I couldn’t help getting drawn in, because after some consideration, I found that I’d stumbled upon a solution—which is to say I developed a completely insane theory that explains everything. I am also prepared to defend my crazy theory at all costs, because this show is turning me into Carrie Mathison. Enough preamble. The theory is this: http://nyr.kr/QEpcK2

Ruth Margalit talks with Gideon Raff, who created the Israeli show that inspired “Homeland”: http://nyr.kr/Q0K62S

“Homeland”: The Antidote for “24”

The politics of “Homeland“ aren’t anywhere near as explicit as those of “24“ (and the season isn’t over, so it could swerve in many directions). But what’s already clear is that, without being agitprop, the series provides a much-needed antidote to a show that was a propaganda arm for the Iraq war. On “Homeland,” we see the consequences of Jack Bauer’s ends-justifying policies: when the authorities lie on CNN about the death of children in Iraq, or frame innocent Muslims to conceal a botched police action, their duplicity—however well-motivated—radicalizes even more enemies.

- The New Yorker TV critic Emily Nussbaum on Showtime’s “Homeland”: http://nyr.kr/vazQcu