Peter Suderman on the Showtime Series Homeland

Like the hit Fox show 24, Showtime's new series Homeland is a terrorism thriller that chronicles a high-stakes hunt for an elusive terrorist mastermind believed to be planning an attack. But while 24 captured the Bush-era zeal for revenge with a combination of vicarious violent thrills and absolute moral certainty, writes Associate Editor Peter Suderman, Homeland offers a less enthusiastic, more ambiguous picture of an uncertain campaign against an uncertain enemy—and a security infrastructure that is often more invasive than effective.