I made a special effort to watch the first episode of ‘Homeland’ on Channel 4 this Sunday evening. The trailers had drawn me in and I’d read that it was made by the producers of ‘24’, so my expectations were high. I wasn’t disappointed; I’ll certainly look forward to Sunday evenings for the next few weeks. Yes, I’m hooked already.

The first episode grabs you from the very start. Opening in Baghdad, where the excellent Clare Danes, playing special agent Cathy Mathison learns that a captured American soldier has been ‘turned’ by al-Qaeda. 10 months later agent Mathison discovers that US Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody is being released after eight years in captivity and her interest in the Marine is sparked. Damian Lewis plays Sergeant Brody. Again, playing an American entirely convincingly, as he has done previously in ‘Band of Brothers’. I heard on the radio today that he was educated at Eton. It’s to his credit that you would never have guessed.

You see his release, flashbacks of his nightmarish ordeal at the hands of his captors, Mathison’s increasing obsession with uncovering any signs of him being the ‘turned’ soldier. Plus, Brody is suddenly back with his family and they are all having to deal with his surprise return. Especially his wife, who was seeing his best friend. There are so many interesting aspects to the story and I look forward to seeing how it all plays out. ‘Homeland’ looks set to join my growing list of favourite American TV shows. Quality TV makes me happy!