‘Homeland’ renewed by Showtime for season 6, ‘The Affair’ for season 3

While you may have assumed already that this was coming, isn’t it still rather nice to see? Today Showtime decided to renew their entire Sunday-night lineup, and that includes both “Homeland” for a sixth season and “The Affair” for a third.

As for whether or not there was ever any debate on this internally, the answer is probably a clear “no.” These two shows not only bring ratings and revenue to the network, but also critical acclaim. “Homeland” is coming off of a SAG Awards nomination on Wednesday, whereas there is at least a chance that “The Affair” picks up a repeat nomination at the Golden Globes after winning the Drama Series prize last year.

These two shows are showing stability at a time when Showtime has shored up a new lineup for itself in the years following “Dexter,” with these shows alongside “Shameless,” “Ray Donovan,” “Penny Dreadful,” and “Masters of Sex” all forming a formidable lineup of drama programming on Sunday nights. They will be adding to this in the new year with “Billions,” the new Wall Street drama that is set to star Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. If there was ever a show with the potential of drawing some more awards recognition, this one is it.

So how long could a show like “Homeland” particularly go for, given that it has already been on the air for over half a decade? Since “Dexter” went for eight, it’s at least possible to think that it could as well. The real question will come after season six, given that this is when shows start to become much more expensive to make.

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