Homeland Season 6 Production Delayed After Rupert Friend Injured
A version of this story originally appeared on EW.com.
After inhaling a near-fatal amount of sarin gas and subsequently fighting for his life at the tail end of Homeland's fifth season, it seems as if Peter Quinn can't catch a break, and the same can be said for the actor who's played the CIA operative on the show since 2012.
On Saturday, Rupert Friend arrived at Showtime's pre-Emmys party on crutches. The actor was injured as he filmed the first and second episodes of the series' sixth season, the New York City-based production of which Entertainment Weekly can confirm has now been delayed as a result.
Friend told Deadline he broke a bone in his right ankle while off work. However, the injury is related to two on-set occurrences during production of seasons 4 and 5 of the drama, when the actor rolled his foot, which weakened his ligaments.
The U.K. native has been temporarily sidelined from filming as the show's executive producer (and director of episodes 3 and 4), Lesli Linka Glatter, stepped in to shoot pieces of the episodes that could be shot around Friend's injury.
"Everyone has been very accommodating," Friend, currently wearing a soft cast, told the publication, which also reports showrunner Alex Gansa noted the series' sixth season will still premiere as planned on Jan. 15, despite the production shuffle.
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Homeland's sixth season follows Carrie Mathison ( Claire Danes) as she settles down in the U.S. and works at a foundation in New York City offering support to Muslim people living in America. Upcoming episodes will take place during the intermediary period when an outgoing U.S. president relinquishes his position to a female president-elect. In June, Danes told EW to expect the upcoming season to show audiences a new side of Carrie they might not be used to.
"In keeping with the tradition of the show, there will be striking parallels between what's happening politically [in reality] and what's happening in our world of make believe," Danes said, also noting that Carrie is on her medication as she attempts to atone for her blood-stained past. "I think [season 6] is more about deep-conscience diving rather than madness or preaching madness. I think it's a lot about policy and politics and how the CIA participates in that, because it does take place in America. I think that's the most relevant, exciting happening right now. It's wild what's occurring and it's worth investigating, so that's what we'll be doing."
While Danes, 37, and Friend, 34, are returning to the series, several new faces will make their debut as part of the season 6 cast. Elizabeth Marvel will star as the incoming commander-in-chief, while Patrick Sabongui, Hill Harper, and Robert Knepper are set to recur as a CUNY law professor, the president's chief of staff and a Department of Defense representative, respectively.
Homeland returns to Showtime on Jan. 15.
