TV Lifespans: Will Homeland season 8 serve as final season, and should it?

As we start to look ahead towards the future of Homeland, the first thing worth pointing out is this: Season 7 is not the final season for the Showtime series starring Claire Danes. There is at least one more coming up on the other side, which means in turn one more opportunity in which to see how the story of Carrie evolves and if there are more prescient issues in the world that the writers want to address.

What remains somewhat-interesting to CarterMatt about the status of Homeland is this: Showrunner Alex Gansa plans to depart at the end of season 8. Yet, there is no confirmation that the show will end there. It’s possible that Showtime could bring in someone else and try to continue the series long — it’s not really something that we think they should do, but it’s possible.

It doesn’t take too much to understand why exactly the network would want as much Homeland as they can, given that this is one of their most successful series ever and it has been an awards darling for them for a rather long time. Nobody wants to get rid of a series that has generated this much success. Yet, all things also must come to a close and you don’t want to run the risk of Homeland sticking around and then becoming somewhat of a shell of its former self. It’s better to end on a high note, and to us that high note is with Gansa still in charge. Showrunner switches can be a dangerous thing. While it is absolutely possible that Homeland remains a great series, you are still running an enormous risk that the quality isn’t quite what it once was and you see the series go out with a whimper.

Related – Want to see more news looking ahead towards the future of Homeland?

Ultimately, we see Homeland having a lifespan of around two years more and that’s it. Beyond that, what we would say to keep the spirit of the show alive is either to plant a spin-off in the final season to be run by one of the show’s writers or create an entirely new series to touch on some of the same sort of topics and themes. Even without Homeland on the air, we definitely still think that its soul can be celebrated and remembered in other ways.

Showtime has some time to figure things out in regards to the future of Homeland; let’s just hope that they make the right choice.

What do you think: Should Homeland season 8 be the final season for the show? Be sure to let us know some of your thoughts in the comments! Meanwhile, you can also like CarterMatt on Facebook in the event you want to get some other insight on the series. (Photo: Showtime.)