‘Homeland’ Shuffles Season 6 Production After Co-Star Rupert Friend Gets Injured
Homeland fan favorite Rupert Friend sustained an injury during production of the first and second Keith Gordon-directed episodes of the upcoming sixth season of Homeland in New York City. Friend, who walked on crutches while attending Showtime’s pre-Emmy party on Saturday, told Deadline that he broke a bone in his right ankle while off work, though the injury stems from two on-set instances while filming seasons 4 and 5 of Homeland when he rolled his ankle, weakening the ligaments. With Friend temporarily sidelined for the most part, the filming schedule was reshuffled, with executive producer Lesli Linka Glatter, who is directing episodes 3 and 4, stepping in to shoot scenes from those episodes that could be filmed around Friend’s injury.
“Everyone has been very accommodating,” Friend told Deadline. He hopes that the soft cast will come off in a couple of weeks, at which time he would be able to resume filming in full-force and filming on the first two episodes of the season will be completed.
The fact that Friend’s ankle injury has so significantly impacted production on Homeland is further proof that his character Peter Quinn, last seen lying motionless in a hospital bed in the Season 5 finale, is back in action and no longer in a coma.
The injury has pushed production of Homeland back a little but there will be no issue making the January 15, 2017 premiere date, executive producer/showrunner Alex Gansa told Deadline.
Taking place after the U.S. presidential elections, the upcoming season is set mainly in New York, with some action happening in Abu Dhabi and Israel (those scenes will be filmed in Morocco). While Gansa would not divulge details about the new season, he hinted that it does not take cues from the ongoing presidential campaign. (The season will feature a newly-elected female president, played by Elizabeth Marvel.)
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