‘Homeland’ season 3 spoilers: A Damian Lewis premiere shocker

With “Homeland” being the subject of the Television Critics Association tonight, we expected there to be some surprising news that came out in relation to the show. However, we did not expect it to be verification that Damian Lewis is not going to appear in either one of the show’s first two episodes of season 3. This is a man that is the reigning champion at the Emmys for Lead Actor in a Drama Series. To not have someone of Damian’s position present early on is pretty unheard of.

Then again, there is a reasonable explanation for it: Nicholas Brody is off the grid. There was no explanation as to where he was going to take off to, whether it be the Middle East, the north pole, or a Moon colony, for that matter. There was also no explanation about what his family will do now that he has been accused of being one of the most terrible traitors in American history, responsible for murdering countless important people.

Luckily, Damian has a pretty good sense about this whole ordeal, saying the following to all of the critics in the room:

“Hey, these guys have been trying to kill me since the end of episode one, when I had a stay of execution. [Brody’s absence from the show is] completely in line with the idea that you must be ruthless with story and character.”

To the credit of Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, they are not afraid to take big risks and go against the grain of what is expected for scripted programming … which apparently includes promoting your lead actors like they are prized pumpkins at a fair.

There was a teaser released for “Homeland” season 3 over the weekend, so if you do want to check that out along with some more scoop and Lewis and Claire Danes’ roles this season, be sure to visit the link here.

Photo: Showtime