.

Homeland was created by Gansa and Howard Gordon, and based on Gideon Raff's Israeli series Prisoners of War. The series started hot, winning the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy for its pulse-pounding first season. The first and second seasons also won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series. Danes won two Golden Globes and two Emmys for playing Carrie.

Other actors who have appeared on the show include Mandy Patinkin, Rupert Friend, F. Murray Abraham, Damian Lewis, Maury Sterling, Morena Baccarin, David Harewood, Miranda Otto and Linus Roache.

With Homeland ending and rival HBO planning to invest in new shows, Showtime plans to do the same.

"We are planning a significant ramp up in Showtime programming over the next several years," Nevins said Monday. "With every step we'll be providing more and more reasons to subscribe to our service."

Homeland season eight will begin in June 2019.

Photo credit: Kata Vermes/SHOWTIME